Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
1 Samuel 24:1-7 (NIV)
David Spares Saul’s Life
24 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words, David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
Choose one or two key verses from the Scripture reading in 1 Samuel today and do at least one of the following for your chosen verse(s).
A – Ask questions of the text (Who, what, why, where, when)
E – Emphasize certain words as you read the text over & over
I – In your own words (paraphrase one or more verses)
O – Other verses in the Bible that say the same or opposite
U – Use it; apply the truth from the text in your life
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me a moral compass for right and wrong through my conscience. My conscience warns me when I have done something that I know is wrong. I sometimes overwork my conscience by feeling guilty about things that are not actually my fault. Help me to keep my conscience educated by Your Word. Help me to not ignore the warnings of my conscience to deaden its signal but keep my conscience sensitive to Your Spirit so that it can keep me safe from the Devil’s harm. Amen