M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David among the Philistines

27 David said to himself, “One of these days Saul will kill me. The best thing for me to do is to escape to Philistia. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel, and I will be safe.” ² So David and his six hundred men went over at once to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ David and his men settled there in Gath with their families. David had his two wives with him, Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel. ⁴ When Saul heard that David had fled to Gath, he gave up trying to find him.

⁵ David said to Achish, “If you are my friend, let me have a small town to live in. There is no need, sir, for me to live with you in the capital city.” ⁶ So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag, and for this reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. ⁷ David lived in Philistia for sixteen months.

⁸ During that time David and his men would attack the people of Geshur, Girzi, and Amalek, who had been living in the region a very long time. He would raid their land as far as Shur, all the way down to Egypt, ⁹ killing all the men and women and taking the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and even the clothes. Then he would come back to Achish, ¹⁰ who would ask him, “Where did you go on a raid this time?” and David would tell him that he had gone to the southern part of Judah or to the territory of the clan of Jerahmeel or to the territory where the Kenites lived. ¹¹ David would kill everyone, men and women, so that no one could go back to Gath and report what he and his men had really done. This is what David did the whole time he lived in Philistia. ¹² But Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He is hated so much by his own people the Israelites that he will have to serve me all his life.”

The Question about Food Offered to Idols

8 Now, concerning what you wrote about food offered to idols.

It is true, of course, that “all of us have knowledge,” as they say. Such knowledge, however, puffs a person up with pride; but love builds up. ² Those who think they know something really don't know as they ought to know. ³ But the person who loves God is known by him.

⁴ So then, about eating the food offered to idols: we know that an idol stands for something that does not really exist; we know that there is only the one God. ⁵ Even if there are so-called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many of these “gods” and “lords,” ⁶ yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live.

⁷ But not everyone knows this truth. Some people have been so used to idols that to this day when they eat such food they still think of it as food that belongs to an idol; their conscience is weak, and they feel they are defiled by the food. ⁸ Food, however, will not improve our relation with God; we shall not lose anything if we do not eat, nor shall we gain anything if we do eat.

⁹ Be careful, however, not to let your freedom of action make those who are weak in the faith fall into sin. ¹⁰ Suppose a person whose conscience is weak in this matter sees you, who have so-called “knowledge,” eating in the temple of an idol; will not this encourage him to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹ And so this weak person, your brother for whom Christ died, will perish because of your “knowledge”! ¹² And in this way you will be sinning against Christ by sinning against other Christians and wounding their weak conscience. ¹³ So then, if food makes a believer sin, I will never eat meat again, so as not to make a believer fall into sin.

The Lord Condemns Idolatry

6 The Lord spoke to me. ² “Mortal man,” he said, “look toward the mountains of Israel and give them my message. ³ Tell the mountains of Israel to hear the Sovereign Lord's word—to hear what I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling the mountains, the hills, the gorges, and the valleys: I will send a sword to destroy the places where people worship idols. ⁴ The altars will be torn down and the incense altars broken. All the people there will be killed in front of their idols. ⁵ I will scatter the corpses of the people of Israel; I will scatter their bones all around the altars. ⁶ All the cities of Israel will be destroyed, so that all their altars and their idols will be smashed to pieces, their incense altars will be shattered, and everything they made will disappear. ⁷ People will be killed everywhere, and those who survive will acknowledge that I am the Lord.

⁸ “I will let some escape the slaughter and be scattered among the nations, ⁹ where they will live in exile. There they will remember me and know that I have punished them and disgraced them,^[a] because their faithless hearts deserted me and they preferred idols to me. And they will be disgusted with themselves because of the evil and degrading things they have done. ¹⁰ They will know that I am the Lord and that my warnings were not empty threats.”

¹¹ The Sovereign Lord said, “Wring your hands! Stamp your feet! Cry in sorrow because of all the evil, disgusting things the Israelites have done. They are going to die in war or of starvation or disease. ¹² Those far away will get sick and die; those nearby will be killed in war; those who survive will starve to death. They will feel all the force of my anger. ¹³ Corpses will be scattered among the idols and around the altars, scattered on every high hill, on the top of every mountain, under every green tree and every large oak, in every place where they burned sacrifices to their idols. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁴ Yes, I will reach out and destroy their country. I will make it a wasteland from the southern desert to the city of Riblah in the north, not sparing any place where the Israelites live. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.”

A Prayer for Protection^[a]