We are wrapping up 1 Samuel with stories that overlap a bit:

• David in Philistine territory: 1 Samuel 27.1 – 28.2
• Philistines march against Israel and David is sent home 28.3 – 5, 29.1 – 11
• Saul and the Witch at Endor, 28.6 – 25
• Attack on David’s family in Ziklag, 30.1 – 31
• The battle with the Philistines, Saul and Jonathan are killed 31.1 – 13

We left David in Gath, where we went to flee from Saul’s relentless pursuit (even though Saul had twice said that David was right and he was wrong (1 Samuel 24, 1 Samuel 26).

David thought to himself, “Sooner or later, Saul’s going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to Philistine country. Saul will count me a lost cause and quit hunting me down in every nook and cranny of Israel. I’ll be out of his reach for good.” … They moved in and settled down in Gath, with Achish… When Saul was told that David had escaped to Gath, he called off the hunt. (1 Samuel 27.1 – 4, MSG)

David gets King Achish to let him live in the small town of Ziklag (away from the king) so he can raid various surrounding tribes:

David lived in Philistine country a year and four months. From time to time David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites… When David raided an area he left no one alive, neither man nor woman, but took everything else: sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, clothing—the works. Then he’d return to Achish. Achish would ask, “And whom did you raid today?” David would tell him, “Oh, the Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” He never left a single person alive lest one show up in Gath and report what David had really been doing. This is the way David operated all the time he lived in Philistine country. (1 Samuel 27.7 – 11, MSG)

David won the trust of Achish, which is a potential problem: God has to work again to save David’s reputation. Stay tuned.

Achish came to trust David completely. He thought, “He’s made himself so repugnant to his people that he’ll be in my camp forever.” During this time the Philistines mustered their troops to make war on Israel. Achish said to David, “You can count on this: You’re marching with my troops, you and your men.” And David said, “Good! Now you’ll see for yourself what I can do!” “Great!” said Achish. “I’m making you my personal bodyguard—for life!” (1 Samuel 27.12 – 28.2, MSG)

David was a man of war, and God honored him…but there was a limit. We’ll see as we keep reading one of the costs, as David tells his son Solomon:

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. (1 Chronicles 22.7, 8, ESV)

And, as always, just because a Bible character does something doesn’t mean it’s right. David is killing people and lying to Achish, that’s what the text says. There’s no commentary except perhaps in 1 Chronicles 22 and like passages, that David was doing the best thing.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8.28, NASB)

1 Samuel 26 records David’s last confrontation with Saul. You’d think that would have been in chapter 24 when David cuts Saul’s robe instead of Saul himself, and Saul admits his fault. But no. Saul is at it again:

Some Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Did you know that David is hiding out on the Hakilah Hill just opposite Jeshimon?” Saul was on his feet in a minute and on his way to the wilderness of Ziph, taking three thousand of his best men, the pick of the crop, to hunt for David in that wild desert. (1 Samuel 26.1, 2, MSG)

David finds Saul’s camp with the whole army asleep. He and Abishai go down:

David and Abishai entered the encampment by night, and there he was—Saul, stretched out asleep at the center of the camp, his spear stuck in the ground near his head, with Abner and the troops sound asleep on all sides. Abishai said, “This is the moment! God has put your enemy in your grasp. Let me nail him to the ground with his spear. One hit will do it, believe me; I won’t need a second!” But David said to Abishai, “Don’t you dare hurt him! Who could lay a hand on GOD’s anointed and even think of getting away with it? … As GOD lives, either GOD will strike him, or his time will come and he’ll die in bed, or he’ll fall in battle, but GOD forbid that I should lay a finger on GOD’s anointed. Now, grab the spear at his head and the water jug and let’s get out of here.” (1 Samuel 26.7 – 11, MSG)

David accuses Saul’s general, Abner, of dereliction of duty, and once again asks Saul why he continues pursuing David when David means him no harm. (1 Samuel 26.12 – 20) And Saul confesses…again:

Saul confessed, “I’ve sinned! Oh, come back, my dear son David! I won’t hurt you anymore. You’ve honored me this day, treating my life as most precious. And I’ve acted the fool—a moral dunce, a real clown.” David answered, “See what I have here? The king’s spear. Let one of your servants come and get it. It’s GOD’s business to decide what to do with each of us in regard to what’s right and who’s loyal. GOD put your life in my hands today, but I wasn’t willing to lift a finger against GOD’s anointed. Just as I honored your life today, may GOD honor my life and rescue me from all trouble.” Saul said to David, “Bless you, dear son David! Yes, do what you have to do! And, yes, succeed in all you attempt!” Then David went on his way, and Saul went home. (1 Samuel 26.21 – 25, MSG)

David knows that Saul’s repentance is insincere, and he decides to camp out in Philistine territory where our story will pick up. David never sees Saul again.

David thought to himself, “Sooner or later, Saul’s going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to Philistine country. Saul will count me a lost cause and quit hunting me down in every nook and cranny of Israel. I’ll be out of his reach for good.” So David left; he and his six hundred men went to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. (1 Samuel 27.1, 2, MSG)

With respect to Saul, there is effective repentance and pretend repentance. The Apostle Paul was clear in his letter to the Corinthians:

Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7.9, 10, NIV

David, in the meantime, has done the right thing to spare Saul. Look at Psalm 23.3. We all learned, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Here it is in The Living Bible:

He helps me do what honors him the most.

Indeed.

I wrote a few days ago that the challenge in David’s ordeal between being anointed the next king and becoming the next king is twofold: God must protect David’s life AND his reputation. 1 Samuel 25 is about protecting the reputation.

There was a wealthy rancher, Nabal, in the wilderness of Maon where David was, and David sent men to ask if Nabal might share some of his bounty with David and his men. After all, the men had been providing Nabal protection. Nabal refused, and David, perhaps tired of living as an outcast in desolate places, lost his cool:

David’s men got out of there and went back and told David what he had said. David said, “Strap on your swords!” They all strapped on their swords, David and his men, and set out, four hundred of them… “That sure was a waste, guarding everything this man had out in the wild so that nothing he had was lost—and now he rewards me with insults. A real slap in the face! May God do his worst to me if Nabal and every cur in his misbegotten brood isn’t dead meat by morning!” (1 Samuel 25.12, 13, 21, 22, MSG)

Not a good decision by David! You don’t build a good reputation by slaughtering wealthy Jewish ranchers. Fortunately, even though Nabal was a fool, his wife Abigail was not. She was not only wise, but she also was quick-acting:

Meanwhile, one of the young shepherds told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, what had happened: “David sent messengers from the backcountry to salute our master, but he tore into them with insults. Yet these men treated us very well…They formed a wall around us, protecting us day and night all the time we were out tending the sheep. Do something quickly because big trouble is ahead for our master and all of us…Abigail flew into action. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she had it all loaded on some donkeys.” (1 Samuel 25.14 – 18, MSG)

When Abigail meets David, we get a lesson in the art of persuasion. She explains why killing Nabal and everyone associated with him is not good…for David.

As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage, saying, “My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say. Don’t dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him…And now, my master, as GOD lives and as you live, GOD has kept you from this avenging murder…Forgive my presumption! But GOD is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights GOD’s battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you…When GOD completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder…” (Snippets of 1 Samuel 25.23 – 31, MSG)

Kudos to Abigail: wise and quick-acting. Kudos also to David, who accepts correction…from a woman. Not everyone in that time would have.

And David said, “Blessed be GOD, the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me! And blessed be your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and taking charge of looking out for me. A close call! As GOD lives, the God of Israel who kept me from hurting you, if you had not come as quickly as you did, stopping me in my tracks, by morning there would have been nothing left of Nabal but dead meat.” (1 Samuel 25.32 – 34, MSG)

A happy ending for David, and a temporary step-down for Abigail. She leaves life as the wife of a wealthy rancher to marry David, who, don’t forget, is still in the wilderness.

When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet. He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk. So she didn’t tell him anything of what she’d done until morning. But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story. Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma. About ten days later GOD finished him off and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead he said, “Blessed be GOD who has stood up for me against Nabal’s insults, kept me from an evil act, and let Nabal’s evil boomerang back on him.” Then David sent for Abigail to tell her that he wanted her for his wife. (1 Samuel 25.36 – 39, MSG)

As always, David records his thoughts in a psalm.

A David psalm, when he was out in the Judean wilderness.

God—you’re my God! I can’t get enough of you! I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts…I hold on to you for dear life, and you hold me steady as a post. Those who are out to get me are marked for doom, marked for death, bound for hell. (Psalm 63.Intro, 1, 8, 9, MSG)

King Saul is devoting his life to killing David because he irrationally believes that David is out to harm him. 1 Samuel 24 tells a different story.

When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, “David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi.” Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David’s men whispered to him, “Can you believe it? This is the day GOD was talking about when he said, ‘I’ll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.’ ” Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul’s royal robe. (1 Samuel 24.1 – 4, MSG)

David confronts Saul:

Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn’t. Look at the evidence! I’m not against you. I’m no rebel. I haven’t sinned against you, and yet you’re hunting me down to kill me. (1 Samuel 24.11, MSG)

Saul repents and acknowledges that David will be king:

When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, “Can this be the voice of my son David?” and he wept in loud sobs. “You’re the one in the right, not me…You’ve heaped good on me; I’ve dumped evil on you. And now you’ve done it again—treated me generously. GOD put me in your hands and you didn’t kill me…May GOD give you a bonus of blessings for what you’ve done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king…” (1 Samuel 24.16 – 20, MSG)

So David and Saul are reconciled, and David returns with Saul to serve him as before…Uh, no.

Then Saul went home and David and his men went up to their wilderness refuge. (1 Samuel 24.22, MSG)

Saul will be at it again in chapter 26. Jesus didn’t trust people either:

During the time [Jesus] was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn’t entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them. (John 2.23 – 25, MSG)

David leaves the Cave of Adullam and moves about in the wilderness. For example:

David continued to live in desert hideouts and the backcountry wilderness hills of Ziph. Saul was out looking for him day after day, but God never turned David over to him. David kept out of the way in the wilderness of Ziph, secluded at Horesh, since it was plain that Saul was determined to hunt him down. (1 Samuel 23.14, 15, MSG)

You should have an idea of the kind of area David was in.

Because of its lack of water and good routes, the Judean wilderness has been (mostly) uninhabited throughout history. Consequently it was an ideal place for those seeking refuge from enemies or retreat from the world. When on the run from King Saul, David hid in various places in the Judean wilderness (the Wilderness[es] of Ziph, Maon, and En Gedi are part of the Judean Wilderness). – https://www.bibleplaces.com/judeanwilderness/

David’s hiding was complicated by the fact that the folks who did live there were often eager to hand him over to Saul:

Some Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Did you know that David is hiding out near us in the caves and canyons of Horesh?…So whenever you’re ready to come down, we’d count it an honor to hand him over to the king.” Saul said, “GOD bless you for thinking about me! Now go back and check everything out. Learn his routines…Scout out all his hiding places. Then meet me at Nacon and I’ll go with you. If he is anywhere to be found in all the thousands of Judah, I’ll track him down!” So the Ziphites set out on their reconnaissance for Saul. Meanwhile, David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the desert south of Jeshimon. (1 Samuel 23.19 – 24, MSG)

Note: God is with David; he is NOT with Saul, despite Saul’s flippant use of God-talk: “God bless you for thinking of me!”

I wrote earlier that God had to protect David and his reputation, and he used various means to do it. In this case:

Saul and his men arrived and began their search. When David heard of it, he went south to Rock Mountain, camping out in the wilderness of Maon. Saul heard where he was and set off for the wilderness of Maon in pursuit. Saul was on one side of the mountain, David and his men on the other. David was in full retreat, running, with Saul and his men closing in, about to get him. Just then a messenger came to Saul and said, “Hurry! Come back! The Philistines have just attacked the country!” So Saul called off his pursuit of David and went back to deal with the Philistines. That’s how that place got the name Narrow Escape. (1 Samuel 23.25 – 28, MSG)

God can even use the enemy for his purposes!

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21.1, ESV)

And there’s a psalm:

A David psalm, when the Ziphites reported to Saul, “David is hiding out with us.”

God, for your sake, help me! Use your influence to clear me. Listen, God—I’m desperate. Don’t be too busy to hear me. Outlaws are out to get me, hit men are trying to kill me. Nothing will stop them; God means nothing to them. Oh, look! God’s right here helping! GOD’s on my side,…You got me out of every scrape, and I saw my enemies get it. (Psalm 54.Intro, 1 – 4, 7, MSG)

In my 20 years in the US Air Force, I observed two types of senior leaders. Some would come to a unit and immediately work on transferring in people they had worked with before. Within a year, these leaders would have formed a team with people they had worked with, and possibly trained, before. Others would come in and build a team with what they had. Both types of leaders could be effective, but I always admired those who could work with what they had. Not all of us have the luxury of bringing in a whole new team.

What kind of leader was David? What sort of team did he build?

So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all. (1 Samuel 22.1, 2, MSG)

“…losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader.” Wow.

Back to Saul, NOT hiding in a cave:

Saul got word of the whereabouts of David and his men. He was sitting under the big oak on the hill at Gibeah at the time, spear in hand, holding court surrounded by his officials. He said, “Listen here, you Benjaminites! Don’t think for a minute that you have any future with the son of Jesse! Do you think he’s going to hand over choice land, give you all influential jobs? Think again. Here you are, conspiring against me, whispering behind my back—not one of you is man enough to tell me that my own son is making deals with the son of Jesse, not one of you who cares enough to tell me that my son has taken the side of this, this… outlaw!” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, spoke up: “I saw the son of Jesse meet with Ahimelech son of Ahitub, in Nob. I saw Ahimelech pray with him for GOD’s guidance, give him food, and arm him with the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 22.6 – 10, MSG)

Recall that David lied to Ahimelech, who had no idea that David was on the run. No matter. Saul had Doeg kill him anyway, Ahimelech and his entire family except for his son Abiathar who escaped and joined David. (See 1 Samuel 22.11 – 22)

We have David’s reaction in Psalm 52:

A David psalm, when Doeg the Edomite reported to Saul, “David’s at Ahimelech’s house.”

Why do you brag of evil, “Big Man”? God’s mercy carries the day. You scheme catastrophe; your tongue cuts razor-sharp, artisan in lies. You love evil more than good, you call black white. God will tear you limb from limb…Pull you up by the roots from the land of life. Good people will watch and worship… And I’m an olive tree, growing green in God’s house. I trusted in the generous mercy of God then and now. (Psalm 52.Intro, 1 – 3, 5 – 8, MSG)

And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. (1 Samuel 22.2, ESV)

Yesterday we saw the start of David’s taking his departure from his friend Jonathan and fleeing from Saul. There are 11 chapters left in 1 Samuel, and most of them are taken up with various events in this cat-and-mouse game. The challenge is that not only must God preserve David’s life, but God also must preserve his reputation so that he can become king, starting a new dynasty. We’ll see, as is common in scripture, there is “no magic formula.” The means of deliverance are different every time.

He first goes to Ahimelech, the priest, who gives him the bread from the Tabernacle and Goliath’s sword when David tells him that he is on an urgent mission from King Saul (see 1 Samuel 21). Jesus even cites this event, referring to Ahimelech’s son Abiathar, who will join David’s band in the next chapter:

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” (Mark 2.23 – 26, ESV)

Then David goes to Achish, king of Gath, where, when recognized,  he feigns madness!

“Oh,” said David, “there’s no sword like that! Give it to me!” And at that, David shot out of there, running for his life from Saul. He went to Achish, king of Gath. When the servants of Achish saw him, they said, “Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances?

Saul kills by the thousand, David by the ten thousand!”

When David realized that he had been recognized, he panicked, fearing the worst from Achish, king of Gath. So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard. Achish took one look at him and said to his servants, “Can’t you see he’s crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don’t you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another? Get him out of here!” (1 Samuel 21.10 – 15, MSG)

An inauspicious start for David as he flees from Saul. He lies to the priest and then pretends to be crazy in the presence of Achish (referred to as “Abimelech” in Psalm 34’s introduction). Those are two ways to escape!

We continue to look at David’s reactions to these events.

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears…This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!…Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34. Introduction, 1 – 4, 6 – 8, 19, ESV)

David kills Goliath, and the Israelites win a great victory, BUT David’s relationship with Saul is poisoned beyond repair:

As they returned home, after David had killed the Philistine, the women poured out of all the villages of Israel singing and dancing, welcoming King Saul with tambourines, festive songs, and lutes. In playful frolic the women sang, Saul kills by the thousand, David by the ten thousand! This made Saul angry—very angry. He took it as a personal insult. He said, “They credit David with ‘ten thousands’ and me with only ‘thousands.’ Before you know it they’ll be giving him the kingdom!” From that moment on, Saul kept his eye on David. (1 Samuel 18.6 – 9, MSG)

Saul attempts to kill David twice. (You have to wonder why a guy has a spear in his hand while sitting in his own home!)

The next day an ugly mood was sent by God to afflict Saul, who became quite beside himself, raving. David played his harp, as he usually did at such times. Saul had a spear in his hand. Suddenly Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall.” David ducked, and the spear missed. This happened twice. (1 Samuel 18.10 – 11, MSG)

Saul keeps sending David into battle hoping the Philistines will kill him. That doesn’t work, and chapter 19 opens with Saul ordering his servants to kill David, but Jonathan talks his father out of it.

Saul listened to Jonathan and said, “You’re right. As GOD lives, David lives. He will not be killed.” (1 Samuel 19.6, MSG)

But Saul gets into another bad mood, throws his spear again, and David escapes out the window of his house at night. Good thing, because Saul sent soldiers to kill him the next morning. David goes to Samuel in Ramah, and Saul sends men to kill him there, without success (1 Samuel 19.9 – 23).

Jonathan and David are good friends, but Jonathan seems to have a hard time understanding that his father is trying to kill David:

David got out of Naioth in Ramah alive and went to Jonathan. “What do I do now? What wrong have I inflicted on your father that makes him so determined to kill me?” “Nothing,” said Jonathan. “You’ve done nothing wrong. And you’re not going to die. Really, you’re not! My father tells me everything. He does nothing, whether big or little, without confiding in me. So why would he do this behind my back? It can’t be.” But David said, “Your father knows that we are the best of friends. So he says to himself, ‘Jonathan must know nothing of this. If he does, he’ll side with David.’ But it’s true—as sure as GOD lives, and as sure as you’re alive before me right now—he’s determined to kill me.” (1 Samuel 20.1 – 3, MSG)

So the two devise a plan for Jonathan to discern his father’s intentions. David stays away during an important series of feast days, and we have this exchange:

But the day after the New Moon, day two of the holiday, David’s seat was still empty. Saul asked Jonathan his son, “So where’s that son of Jesse? He hasn’t eaten with us either yesterday or today.” Jonathan said, “David asked my special permission to go to Bethlehem…That’s why he’s not here at the king’s table.” Saul exploded in anger at Jonathan: “You son of a slut! Don’t you think I know that you’re in cahoots with the son of Jesse, disgracing both you and your mother?… Now go get him. Bring him here. From this moment, he’s as good as dead!” Jonathan stood up to his father. “Why dead? What’s he done?” Saul threw his spear at him to kill him. That convinced Jonathan that his father was fixated on killing David. (1 Samuel 20.27 – 33, MSG)

Duh. Saul tries to spear Jonathan, too. “That convinced Jonathan…” He reports to David, and David begins his exile.

Jonathan said, “Go in peace! The two of us have vowed friendship in GOD’s name, saying, ‘GOD will be the bond between me and you, and between my children and your children forever!'” David went on his way and Jonathan returned to town. David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the Priest. (1 Samuel 20.42 – 21.1, MSG)

How would it feel to be anointed the next king and then have to run for your life from the present king who is a lunatic? A good question, but we don’t have to wonder. David has left us a record of how he feels in the Psalms. We’ll try to match them up as we go along.

To the choirmaster: according to “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me…But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. (Psalm 59. Introduction, verses 1 – 3…16 – 17, ESV)

The annual extravaganza known as March Madness, or the NCAA Basketball Tournament is over. It’s always a fun event although I must admit I found that watching games between teams I didn’t care anything about was boring. BUT, there is always excellence, and excellence should be honored.

There were the usual surprises. My school, Clemson, actually won three games – a shocker! Kentucky, a perennial contender, 3-seed this year, got bumped in the first round by Oakland University (who?), a 14-seed. Turns out they had a graduate student, Jack Gohlke, who could shoot 3-pointers. They almost won their second game which went into overtime before NC State finally prevailed. NC State ended up going to the Final Four.

That’s what makes the tournament fun: teams and players you’ve never heard of and may never hear of again have their moment in the sun. Speaking of, one fun highlight reel was Audie Crooks, the freshman center for the Iowa State Women, 6′ 3″ tall but twice as wide as anyone on the court poured in 40 points to lead a come-from-behind effort against Maryland. She’s won three state titles in…wait for it…shot put.

And while we’re on the women’s game, all eyes were on Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa who broke all scoring records this year. To get to the Final Four, Iowa had to beat LSU, who beat them in last year’s championship game. Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal wrote a beautiful summary of that game. Here are a few snippets:

If you left me alone in a well-lit gym for the next 800 years, I could not do what Caitlin Clark did Monday night [April 1] versus LSU.

Sure, I could probably score a few points, dribbling around by myself. I could hit a few layups, maybe nail a jumper or two, throw up a 3-pointer and have it plummet like a dead goose through the net. I’ve been getting into shape—I’m confident I could run up and down the court at least four times before I stopped to call a doctor and a priest.

But to pull off what Clark pulled off, in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA women’s tournament, amid absurd hype and crushing expectations, against a fired-up rival and defending champion, the abrupt end of her historic, record-setting college career looming? 

…She’s bent the boundaries and angles of women’s basketball, with her extreme shooting and peerless vision. She takes five shots a game that would get mortals benched for the rest of the season, and hits at least three.

…I worship the passes—the full-court transition bombs; the crisp bouncers to a cutter running at the basket; the no-look, over-the-shoulder darts…

Let’s review the numbers versus LSU: 40 minutes (she played every minute), 41 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, one block and 9 of 20 from the 3-point line and beyond. – Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2024

Here are Caitlin Clark’s highlights from that game, worth the four minutes if you admire artistry. (She’s #22 in white.)

They got by UConn in the Final Four and lost the championship game, this year, to the best team in basketball, the University of South Carolina. It’s said that South Carolina’s second string is better than most team’s starters. Carolina finished the season 38 – 0. After the game, coach Dawn Staley had special words of praise for Caitlin Clark and appreciation for “lifting up our sport.”

Caitlin exited the arena, head high, smiling, flashing the heart sign to her fans.

On the men’s side, UConn took on Purdue, where both teams have centers over 7 feet tall. Purdue’s Zach Edey was college men’s player of the year, and he scored a game-high 37 points. But Purdue lost 75 – 60, just as Iowa lost with Caitlin Clark, women’s player of the year being the game’s leading scorer. Proving, once again, that great teams often beat teams with great players.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. (Philippians 1.27, ESV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9.24 – 27, ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12.1, 2, ESV)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4.7, ESV)

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7.2, ESV)

Because we didn’t follow our original plan to drive to my daughter’s lake house in Arkansas for the eclipse, on Saturday, I was able to attend the memorial service for my friend Mike Schmid who passed on his 72nd birthday, March 5, 2024. I’ve written about Mike before.

Mike Schmid with his wife Lorelei.

Here are some highlights from the memorial service, conducted by my friend Tom Anthony. When Tom moved back to the Colorado Springs area after a few years on staff at Max Lucado’s church in San Antonio, Texas, he was on staff at the large church Mike was attending. I’m proud to say that I connected them, and it became a fruitful relationship for both.

• Mike became a believer at the Air Force Academy, and one of his colleagues there was Harry Durgin who spoke. Harry pulled out a Navigator memory verse card and said, “We’ve always been big on scripture memory. Here’s the scripture; I’ve lost the memory! Sorry Mike.”
• Jerry White, President Emeritus of The Navigators explained how Mike came to Christ:

Mike came to my Navigator Bible class at the Air Force Academy, thinking it was on navigating an airplane. Then he saw me, as a young major, teaching the Bible. He soon came to faith, influenced by other cadets.

• Jerry also said something that could be an answer to a question I’ve asked frequently lately: “Why does God take the good ones so early?” Jerry quoted Genesis 5.24:

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. (Genesis 5.24, NKJV)

• Finally, Tom led us in a meditation on Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3.14 – 21, which I’ll share shortly. He said Mike’s main takeaway from his four-year battle with cancer was that God loved him. We often say something like “We serve God because we love God,” and that’s true. But Mike came to believe:

God wants my love more than he wants my service.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that they experience God’s love. As Tom said, “A deep, relational, down-to-the-core love.” I close with Paul’s prayer, which was read at the beginning of the service and three times during Tom’s remarks:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches

• he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
• so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
• And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
• to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ
• to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
• that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3.14 – 21, NIV, parsed for clarity)