1 Samuel 23, 1 Corinthians 4, Ezekiel 2, Psalm 38

1 Samuel 23,

1 When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,"
 
2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah."
 
3 But David's men said to him, "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"
 
4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand."
 
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.
 
6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
 
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, "God has handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars."
 
8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
 
9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod."
 
10 David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me.
 
11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will."
 
12 Again David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will."
 
13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
 
14 David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
 
15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life.
 
16 And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.
 
17 "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this."
 
18 The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
 
19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon?
 
20 Now, O king, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for handing him over to the king."
 
21 Saul replied, "The LORD bless you for your concern for me.
 
22 Go and make further preparation. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty.
 
23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah."
 
24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.
 
25 Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.
 
26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them,
 
27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land."
 
28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.
 
29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.
 

1 Corinthians 4,

1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
 
2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
 
3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
 
4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
 
5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
 
6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
 
7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
 
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings-and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!
 
9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
 
10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
 
11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
 
12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
 
13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
 
14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.
 
15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
 
16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
 
17 For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
 
18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
 
19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.
 
20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
 
21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
 

Ezekiel 2,

1 He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you."
 
2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
 
3 He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day.
 
4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.'
 
5 And whether they listen or fail to listen-for they are a rebellious house-they will know that a prophet has been among them.
 
6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.
 
7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.
 
8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."
 
9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,
 
10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.
 

Psalm 38

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
 
2 For your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down upon me.
 
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin.
 
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
 
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
 
6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.
 
7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.
 
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
 
9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.
 
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.
 
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.
 
12 Those who seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception.
 
13 I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot open his mouth;
 
14 I have become like a man who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.
 
15 I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.
 
16 For I said, "Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips."
 
17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.
 
18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
 
19 Many are those who are my vigorous enemies; those who hate me without reason are numerous.
 
20 Those who repay my good with evil slander me when I pursue what is good.
 
21 O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God.
 
22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.