1 Samuel 27; 1 Corinthians 8; Ezekiel 6; Psalm 44

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
1 Samuel 27

David Flees to the Philistines

Then David said in his heart, Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand. So David arose and went over, he and uthe six hundred men who were with him, vto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with whis two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.

Then David said to Achish, If xI have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you? So that day Achish gave him yZiklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. zAnd the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

Now David aand his men went up and made raids against bthe Geshurites, cthe Girzites, and dthe Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, eas far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, Where have you fmade a raid today? David would say, Against the Negeb of Judah, or, Against the Negeb of gthe Jerahmeelites, or, Against the Negeb of hthe Kenites. 11 And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, lest they should tell about us and say, So David has done. Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, thinking, He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.


1 Corinthians 8

Food Offered to Idols

Now concerning1 mfood offered to idols: we know that nall of us possess knowledge. This knowledge opuffs up, pbut love builds up. qIf anyone imagines that he knows something, rhe does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, she is known by God.2

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that tan idol has no real existence, and that uthere is no God but one. For although there may be vso-called gods in heaven or on earthas indeed there are many gods and many lords yet wfor us there is one God, the Father, xfrom whom are all things and for whom we exist, and yone Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and zthrough whom we exist.

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, athrough former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and btheir conscience, being weak, is defiled. cFood will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care dthat this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block eto the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating3 in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged,4 if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is fdestroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers5 and gwounding their conscience when it is weak, hyou sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, iif food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.


Ezekiel 6

Judgment Against Idolatry

The word of the Lord came to me: rSon of man, sset your face toward tthe mountains of Israel, and uprophesy against them, and say, vYou mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to wthe mountains and xthe hills, to ythe ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, zand I will destroy your high places. zYour altars shall become desolate, and your aincense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. zAnd I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, band I will scatter your bones around your altars. Wherever you dwell, cthe cities shall be waste and dthe high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined,1 your idols broken and destroyed, your aincense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

eYet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations fsome who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape gwill remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how hI have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes ithat go whoring after their idols. gAnd they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord. jI have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.

11 Thus says the Lord God: kClap your hands land stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, mfor they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 nHe who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. oThus I will spend my fury upon them. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, pwhen their slain lie among their idols around their altars, qon every high hill, ron all the mountaintops, sunder every green tree, and under tevery leafy oak, wherever uthey offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. 14 And vI will stretch out my hand against them and wmake the land desolate and waste, xin all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to yRiblah.2 Then zthey will know that I am the Lord.


Psalm 44

Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. cA Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah.

O God, we have heard with our ears,

dour fathers have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

ein the days of old:

you with your own hand fdrove out the nations,

but gthem you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

but hthem you set free;

for not iby their own sword did they win the land,

nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm,

and jthe light of your face,

kfor you delighted in them.

lYou are my King, O God;

mordain salvation for Jacob!

Through you we npush down our foes;

through your name we otread down those who rise up against us.

For not in pmy bow do I trust,

nor can my sword save me.

But you have saved us from our foes

and have qput to shame those who hate us.

rIn God we have boasted continually,

and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

But you have srejected us and disgraced us

and thave not gone out with our armies.

10  You have made us uturn back from the foe,

and those who hate us have gotten spoil.

11  You have made us like vsheep for slaughter

and have wscattered us among the nations.

12  xYou have sold your people for a trifle,

demanding no high price for them.

13  You have made us ythe taunt of our neighbors,

the derision and zscorn of those around us.

14  You have made us aa byword among the nations,

ba laughingstock2 among the peoples.

15  All day long my disgrace is before me,

and cshame has covered my face

16  at the sound of the taunter and reviler,

at the sight of dthe enemy and the avenger.

17  eAll this has come upon us,

though we have not forgotten you,

and we have not been false to your covenant.

18  Our heart has not turned back,

nor have our fsteps gdeparted from your way;

19  yet you have hbroken us in the place of ijackals

and covered us with jthe shadow of death.

20  If we had forgotten the name of our God

or kspread out our hands to la foreign god,

21  mwould not God discover this?

nFor he knows the secrets of the heart.

22  Yet ofor your sake we are killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23  pAwake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

Rouse yourself! qDo not reject us forever!

24  Why rdo you hide your face?

Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

25  For our ssoul is bowed down to the dust;

our belly clings to the ground.

26  Rise up; tcome to our help!

uRedeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!