David Marches Against Israel

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: You were a raving lunatic when I last saw you, giant slayer, and now you returned to me mind intact, with an army at my doorstep. Tell me which David stands before me now, the commander or the Madman. 00:00:23 Speaker 3: I've slain giants for Israel. In return, they made. 00:00:27 Speaker 4: Me an exile. I'm hunted like a dog by souls. Men, we are warriors without a country. We are swords with no flesh to cut into. Allow us to settle here, and our swords are yours. 00:00:44 Speaker 5: Would you fight your own people under my command? 00:00:49 Speaker 3: Yes? 00:00:50 Speaker 1: The word left David's lips without hesitation, smooth as a dagger slipping between ribs. It was a lie, but it was all a part of a larger gain. David had a plan. 00:01:04 Speaker 5: There's no way I am serving that uncircumcised monster of a king. 00:01:09 Speaker 3: We will have it all. I have a plan. 00:01:13 Speaker 4: As long as we bring akish spoils, he will see us as allies. 00:01:18 Speaker 3: But listen closely. We will not reaseuse study. 00:01:25 Speaker 6: The Gesha, writes the Guizites, the Amalekites, we will raid their cities, take their flocks, kill their warriors and we'll tell Akish that we've raided the lands of Israel. He will grow rich, he will trust us, and all the while Israel will be. 00:01:43 Speaker 3: Safer for it. 00:01:51 Speaker 7: Sallo, my friends, from here in the Holy Land of Israel. I'm y l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the people. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel story, we will find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. So take a moment today to follow the podcast. If you're feeling extra grateful for these stories, we would love it if you left us a review. I read every single one of them, and if you're interested in hearing more about the prophetic, life saving work of the Fellowship, you can visit IFCJ dot Org. 00:02:37 Speaker 3: Let's begin. 00:02:41 Speaker 1: David walked among the village of Ziklag in the cool of the morning, a satisfied grin on his face. Fences wrapped around fields, hearth fires crackled in homes, and children laughed between gardens and goats. He had carved a little kingdom of exiles and cast offs in the shadow of his enemies, and for a time Ziklag was a refuge of peace. They raided for King Akish and the Philistines, claiming that the raids were against Israel, but David and his men were actually raiding against the enemies of Israel. Two birds with one sword. David stepped through the door of his house to the warm scent of stew and bread. Abigail had left a bowl for him. 00:03:33 Speaker 3: Where were you so early this morning? 00:03:35 Speaker 1: Ah? 00:03:36 Speaker 3: Checking on the flocks. 00:03:38 Speaker 4: I know the young men can handle them on their own, but that can't help myself. 00:03:44 Speaker 3: Old habits die hard. 00:03:45 Speaker 5: I suppose some habits are worth keeping. 00:03:50 Speaker 1: David smiled at his bride, took two bites of his breakfast, then turned when he heard an urgent knock. Habishi stood in the doorway. Pale and breathless. Habishi didn't wait to sit. His brow was curled into an irritated frown. David could sense a tinge of self righteousness in his voice. 00:04:12 Speaker 5: There's trouble, David, trouble that could have been avoided. 00:04:16 Speaker 3: You sound like your brother Joe. Ab say it, plain ling, Abishi. 00:04:21 Speaker 2: Ah. 00:04:21 Speaker 5: The Philistine kings have gathered at Aphek they march against Saul and Jonathan. 00:04:28 Speaker 4: This isn't news. The Philistines and the Israelites are enemies. We've done all we can do from a distance, but we're not welcomed in Israel. They have to fight their own battles. 00:04:39 Speaker 5: True, Israel has to fight her own battles, But what about the Philistines who will fight their battles. 00:04:48 Speaker 4: Our agreement with Akish is that we raid for him. We don't march in the Philistine army. There's a difference. 00:04:56 Speaker 5: Not anymore does Akish de man more from us? You guessed it. King Ashish has summoned David. He plans to recruit his most loyal servant into his ranks. He wants us to march against the children of Israel. Ooh, and if David refuses, Akish will know that he isn't loyal and will either be killed or driven out of Ziklag. We'd be lucky if we made it out of Ziglag. So David has a choice to make. Does he shed Jonathan and Saul's blood on the battlefield or doom us and our families to burn in our own fields. 00:05:35 Speaker 1: David was silent, eyes wide with the shock of it. All his lies caught up to him. He had learned nothing from the lies he told in Knob. Truth is the only foundation solid enough to stand on. David, having built an entire village on false pretense and lies, was in free fall. 00:06:00 Speaker 3: We can't, we can't march against Israel, Jonathan, joeb Arkin. 00:06:07 Speaker 5: See where your lies have led us. 00:06:10 Speaker 3: I'm going to march against my own brothers. 00:06:13 Speaker 5: You're going to march against Jonathan. 00:06:15 Speaker 1: Abishai turned and slammed the door behind him, leaving David to soak in regret beside his wife. 00:06:26 Speaker 5: What have I done? 00:06:28 Speaker 1: The rooms spun around him. He'd walked a tightrope for over a year, fighting Israel's enemies while pretending they were Israel's allies, feasting with a Philistine king, while praying for Israel's protection. But the game had come to an end. So David made the only decision a man could make. When surrounded by wolves, he stood, called for Abishi and Beniah, and when they stood before him in grim silence, he said, we march. They said nothing, only nodded. They knew there was no choice. If they refused King Akish he would slaughter them all. David gathered his men, all six hundred of them and led them from Ziglag. They passed the fields where their children played, the vineyards they had planted, the welds they had dug, and they marched into the Valley of Dread. Behind them, the sun did long ahead. The banners of Felicitia flapped in the wind like the wings of vultures. David world of the front, His back turned to the looks of disdain from his men. David, the giant slayer, anointed by God and chosen to leave Israel, now marched to war against them. He said nothing, but the silence screamed the plains of aphek rolled like an endless sea of steel and fire. Beneath black banners and flapping war pennants. The armies of the Philistine kings gathered in their thousands. Bronze glinted in the morning sun. Chariots rumbled like distant thunder from horizon to horizon. The earth was cloaked in armor and the breath of war. David and his men were camped separately on the outskirts. Akish had summoned him, but the other Philistine kings were suspicious. A rider came, summoning David to the council tent. He rode alone with Akish, who smiled at his side. Even with the false pretense and lies, David had grown fonder of Akish. They had become something akin to brothers. The tent of Kings was crimson, staked high in the middle of the war. Camp Fires burned in each corn, casting shadows against the hide walls. Brass idols of Dagon leered from niches in the stone. David felt as though he were walking into a tomb. The kings were already gathered warriors in their own right, hard men with darker eyes, lords of Akron, Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkalon. They sat like wolves, bristling. As David entered, what. 00:09:28 Speaker 8: Is he doing here? Is that not the goora there? 00:09:35 Speaker 1: Aikish waved the comment off with a heart He slapped to David's back. 00:09:40 Speaker 8: Gorotha has proven himself a year in my service, leading Judah in Benjamin. He's bled for me, He's thirsty for more Israelite blood. 00:09:54 Speaker 1: David stood stiffly. He said nothing, and his silence only deepened their mistry. Asked, the king of Ashdod, drove his dagger into the table. 00:10:04 Speaker 4: You're an idiot, Akish, you had marched to war with a rabid dog at your side and expected not to fight. He may be your lapdog now, but when the blood runs and the battle rages, he'll remember who he is. 00:10:20 Speaker 3: What songs do they sing of him? 00:10:22 Speaker 4: Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands? 00:10:27 Speaker 3: And who Akish? 00:10:29 Speaker 4: Who were those ten thousands? 00:10:31 Speaker 8: Us Gorretha's blood curses with hatred. 00:10:35 Speaker 1: For the Israelites? 00:10:37 Speaker 3: Why else would he be here? 00:10:39 Speaker 4: The suck off your teeth's Akish, the mongrels using you. When he's nice and full, he'll slitch your throat. 00:10:47 Speaker 1: King Akish drew his axe and slammed it on the table. The other kings barked as Akish and the King of Ashdod circled each other like wolves. David was bearing witness as to how the Philistines handled politics. It was a game of dominance assertiveness. It would seem that Akish was the alpha among them. 00:11:10 Speaker 3: But for how long godtaks. 00:11:12 Speaker 8: Made me a rich man with his blade, richer than your level be? 00:11:18 Speaker 5: Why would I march without him at my side? 00:11:21 Speaker 4: Are you prepared to die for this dog? Akish? 00:11:25 Speaker 1: Akish surveyed the rest of the tent. The other kings were gripping their weapons. This was a battle he couldn't win. David was too universally hated to be trusted. 00:11:38 Speaker 3: I say he goes back, Send him back to whatever dirt hole. 00:11:43 Speaker 1: You gave him. 00:11:45 Speaker 3: Let him God your sheep. 00:11:47 Speaker 8: You must. 00:11:49 Speaker 5: I refuse to. 00:11:50 Speaker 1: Die with a dagger in my back because you've grown fond of your pet Israelite. Akish growled, but relented at last. 00:12:00 Speaker 5: Your all cowards. Only weak men can't lead strong men. I'll dismiss Gorthac, but only because none of you had the balls to march with a lion. 00:12:14 Speaker 1: Aikish left the tent with David, kicking the dirt on his way. David still had to play the part of Akish's ally. 00:12:23 Speaker 5: You have served me well, Gorthac. You are more loyal than many I've known. I would fight beside you, I and die beside you if. 00:12:35 Speaker 1: It came to it. 00:12:37 Speaker 8: But I must listen to my fellow kings, even if they are sniveling birds, too weak in the lakes to march with you. 00:12:47 Speaker 1: David, still playing the part of Akish's ally, sighed. 00:12:53 Speaker 4: It's why your throne will last like iron, while theirs will rot. Like damp wood. 00:13:03 Speaker 5: There are those poetic pleasantries again. Go back to Si Clerk. When we've defeated these Israelite dogs, some will likely run to our borders. I'll have you snatched them up. 00:13:20 Speaker 1: The two embraced. It was warm, too warm. David returned it, but his heart ached with shame. He had lied for over a year to akish, to his men and to himself. He turned from the king and walked alone. He didn't stop until he reached a patch of baron earth outside the camp. There he fell to his knees and wept. The cries that escaped him were not the cries of a warrior, but of a broken man. His body shook as sobs wrapped through him. Bitter and unrelenting, he had come so close, so close to becoming the very thing he had sworn never to be. Face down in the dirt, David whispered to the silent heavens. 00:14:12 Speaker 3: Forgive me, Oh Lord, I was almost passed. 00:14:19 Speaker 1: No voice answered, No light split the sky, but David felt the weight lift, not completely, but enough. Grace had spared him, and grace would guide him home. He would need it for what awaited David in Zicklag would be his greatest test yet. The ground squelched as David and his men marched back to Zicklag. No one had dared speak to David since the retreat from Aphek, and no one needed to. Their silence spoke volumes about what they thought about their leader. Three days of bitter travel, three nights of cold winds and colder stairs. Not long ago, David had commanded the hearts of these men, outcasts and orphans, murderers and misfits. They had become brothers under his banner. Now their faith in him leaped like pass from a wound. They had nearly spilled Israelite blood at his word, nearly damned themselves for his lies. David had damned himself most of all. On the third day, the marshes gave way to the familiar hills of Ziklag. The green pastors that framed their refuge rolled gently beneath the morning sun. But the tranquility was a cruel mask. Black smoke rose in thick columns ahead, curling into the sky like fingers of judgment. Benaiah stood beside, eyed David Sward, already half drawn. 00:16:03 Speaker 3: That smoke, it's coming from our village. 00:16:07 Speaker 1: Our homes, Benaiah broke into a run, as did the other fathers and husbands, who feared the worst. The others followed urgency, quickening their pace, until six hundred men pounded across the hills in a storm of armor and dread. And then they saw it. Ziglag was burned to a crisp, charred timber lay scattered like bones. The well was poisoned with ash. The gardens were trampled, the livestock gone, the houses, their homes were blackened shells. 00:16:44 Speaker 2: Who did this? 00:16:46 Speaker 1: David stood amidst the ruins of his home, ash clinging to his face, his heart flayed open. The house he had shared with Abigail was a heap of cinders. David noticed something faintly glinting in the soot, a sword hilt scorched and half buried. David drew it out and wiped away the ash. The seal was unmistakable, an Amalekite mark. 00:17:15 Speaker 3: The Amalekites. 00:17:17 Speaker 1: Benaiah turned violently toward David, taking four long strides and striking him hard in the mouth. David fell into the ash. 00:17:27 Speaker 3: You made us march away from our families. 00:17:29 Speaker 5: The Amalekites never would have attacked if we had been here. 00:17:33 Speaker 1: David's breath caught in his throat. His hands trembled around him. The others wept. Hard men, some with a hundred kills to their names, fell to the earth and sobbed like children. Fathers called out for children who would not answer. Husbands clawed through the ruins, praying to find a sign, a shred of cloth, anything, But there were no bodies. The Amalekites had taken all of them. 00:18:03 Speaker 4: This is your fond David. You should be stound for this. 00:18:08 Speaker 1: My daughter is gone. 00:18:11 Speaker 4: The blood is on your hands. 00:18:14 Speaker 1: David didn't look up, he didn't protest. How could he. Every word was true. He had led them to this. The cries became a chorus and outpouring of rage and grief. Men who would once die for him now spoke of killing him. And David, the anointed One, the giant Slayer, lay crumpled in the dust with nothing but his shame and scorched blade in his hand. He had no psalm to sing, no wisdom to give, only silence. He was broken and utterly alone. 00:19:01 Speaker 7: If your faith has been kindled by this podcast and it has affected your life, we'd love it if you left her review we read them, and me personally, I cherish them as you venture forth boldly and faithfully. I leave you with the biblical blessing from numbers six Iva hashem vischmurechra Yeah Heir hashempanave e le y sa hashempanavelera shaloon. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be gracious to you. Made the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. 00:19:43 Speaker 1: Amen. You can listen to the Chosen People with You Isle Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot Com app today. This prey dot Com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Kati, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland, Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore, music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvado, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. 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