Dr Paul Allen

David and the tomb of Abner (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Sam. 26:5-16 : 5 David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him. 6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah , Joab ’s brother, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who ca...

Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her”  1 Samuel 28:7. When Saul tried to kill David , David fled with some of his loyal men. On their way into the wilderness they stopped at Nob where the tabernacle was maintained by the priests. David told Ahimelech the high priest that he was on a mission from Saul and that he and his men were hungry. (Jesus referred to this incident in Matthew 12:3 –4). Ahimelech gave him bread to eat. Word of this got back to Saul, and Saul had Ahimelech and all the priests killed (1 Samuel 21–22). We then skip over several years during which Saul tried to kill David numerous times, and during which David’s band enlarged considerably. There came a time when the Philistines grew bold enough to attack Israel again. They knew that Samuel was dead and that David, the great warrior, had left Saul...