Today is the 21st day of May. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. Little scratchy. Little scratchy in my throat today. I hope you can bear with me. Because I'm showing up. You've shown up.

We're showing up for each other.

We're in this together.

As we take the next step forward on our journey forward through the scriptures this year,

we're in First Samuel.

We're going to conclude 1st Samuel today.

And with that, kind of conclude the story of Samuel,

but also then Israel's first king, Saul,

and then David, how he gets enmeshed in that story.

And then when we move into second Samuel, we'll be focusing on David.

But that is in front of us.

And what is before us now is concluding first Samuel with chapters 29, 30, and 31.

The Philistines gathered all their forces at Afeck, and Israel camped by the spring in

Jesrael.

As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands,

David and his men were marching at the rear with Aikish.

The commanders of the Philistines asked,

What about these Hebrews?

Aikish replied, is this not David,

"'who was an officer of Saul, king of Israel?

"'He has already been with me for over a year,

"'and from the day he left Saul until now,

...