Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for the King

For the director of music. A song of David.

13 Saul was 30 years old when he became king. He was king over Israel 42 years.^{[a] 2} Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel. There were 2,000 men who stayed with him at Micmash in the mountains of Bethel. And 1,000 men stayed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul sent the other men in the army back home.

³ Jonathan attacked the Philistine camp in Geba. And the other Philistines heard about it. Saul said, “Let the Hebrew people hear what happened.” So he told the men to blow trumpets through all the land of Israel. ⁴ All the Israelites heard the news. The men said, “Saul has defeated the Philistine camp. Now the Philistines really hate us!” Then the Israelites were called to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines gathered to fight Israel. They had 3,000^[b] chariots and 6,000 men to ride in the chariots. Their soldiers were many in number, like the grains of sand on the seashore. The Philistines went and camped at Micmash which is east of Beth Aven. ⁶ The Israelites saw that they were in trouble. So they went to hide in caves and bushes. They also hid among the rocks and in pits and wells. ⁷ Some Hebrews even went across the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead.

But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the men in his army were shaking with fear. ⁸ Saul waited seven days, because Samuel had said he would meet him then. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And the soldiers began to leave.

⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the whole burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then Saul offered the whole burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. Saul went to meet him.

¹¹ Samuel asked, “What have you done?”

Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me, and you were not here. The Philistines were gathering at Micmash. ¹² Then I thought, ‘The Philistines will come against me at Gilgal. And I haven’t asked for the Lord’s approval.’ So I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.”

¹³ Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed God’s command. If you had obeyed him, God would make your kingdom continue in Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has looked for the kind of man he wants. The Lord has appointed him to become ruler of his people. He is doing this because you haven’t obeyed his command.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the army followed Saul into battle. Saul counted the men still with him, and there were about 600.

A Story About Planting Seed

4 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. ² Jesus used many stories to teach them. He said, ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. ⁴ While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, the plants withered. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not make grain. ⁸ Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed began to grow. It grew and made a crop of grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more grain, and some 100 times more grain.”

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Let those with ears use them and listen!”

Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories

¹⁰ Later, when Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.

¹¹ Jesus said, “Only you can know the secret truth about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories. ¹² I do this so that:

Jesus Explains the Seed Story

¹³ Then Jesus said to the followers, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, then how will you understand any story? ¹⁴ The farmer is like a person who plants God’s teaching in people. ¹⁵ Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like some people. They hear the teaching of God. But Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. ¹⁶ Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. ¹⁷ But they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching, they quickly give up. ¹⁸ Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching. ¹⁹ But then other things come into their lives: worries, the love of money, and wanting all kinds of other things. These things stop the teaching from growing. So that teaching does not produce fruit^[a] in their lives. ²⁰ Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”