I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

    We see in this passage the beginnings of how David built his power base. While David was in the wilderness hiding from Saul he had gathered men who followed him. In order to support those men, David could have turned bandit, stealing supplies from the wealthy. Instead of doing so, David set his men to protecting the property of men like Nabal from bandits. David then expected the men whose property his men had protected to provide them with some support. Over time, the majority of people to whom David provided such protection would have become fond of David.
    The root of David’s power base contrasts with that of Saul. David rose to power by building good will among powerful people. Saul had risen to power on the basis of raising and leading an army to defeat a cruel enemy of the Israelite people. Saul’s power relied on his control of the army. As a result, he viewed anyone else who developed a power base as a threat. David, on the other hand, was always dependent on maintaining the loyalty of various people who controlled independent power bases.