Study Desk

and told him, "When I shoot the arrows, you run and find them for me." The boy started running, and Jonathan shot an arrow so that it would go beyond him.

By the day after tomorrow, everyone will think you've been gone a long time. Then go to the place where you hid before and stay beside Going-Away Rock. I'll shoot three arrows at a target off to the side of the rock, and send my servant to find the arrows. You'll know if it's safe to come out by what I tell him. If it is safe, I swear by the living Lord that I'll say, "The arrows are on this side of you! Pick them up!" But if it isn't safe, I'll say to the boy, "The arrows are farther away!" This will mean that the Lord wants you to leave, and you must go. But he will always watch us to make sure that we keep the promise we made to each other. So David hid there in the field. During the New Moon Festival, Saul sat down to eat by the wall, just as he always did. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner sat next to him. But David's place was empty. Saul didn't say anything that day, because he was thinking, "Something must have happened to make David unfit to be at the Festival. Yes, something must have happened." The day after the New Moon Festival, when David's place was still empty, Saul asked Jonathan, "Why hasn't that son of Jesse come to eat with us? He wasn't here yesterday, and he still isn't here today!" Jonathan answered, "The reason David hasn't come to eat with you is that he begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. He said, ‘Please let me go. My family is offering a sacrifice, and my brother told me I have to be there. Do me this favor and let me slip away to see my brothers.'" Saul was furious with Jonathan and yelled, "You're no son of mine, you traitor! I know you've chosen to be loyal to that son of Jesse. You should be ashamed of yourself! And your own mother should be ashamed that you were ever born. You'll never be safe, and your kingdom will be in danger as long as that son of Jesse is alive. Turn him over to me now! He deserves to die!" "Why do you want to kill David?" Jonathan asked. "What has he done?" Saul threw his spear at Jonathan and tried to kill him. Then Jonathan was sure that his father really did want to kill David. Jonathan was angry that his father had insulted David so terribly. He got up, left the table, and didn't eat anything all that day. In the morning, Jonathan went out to the field to meet David. He took a servant boy along and told him, "When I shoot the arrows, you run and find them for me." The boy started running, and Jonathan shot an arrow so that it would go beyond him. When the boy got near the place where the arrow had landed, Jonathan shouted, "Isn't the arrow on past you?" Jonathan shouted to him again, "Hurry up! Don't stop!" The boy picked up the arrows and brought them back to Jonathan, but he had no idea about what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, "Take these back into town." After the boy had gone, David got up from beside the mound and bowed very low three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and cried, but David cried louder.

"I'm on a mission for King Saul," David answered. "He ordered me not to tell anyone what the mission is all about, so I had my soldiers stay somewhere else.

The only bread the priest had was the sacred bread that he had taken from the place of worship after putting out the fresh loaves. So he gave it to David.

It so happened that one of Saul's officers was there, worshiping the Lord that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, and he was the strongest of Saul's shepherds.

David asked Ahimelech, "Do you have a spear or a sword? I had to leave so quickly on this mission for the king that I didn't bring along my sword or any other weapons."

The priest answered, "The only sword here is the one that belonged to Goliath the Philistine. You were the one who killed him in Elah Valley, and so you can take his sword if you want to. It's wrapped in a cloth behind the statue." "It's the best sword there is," David said. "I'll take it!"

So right there in front of everyone, he pretended to be insane. He acted confused and scratched up the doors of the town gate, while drooling in his beard.

So he brought his parents to the king of Moab, and they stayed with him while David was in hiding.

He told them: Listen to me! You belong to the Benjamin tribe, so if that son of Jesse ever becomes king, he won't give you fields or vineyards. He won't make you officers in charge of thousands or hundreds as I have done.

An old proverb says, "Only evil people do evil things," and so I won't harm you.

So David promised, and Saul went home. David and his men returned to their hideout.

So he sent ten men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: I hope that you and your family are healthy and that all is going well for you.

Ask your shepherds, and they'll tell you the same thing. My servants are your servants, and you are like a father to me. This is a day for celebrating, so please be kind and share some of your food with us.

If you hadn't come to meet me so quickly, every man and boy in Nabal's family and in his servants' families would have been killed by morning. I swear by the living Lord God of Israel who protected you that this is the truth.

Abigail went back home and found Nabal throwing a party fit for a king. He was very drunk and feeling good, so she didn't tell him anything that night.

David heard that Nabal had died. "I praise the Lord !" David said. "He has judged Nabal guilty for insulting me. The Lord kept me from doing anything wrong, and he made sure that Nabal hurt only himself with his own evil." Abigail was still at Carmel. So David sent messengers to ask her if she would marry him.

David had earlier married Ahinoam from the town of Jezreel, so both she and Abigail were now David's wives.

"David, you had the chance to kill me today. But you didn't. I was very wrong about you. It was a terrible mistake for me to try to kill you. I've acted like a fool, but I'll never try to harm you again. You're like a son to me, so please come back."

So he asked the Lord what to do. But the Lord would not answer, either in a dream or by a priest or a prophet.