Good afternoon, everyone!
I just gave my cat a bath, which was tons of fun...
Actually, it's not too bad. He's very calm, and even though he doesn't like it, he doesn't try to claw his way up my face like my other cat does.
The reason for the bath is this: He's been licking all his belly fur off, and the vet said it might be allergies or stress, so he got blood tests and a steroid shot, and when nothing was wrong with him and the shot didn't work, he got a prescription for some other medicine that also didn't work. And even though I know he's not stressed (because this cat has always been much more zen than any animal I have ever met) I got the Feliway brand plug in, which emits a mother's scent to calm cats down. Nothing helped.
So, I finally remembered that last year, when this first started happening and the steroid shot didn't help, I gave him a bath. I know. Some of you are finally going: "You bathe your cat!?"
Yes. I do. He can keep himself pretty clean, but he can't get all the dirt off his skin. So, baths help.
And last year, the bath helped with the licking about 3 months. So, I'm going to bathe him every 3 months this year, at least while it's warm. And hopefully that'll help.
Anyway, I digress. On to the biblical reflections!
Today I read 1 Samuel 21-24.
And Saul is still trying to kill David. As such, David is on the run. First, he finds refuge with the priests of Nob, which was the city of the priests. There, he eats consecrated bread (which actually wasn't that big of a deal), and gets Goliath's sword, which was kept there. Ahimilech, the priest, gave it to David gladly, knowing he was the one who slew Goliath.
Then Saul does something truly awful.
Someone loyal to him was there when David sought refuge in Nob. Doeg.
Saul goes to the priests and commands them to give David up, wanting to know why they are conspiring against him. He is also angry that they inquired of God for David, to help him on his way.
Ahimilech says this: Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king's son-in-law, who is captain over your guard and is honored in your house? Did I just being to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing of this whole affair" (1 Samuel 22:14-15).
But Saul won't listen. He commands his servants to kill all the priests. Priests of God, I might add.
The servants refuse, clearly uncomfortable with this command.
All except for Doeg. Doeg has no problem at all killing God's anointed priests. He turns around and slays them all. Not only that, he sacks the city. The city of the priests.
One man escaped and fled to where David was, and chose to follow him.
Now, I'm going to skip a whole chapter because I don't really have anything to say about it...
In chapter 24, however, Saul is still pursuing David. This time, he comes really close. But not in the way he'd expected. Rather, Saul comes close to losing his own life.
Saul went into this cave to "relieve himself" and David was hiding in the cave with his men. His men urged him to kill Saul, and he was tempted, knowing all the times Saul had tried to kill him. He stretched out his hand and cut off a piece of Saul's robe, but then felt immediately guilty for stretching out his hand against God's current anointed king. For Saul was still anointed for as long as he lived.
So, David goes out after Saul when he leaves, and holds up the piece of his robe and shows how close he was and how he could have killed Saul, but didn't. He also inquires as to why Saul is trying to kill him, knowing David to be a loyal servant of the king.
Saul declares David more righteous than himself, and vows to stop hunting him. He asks David to look favorably on his descendants, which David does, having already sworn to Jonathan. David had declared God to be the judge between them, and Saul adds to that, asking that God repay David good for the good he did in sparing Saul's life, knowing that God had delivered him into David's hand that day.
Overall, this was a pretty interesting part of David's story. There is so much I could cover, but I feel like I would need to break it down more.
If you're more interested in reading about David's life, and a more thorough look into his time running from Saul, I recommend A Heart Like His: Intimate Reflections on the Life of David, by Beth Moore.
I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Samuel 25-27.
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