Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

The Lord Rejects Saul as King

13 Saul was ⌞thirty⌟ years old when he became king, and he was king of Israel ⌞forty-two⌟ years.^[a]

² Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel; 2,000 of them were stationed with Saul at Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and 1,000 were stationed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. But the rest of the people he sent home.

³ Jonathan defeated the Philistine troops at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. With the sounding of the ram’s horn throughout the land, Saul announced, “Listen, Hebrews!” ⁴ (So all Israel listened.) “I, Saul, have defeated the Philistine troops, and now Israel has become offensive to the Philistines!” All the troops rallied behind Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines assembled to fight against Israel. They had 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and as many soldiers as the sand on the seashore. They camped at Michmash, east of Beth Aven. ⁶ When the Israelites saw they were in trouble because the army was hard-pressed, they hid in caves, in thorny thickets, among rocks, in pits, and in cisterns. ⁷ Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan River into the territory of Gad and Gilead. But Saul remained in Gilgal, and all the people who followed him trembled ⌞in fear⌟.

⁸ He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel. But Samuel had not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to scatter. ⁹ Then Saul said, “Bring me the animals for the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” So he sacrificed the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As he finished sacrificing the burnt offering, Samuel came, and Saul went to greet him.

¹¹ Samuel asked, “What have you done?”

Saul replied, “I saw the troops were scattering. You didn’t come when you said you would, and the Philistines were assembling at Michmash. ¹² So I thought, ‘Now, the Philistines will come against me at Gilgal, but I haven’t sought the Lord’s favor.’ I felt pressured into sacrificing the burnt offering.”

¹³ “You did a foolish thing,” Samuel told Saul. “You didn’t follow the command of the Lord your God. ⌞If you had,⌟ the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not last. The Lord has searched for a man after his own heart. The Lord has appointed him as ruler of his people, because you didn’t follow the command of the Lord.”

¹⁵ Samuel left Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to meet the soldiers. They went from Gilgal ^[b] to Gibeah in Benjamin, where Saul counted the troops who were still with him—about 600 men.

A Story about a Farmer^(A)

4 Jesus began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. ² He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things.

While he was teaching them, he said, ³ “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. ⁴ Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. ⁷ Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. ⁸ But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.” ⁹ He added, “Let the person who has ears listen!”

¹⁰ When he was alone with his followers and the twelve apostles, they asked him about the stories.

¹¹ Jesus replied to them, “The mystery about God’s kingdom has been given ⌞directly⌟ to you. To those on the outside, it is given in stories:

¹³ Jesus asked them, “Don’t you understand this story? How, then, will you understand any of the stories I use as illustrations?

¹⁴ “The farmer plants the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. Whenever they hear the word, Satan comes at once and takes away the word that was planted in them. ¹⁶ Other people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. ¹⁷ But they don’t develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall ⌞from faith⌟. ¹⁸ Other people are like seeds planted among thornbushes. They hear the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. ²⁰ Others are like seeds planted on good ground. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.”