What house?

7 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ² he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

³ Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
⁴ But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders^[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me^[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁷ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

What house?  I actually do not fully understand the significance of the house of cedar and the tent. From what i read and understand, house of cedar is better than a tent. David is thinking of building a house of the ark of God. But God tells him, go forth and I will establish a house for David. It was never the other way around. Praise the Lord for what He has done. David has good intentions, but God revealed that God is even bigger. David may shield an ark. But God shields the whole of Israel. Everything will happen in accordance to God's timing. God says your son will build the house for the ark. So, his son shall be.

Man makes plans but God has the final say. Praise the Lord.

Pide of life

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

This is a very good and clear example of pride of life. The state of which we see our own pride as important. That our own "face" is more important than Lord. David the king went around praising the LORD because he really wanted to and he went all out to praise him. He went around half-naked as a king, just wanting God, praising him with all his might. That sets a great example for all Israel to follow. Then when Michal confronted him, scolding him that it is unfit for a king to praise God like this, David spoke of his conviction - God chose David as king over everyone else and David is thankful to the Lord, that is why he praise. He said something that really spoke to me: I will become even more undignified than this, and I will b humiliated in my own eyes. Are we willing to do that? Are we willing to be undignified, self-humilate before the Lord, to bring ourselves to 0? To humble ourself to nothing? Are we willing? In this world where image is everything, i doubt many would be able to. It is a constant struggle but it should be done!

Ark into David's house

⁹ David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” ¹⁰ He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ¹¹ The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.
¹² Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

The passage did not state why David was afraid to receive the ark. David was not willing to take the ark into the City of David? What was David thinking, what was he doing? He was afraid of death? After seeing Uzzah die from transporting the ark, he was afraid? Well, no one knows. Perhaps he was. Then David took the ark to Abed-Edom the Gittite. After he saw what God can do through the ark, he really wanted God's blessings too. Then he brought the ark into the city of David. At first, he was skeptical, but after seeing the goodness and glory of God he wanted God's blessing as much as he can die from mishandling the ark. David was so happy, started rejoycing because the ark is back into his kingdom. Michal who was his wife despised him because he was not acting in a kingly manner. Who is she to judge David's worship unto God? God is the one to judge not her. We must be careful even what we say, comment and think because that reveals our heart. If we are like Michal, search deeper. Check your heart.

Respect the Lord.

6 David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. ² He and all his men went to Baalah^[a] in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,^[b] the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. ³ They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart ⁴ with the ark of God on it,^[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it. ⁵ David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,^[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

⁶ When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. ⁷ The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

I think we understand that God is our friend and wants to build a relationship with Him. I think the idea has been proliferating in the church for enough time that it is quite clear that everyone should build this relationship with God. That our life is a walk with God, is building a relationship just like how a person fellowship and build a relationship with another person. Just like David. He understood that perfectly. He walked with God. David is God's creation and God is David's Lord. He really believed in that. However, we forgot one thing that David understood perfectly too. He understood that God is God. He is Lord and King over all. David recognized and respected God. The fear of the Lord is prevalent in his life. Then we look at Uzzah, God struck him down because of irreverence. It would not be possible for God to strike him because Uzzah just want to stabilize the ark. It must be more than that. He have done something that offended God. How much are we in reverence of God? Are we like Uzzah? Should we aspire to be like David? Do we really put God before everything else?

David the king

¹⁷ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸ Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; ¹⁹ so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
²⁰ So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.^{[c] 21} The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
²² Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; ²³ so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. ²⁴ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” ²⁵ So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon^[d] to Gezer.

I have been reflecting. How much do i understand His love and providence? No, how much do i experience His love and providence? How much do I trust Him? How much do i believe in Him? Through out the recent camps and all, i have been reflecting. Reflecting on God, reflecting on His relationship with me. How good it has been and what are the areas for improvement. I felt like it was God that was correcting me all these while, he showed me my heart and how much do i accept Him, love Him and believe in Him. Apparently, i have much more work to do. God calls this journey a walk, a relationship with God. The basis of this relationship is His love. Without His love, and our love towards Him, what relationship is there? So, i have been with God discussing and understanding and living out this relationship. What relationship is there if we don't understand Him? In Christianity, we must understand that to begin is not to end. To end is to end in God. This really means that whatever we do, learn from Christ cannot end. We cannot fully grasp the concept, we are always susceptible to sin until we die. Until we are raised to heaven. That is when everything would change. Then we would be one with God and love God and hate sin. Then it is the end. I salute David in the fact that he walked with God so closely that God became His best friend. And because of that he did many miracles. I have a long way to go.

David's city

⁸ On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.^[a]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
⁹ David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces^[b] inward. ¹⁰ And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
¹¹ Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. ¹² Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
¹³ After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. ¹⁴ These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

One question is that why is that the person who conquers the place shall use only the water shaft to reach the lame and blind. I am looking into this analogy. Why a water shaft? to segregate the lame and blind?  If so, why? This is intresting, David gave thanks to God even though other people built him a city. This just shows the recognition that David receieved from the king.

David annointed by God

5 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

³ When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

David was the guy whom God has chosen. He was chosen by God to rule Israel. So he did. Our God is a God who keeps promises, whether it is personal promises to you or general promises stated in the bible. And when God chose and gave you a promise, Would He not fulfil it? Just look at David. Anyone in David's position would not have thought that. He was being chased by people, being hunted by the king and condemned and exiled to enemy lands. But he kept 1 promise in his heart. That promise is what God gave him, the promise that he would be king and today is the day that it was fulfilled. Was it by his own strength? No, it was only by God's strength. How glorious is our God? :)

David Judges

4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. ² Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, ³ because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

⁴ (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
⁵ Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. ⁶ They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
⁷ They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. ⁸ They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
⁹ David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, ¹⁰ when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! ¹¹ How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”
¹² So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

David is a very curious person, the reason is that he walked with God. His decisions are not of this world but of God. It is normal for leaders, people in power to suppress the opposition by killing them. In fact this does not happen only in ancient times, but also today. Even in today's world, we see in some countries, political leaders killed because they lost the election. Thrown into jail or under house arrest, so that their political ideas can never be propagated. It would be totally normal and expected of David to kill any person of Saul's lineage. But David was against it. He was unwilling and condemns that behaviour, because his security is not of this world but of Christ. He knows God. He know that his power comes from above, and that power can never be taken away from him because God has his back. Until the time when God turn away from him, then he would lose this power. So, regardless of the things that happen on earth, he knows that his power lies in God hands. How much do we have such trust in God? Do we like David put his all for God or are we like his men, so much of the world? And then the question to ask is which is better?

David is king

^2-3 So David moved to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David’s men, along with their families, also went with him and made their home in and around Hebron.
^4-7 The citizens of Judah came to Hebron, and then and there made David king over the clans of Judah.

A report was brought to David that the men of Jabesh Gilead had given Saul a decent burial. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead: “God bless you for this—for honoring your master, Saul, with a funeral. God honor you and be true to you—and I’ll do the same, matching your generous act of goodness. Strengthen your resolve and do what must be done. Your master, Saul, is dead. The citizens of Judah have made me their king.”

^8-11 In the meantime, Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead, over Asher, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin—king, as it turns out, over all Israel. Ish-Bosheth Saul’s son, was forty years old when he was made king over Israel. He lasted only two years. But the people of Judah stuck with David. David ruled the people of Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.

The citizens made David king over Judah, just like that without any battle, without any "test". David then ruled Judah for 7.5 years. We see that after Saul died, the army commander declared kingship to be upon one of Saul's sons. This is where i am reminded of the verse: "man makes plans but God has the final say." indeed it is true. We can plan to have our careers, university and everything but if we do seek God's decision on anything, everything would be fruitless in the end because God has the final say. His word is final. If He says no to the course you are going means no, you wont get that course in the END. It is clear. Just like this: the commander made one of the sons king, but he did not seek God and in the end... The king failed and did not last. Only David who is made king over Judah lasted. He is the true heir to the kingship of Israel because God chose Him. How much have we seeked God in our decisions?

John 13:1-17 Je

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

This phrase may seem like a simple act of SERVING.But then it serves more meaning ! Ros has enlightened me in this as  I realise not only do we put others first but we shouldnt always see it as "God please help me soften or correct this person's heart/attitude towards me !" but also about ourselves !" God how do I/teach me how to love this person,soften his heart for me to share love to him!"

A song to commerate the fallen king

^19-21 Oh, oh, Gazelles of Israel, struck down on your hills,
    the mighty warriors—fallen, fallen!
Don’t announce it in the city of Gath,
    don’t post the news in the streets of Ashkelon.
Don’t give those coarse Philistine girls
    one more excuse for a drunken party!
No more dew or rain for you, hills of Gilboa,
    and not a drop from springs and wells,
For there the warriors’ shields were dragged through the mud,
    Saul’s shield left there to rot.

²² Jonathan’s bow was bold—
    the bigger they were the harder they fell.
Saul’s sword was fearless—
    once out of the scabbard, nothing could stop it.

²³ Saul and Jonathan—beloved, beautiful!
    Together in life, together in death.
Swifter than plummeting eagles,
    stronger than proud lions.

^24-25 Women of Israel, weep for Saul.
    He dressed you in finest cottons and silks,
    spared no expense in making you elegant.
The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen
    in the middle of the fight!
    Jonathan—struck down on your hills!

²⁶ O my dear brother Jonathan,
    I’m crushed by your death.
Your friendship was a miracle-wonder,
    love far exceeding anything I’ve known—
    or ever hope to know.

²⁷ The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen.
    And the arms of war broken to bits.

How deep and great is his heart? David weeps genuinely for Saul. In this world where many intentions are prevalent, how many of us can be like David, genuinely weep for David and his men while knowing the fact that he will become king, he is the next king. If he is just another person, not walking with God, This is what i would imagine to be written:

David ripped his clothes in celebration. He threw a party in celebration of this day.

But he did not. He wrote a song to remember Saul and instituted that people remember the song so that Saul can be celebrated, even in his death. 

In the song, it was said that do not rejoyce as that will give one more reason for the enemy to rejoyice. 

It talks about how great the king and his men were and curses the hills on which they fell, cursing the hills not to have rain.

One important thing is that the song draws near equal attention to the king and Jonathan. It shows David's close relationship with Jonathan.

David was truly devastated and was weeping for all the fallen.

Mourning for Saul and his army

¹⁷ David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):

¹⁹ “A gazelle^[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
    How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰ “Tell it not in Gath,
    proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
    lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.

²¹ “Mountains of Gilboa,
    may you have neither dew nor rain,
    may no showers fall on your terraced fields.^[b]
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
    the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.

 lament means a passionate expression of grief. The king and his army died, the whole Israel mourns for them! This song was created in remembrance of Saul and Jonathan. Gazelle here represents the powerful, ie Saul and his son and his men. 

In the Message version, its clearer:

Oh, oh, Gazelles of Israel, struck down on your hills,
    the mighty warriors—fallen, fallen!
Don’t announce it in the city of Gath,
    don’t post the news in the streets of Ashkelon.
Don’t give those coarse Philistine girls
    one more excuse for a drunken party!
No more dew or rain for you, hills of Gilboa,
    and not a drop from springs and wells,
For there the warriors’ shields were dragged through the mud,
    Saul’s shield left there to rot.

Dont announce the event for it is not a time of celebration, but a time of grief. SO that everyone may weep and grief and that our enemies find one less reason to rejoice. David continues on to curse the hills on which Saul and his army fell, saying that no rain or dew shall be there as Saul left the world.

God's wrath

1 ^1-2 Shortly after Saul died, David returned to Ziklag from his rout of the Amalekites. Three days later a man showed up unannounced from Saul’s army camp.

^2-3 Disheveled and obviously in mourning, he fell to his knees in respect before David. David asked, “What brings you here?”
He answered, “I’ve just escaped from the camp of Israel.”
⁴ “So what happened?” said David. “What’s the news?”
He said, “The Israelites have fled the battlefield, leaving a lot of their dead comrades behind. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
⁵ David pressed the young soldier for details: “How do you know for sure that Saul and Jonathan are dead?”
^6-8 “I just happened by Mount Gilboa and came on Saul, badly wounded and leaning on his spear, with enemy chariots and horsemen bearing down hard on him. He looked behind him, saw me, and called me to him. ‘Yes sir,’ I said, ‘at your service.’ He asked me who I was, and I told him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’”
⁹ “Come here,” he said, “and put me out of my misery. I’m nearly dead already, but my life hangs on.”
¹⁰ “So I did what he asked—I killed him. I knew he wouldn’t last much longer anyway. I removed his royal headband and bracelet, and have brought them to my master. Here they are.”
^11-12 In lament, David ripped his clothes to ribbons. All the men with him did the same. They wept and fasted the rest of the day, grieving the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, and also the army of God and the nation Israel, victims in a failed battle.
¹³ Then David spoke to the young soldier who had brought the report: “Who are you, anyway?”
“I’m from an immigrant family—an Amalekite.”
^14-15 “Do you mean to say,” said David, “that you weren’t afraid to up and kill God’s anointed king?” Right then he ordered one of his soldiers, “Strike him dead!” The soldier struck him, and he died.

 A man showed up to David, an Amalekite, who escaped from an Israel camp. He expected reward, but he received death instead. Human intentions are evil, self centered. We should just lay those human intentions and leave it on the cross and be made new by God, renew your mind with Christ centered thoughts. David was like a secret agent! He lived in enemy lands, yet keeping covenant of what God have given him. He is the next king of Israel. Samuel annoited him, Saul recognized it and Jonathan acknowledged him. It is clear to him. But for the Amalekites, he was thought as a friend, exile from Israel. He have a heart like God. Even though Saul is dead. He did not go like "Yay the king is dead, so i can be king." He did not go like "I have waited long time for this" he did not rejoice. But he wept, because he lost a father. Israel lost a king , annoited by God. Yet, when this Amalekite soilder came to him rejoicing with the king's robe and headband, claiming to have killed the king just to gain praise and recognition from David. So David killed him. David is really indeed a man after God's heart with a heart of Christ. Amen and Amen! Praise the Lord!

Philistines victorious

31 ^1-2 The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul’s sons.

^3-4 The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, “Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me.”
^4-6 But his weapon bearer wouldn’t do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day.
⁷ When the Israelites in the valley opposite and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that their army was in full retreat and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran for their lives. The Philistines moved in and occupied the sites.
^8-10 The next day, when the Philistines came to rob the dead, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor. Then they spread the good news all through Philistine country in the shrines of their idols and among the people. They displayed his armor in the shrine of the Ashtoreth. They nailed his corpse to the wall at Beth Shan.
^11-13 The people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. Their valiant men sprang into action. They traveled all night, took the corpses of Saul and his three sons from the wall at Beth Shan, and carried them back to Jabesh and burned off the flesh. They then buried the bones under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted in mourning for seven days.

God punishes Saul, as prophesied by Samuel. Israel paid the price for Saul's disobedience. Saul falls in the battle, however he did not die but was severely injured. So injured that he declared himself dead. Perhaps was that lack of will to live on. Saul was afraid of the Philistines closing upon him and told his armour bearer to kill him. But the armour bearer refused to kill him because of his reverence to God and his understanding that life and death is in the hands of God, not His. So Saul killed himself and upon seeing that, the armour bearer too killed himself out of fear and guilt. Saul commited sin and the price of the sin is death. As we have seen here clearly, Saul paid in full for his sin, not only by his death. By his family's death and Israel's occupation. Today we have Jesus who died on the cross for all our sins and through that our wrongs are righted. We do not have to fear sin, but just to love Christ. Through this we really learn to just submit to Christ and everything would fall into place. Seek him first and everything else would be added unto you.

David's victory

^17-20 David pounced. He fought them from before sunrise until evening of the next day. None got away except for four hundred of the younger men who escaped by riding off on camels. David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives! Nothing and no one was missing—young or old, son or daughter, plunder or whatever. David recovered the whole lot. He herded the sheep and cattle before them, and they all shouted, “David’s plunder!”
²¹ Then David came to the two hundred who had been too tired to continue with him and had dropped out at the Brook Besor. They came out to welcome David and his band. As he came near he called out, “Success!”
²² But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: “They didn’t help in the rescue, they don’t get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that’s it. Take them and go!”
^23-25 “Families don’t do this sort of thing! Oh no, my brothers!” said David as he broke up the argument. “You can’t act this way with what God gave us! God kept us safe. He handed over the raiders who attacked us. Who would ever listen to this kind of talk? The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights—equal shares. Share and share alike!” From that day on, David made that the rule in Israel—and it still is.

^26-31 On returning to Ziklag, David sent portions of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his neighbors, with a note saying, “A gift from the plunder of God’s enemies!” He sent them to the elders in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, Jerahmeelite cities, Kenite cities, Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, and Hebron, along with a number of other places David and his men went to from time to time.

That's right! David was walking with God and he made a good and righteous call!  It would be logical for the men who did not fight to not get any plunder. They were not involved in the fight and therefore will not get any rewards. normal people would have agreed, that they are not deserving of any plunder because WE fought for it. As much as that is true, that WE fought for it. But David remembered one crucial fact, that God gave the victory upon them. We do the fighting to claim God's victory. In fact to keep the plunder is selfish and in other words worshipping materials. That things are more important than your brothers. The mean spirited men forgot that God provided and it is not through their works that they won but through the grace of God. In all things in good or in bad, we must remember that God id the provider of all things. Even though we may put the hard work but God gives the reward.

Go!

30 ^1-3 Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn’t kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner.

^4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.
^6-7 David strengthened himself with trust in his God. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God.” Abiathar brought it to David.
⁸ Then David prayed to God, “Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?”
The answer came, “Go after them! Yes, you’ll catch them! Yes, you’ll make the rescue!”

 David talked to God, fellow shipped with God and listen to His voice so clearly. The Amalekites raided their camp and took their possessions. It was a bad time for David and His men. Worse for David, some men wanted to stone him because of their loss and they blame it on him. Now lets step back and think. David was not to be blamed for whatever that happened. He was NOT to be blamed. It is quite clear that it was not his fault. However, his men wanted to stone him to release their emotional hurt from losing their family. Let's search our hearts, how many of us are like this, having to blame others for our emotional hurt, regardless whether that hurt was caused by him? David kept clam and did not react to them. instead he just consulted God, he just asked God. We must learn this from David! In times of hardship, look towards him and him alone. He is our answer. Imagine if he did not ask God and took it upon himself(like what Saul would have done), the result would not be God given like what we see now. Indeed when theres a situation, stop and look to Him.