David's Victory over the Amalekites

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 30:1) And it came to pass, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag and struck Ziklag and burned it with fire, (2) And had taken the women captives, those who were there; they did not kill any, either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way.

In the last chapter and post, David had left his home in Ziklag and had gone with Achish to fight against the Philistines' enemy which was Saul and the Israelites.  The Philistine princes did not trust David to fight for them, so the king had sent him back to his home.  It seems David had been gone only three days, or perhaps it was the third day of his trip back to Ziklag, when he came back to find that the Amalekites had invaded Ziklag and burned it, and they had taken all the women who were left there, young and old, as captives, but they did not kill them.  While living in Ziklag, David had gone out and struck the Amalekites, killing every one of them (1 Samuel 27:8-9), so these Amalekites were probably a wandering band of raiders, the ones mentioned in 1 Chronicles 12:21.  They had struck Ziklag and the south, which judging from this map borrowed from Braman's Wanderings, was probably Israelite territory:

(3) So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. (4) Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep. (5) And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

When David and his men came to Ziklag and saw the destruction and that all their wives and children had been taken, they shrieked and cried until they had no more tears to cry.  David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail were also taken.

(6) And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters, but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

David was greatly distressed, not only because of what had happened, but also because the men spoke of stoning him, blaming him for what had happened to their families.  He was the one who had provoked the Amalekites in the first place, and then he chose to go with Achish and bring his men with him, leaving their families defenseless.  David turned to the Lord for encouragement.

(7) And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "I pray you, bring me here the ephod." And Abiathar brought there the ephod to David. (8) And David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail, recover all."

Abiathar had undoubtedly been with David and his men as he would have otherwise been carried away with the women and children.  David asked him to bring him the ephod in which were the Urim and Thummim, something akin to lots that were cast to determine the will of God.  David asked the Lord if he should pursue the band of raiders, and if he would overtake them.  Had David been consulting the Lord before this, he probably wouldn't have been in the trouble he was now, but the Lord was merciful to him and told him to pursue the Amalekites, that he would overtake them, and would recover everyone.

(9) So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. (10) But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred abode behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

I would have thought that the number of his army would have grown by now as the men from Manasseh had joined him (1 Chronicles 12:19-20), but I suppose 600 was a rounded number.  The Besor Brook was south of Ziklag as seen on the map above.  200 of his men were so faint after all they had been through that they stayed behind at the Besor Brook, and David and 400 men went on after the band of Amalekites. 

(11) And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water, (12) And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him, for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk water, three days and three nights.

Some of David's men found an Egyptian in the field, and they brought him to David.  He was apparently very faint from hunger as he had not eaten for three days and nights.  They gave him food and water, and he was revived.

(13) And David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me because three days ago I fell sick."

David asked the Egyptian where he came from and to whom he belonged.  He told him he had been a servant to an Amalekite who just left him there to die because he fell sick three days prior.

(14) "We made an invasion on the south of the Cherethites, and on what belongs to Judah, and on the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."

The Egyptian servant then went on to tell David what he and his master's party had done.  They had made an invasion south of the Cherethites, which were probably a group within the Philistines, on what belonged to Judah, on the south of Caleb which included Hebron seen on the map above, and he admitted they had burned Ziklag.

(15) And David said to him, "Can you bring me down to this company?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this company."

David asked the Egyptian if he would take him to the company he had been with when they did all he had described.  The Egyptian said he would take him if he would swear not to kill him or take him back to his master.  Apparently, David agreed:

(16) And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and out of the land of Judah.

The Egyptian brought David and his men to where the band of Amalekites were.  They were at ease spread across the land, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from Ziklag in the land of the Philistines and from Judah.

(17) And David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

David and his men struck the Amalekites for apparently over 24 hours, and there must have been a very great number of them they destroyed, for the scriptures reads that none of them escaped except 400 who rode away on camels.  400 is no small number, considering that was the number of David's army that attacked them, and the way scripture is worded that not a man of them escaped except 400, certainly sounds like there must have been initially a very great number of them.

(18) And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives.

David and his men recovered all that the Amalekites had taken from them, and David also rescued his two wives.

(19) And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken from them; David recovered all. (20) And David took all the flocks and the herds they drove before those other cattle, and said, "This is David's spoil."

David and his men had recovered everything that was taken from them.  Nothing or no one was missing.  I believe the sense of verse 20 is that in addition to their own flocks and herds that the Amalekites had taken from them, David also took the herds that the Amalekites had before they stole from Ziklag, considering them spoil from the battle.

(21) And David came to the two hundred men who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to abide at the brook Besor, and they went forth to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.

David and his men came back to the 200 men who had not gone with them to fight the Amalekites because they had been too faint to fight.  They had evidently been told to stay there at the Besor Brook and probably look after any personal supplies they had taken with them when they had left Ziklag and had gone with Achish.  They came forward to meet David upon his return from battling the Amalekites, and David saluted them.

(22) Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those who went with David, and said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart."

Then some of David's men who had gone with him to fight the Amalekites, with selfish and greedy hearts, men of Belial, which meant wicked and morally worthless, said they did not want to give the 200 men any of the spoil because they had not gone with them to fight the Amalekites.  They wanted them to take what was originally theirs that was recovered and just leave.

(23) Then said David, "You shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord has given us, who has preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. (24) For who will hearken to you in this matter? But as his part who goes down to the battle, so his part who tarries by the stuff; they shall part alike."

David told the men they would not be allowed to do as they wished in that matter, for after all, it was the Lord who had delivered the Amalekites into their hands and therefore provided them with the spoil.  It was not theirs to decide who would receive of it and who wouldn't.  David resolved that as some men did their part in going to battle, it was just as important to have men doing their part to guard their supplies, and that all the men would share in the spoil.

(25) And it was from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. (26) And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord."

So it was from that time forward, that he who stayed at home and defended home and property had an equal right to share in the spoils of war as the one who went to battle.  Then David went even further and sent some of the spoil to elders of Judah whom he considered friends, who had been kind to him when he had sojourned among them.  He told them it was a present of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord, not his personal enemies, but enemies of the Lord and all His people.

(27) To those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in south Ramoth, and to those who were in Jattir, (28) And to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, (29) And to those who were in Rachal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, (30) And to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Chorashan, and to those who were in Athach, (31) And to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to rove.

There must have been a very large spoil as it was not only shared with all six hundred of his men, but also with those who were most likely elders, as with the elders of Judah, and friends, to all those who had sheltered and relieved him and his men in the times of their distress.  Six hundred men in one place could have been quite an imposition on the inhabitants, and David showed his gratitude to them by sharing his spoil.

God is My Rock and My Fortress

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:7) And it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he is shut in by entering into a town that has gates and bars."

David had come out of hiding to fight against the Philistines in Keilah.  When Saul heard that David was in Keilah, he saw it as a good thing because the city was surrounded by gates and bars, and David would be shut in.  However, it had been God who told David to go to Keilah to save them from the Philistines.

(8) And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

Saul called all the people to war.  Saul had a huge army of subjects except for those 400 who were disgruntled with Saul and had joined David (1 Samuel 22:2).  Saul called for his people to go to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

(9) And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring here the ephod."

David knew that Saul was secretly scheming against him, as he always was.  He told Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, the only priest to have escaped Saul's slaughter in Nob, to bring the ephod with which he might inquire of the Lord on his behalf.

(10) Then said David, "O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. (11) Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech You, tell Your servant." And the Lord said, "He will come down."

David cried out to the Lord that he had heard Saul was coming to Keilah and that he would destroy the whole city just to get David.  He asked the Lord if the men of Keilah would deliver him into Saul's hand to save their city.  He asked if Saul would indeed come to Keilah, and the Lord answered through means of the Urim and Thummim in the high priest's ephod that Saul would indeed come.

(12) Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And the Lord said, "They will deliver you up."

David then repeated his other question about whether or not the men of Keilah would deliver him into Saul's hands.  The Lord said that they indeed would, which is sad considering David had just saved them from the Philistines.

(13) Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah and went wherever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, and he ceased to go forth.

It appears that David's band had now grown to 600, and they all departed out of Keilah because the Lord had said that the men of Keilah would deliver David into Saul's hands if they stayed.  They went wherever they could go, where they might feel safe from Saul.  When Saul heard that David had left Keilah, he did not go there.

David had been forced to run away again because Saul pursued him.  My chronological study suggests that David may have composed the following psalm at that time:

(Psalm 31:1) (To the chief musician, a Psalm of David) In You, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in your righteousness.

I can't imagine that at times like these, David would be thinking of how the chief musician was to play his songs, so I have to believe that he referred to this and other psalms later when he was in a position to direct songs of worship.  David began this psalm by telling the Lord that he put his trust in Him.  He wanted never to be ashamed.  That can have so many different meanings.  May the Lord keep him from sinning so that he be not ashamed of his sin.  May he never be ashamed to publicly declare and call on his Lord.  May the Lord deliver him so that he never be ashamed of having trusted in the Lord.  It's not that David would ever be ashamed of his faith in the Lord, but I believe it was a way of saying let his victory be so that his enemy would never have occasion to try to shame him because of his faith in the Lord.  David prayed for deliverance because the Lord was righteous, not because there was any righteousness in him.

(2) Bow down Your ear to me; deliver me speedily; be my strong rock for a house of defense to save me.

David implored the Lord to hear his need and deliver him quickly as he must have felt he was in immediate danger.  He prayed that his Lord be his strong defense and protection against his enemies in order to save him.

(3) For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore for Your name's sake lead me and guide me.

David declared that the Lord was indeed his strong defense and protection.  For the sake of the Lord's own honor, David prayed that the Lord lead him and guide him in ways that would honor his Lord.  Let him always be a good witness for the Lord.

(4) Pull me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for You are my strength.

David prayed that the Lord deliver him out of the trap his enemies had secretly laid for him, for it was the Lord upon whom David depended on to be his strength in his time of trouble.

(5) Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

David vowed that he had committed his soul into the hand of his Lord and Savior because He alone had redeemed him.  These were the prophetic words that Jesus would later cry on the cross (Luke 23:46) right before He breathed His last breath.  Through His plan for Jesus Christ taking upon Himself the sin of the world, David was redeemed as would all Christians be.

(6) I have hated them who regard lying vanities, but I trust in the Lord.

As Jesus would say in Matthew 6:24, no man can serve two masters; he will naturally love one and hate the other.  David said he hated those who followed the deceitful vanities, as idols were often called.  He trusted and served only the Lord as his Master.

(7) I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, (8) And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large room.

David would always be glad, joyful, because of the Lord's love and mercy.  The Lord had always been merciful to David in his troubles; He had seen and known him in all circumstances of his life.  Nothing takes God by surprise; He is in control even in the midst of adversity.  Indeed, the Lord had not allowed David to be completely shut off by his enemies with no way to escape.  He had set his feet in a large space, making him free to escape his enemies.

(9) Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye is consumed with grief, my soul and my belly.

David prayed for mercy because of the trouble he was in, and his eyes were probably full of tears.  He was consumed with grief, in his belly where one feels strong emotion, and in his very soul.

(10) For my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

David felt that his whole life was consumed with grief and his time was spent in sighing or groaning because of grief.  He said his strength, his ability, failed because of his iniquity.  David had praised the Lord for His mercy and protection, so perhaps the iniquity he speaks of is his lack of faith in his present situation.  The Lord had always delivered him out of the hand of the enemy, so his lack of strength may have been because he was letting his grief overcome his faith that the Lord would again deliver him.  His body had given way under his excessive grief.

(11) I was a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to my acquaintances; they who saw me outside fled from me.

David was reviled by his enemies, but even more so by his neighbors, and he was a fear to his acquaintances when he came out of hiding.  Indeed, this could be said of the men of Keilah who would have delivered him into the hand of Saul if he had stayed there.  Ahimelech had been fearful when David approached him alone.  He had become a reproach to everyone.

(12) I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

A man who was once very alive and virile and held in high regard by all was now forgotten as if he were dead.  He was out of sight and out of mind.  He was like a broken vessel, useless and irreparable.

(13) For I have heard the slander of many, fear on every side; while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

David had heard the slander and lies from all sides, from enemies and neighbors.  He feared everyone from all sides as they schemed together against him and devised ways to take away his life.

(14) But I trusted in You, O Lord; I said, "You are my God."

David had always trusted God, and it seemed his faith was revived again under all the discouraging views he had of things.

(15) My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

David acknowledged that the times of his life and death were all in God's hand.  He prayed that God deliver him once more from the hand of his enemies and those who persecuted him and sought his life.

(16) Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies' sake.

David prayed for the presence of God in his life, with all His love, mercy, and blessings.  These are the words of the blessing that Aaron was instructed to give to the children of Israel in Numbers 6:25, "The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you..."  David asked the Lord to save him, not for his own iniquitous sake, but for His mercies' sake, because of who He was and because He was so loving and merciful to sinners.

(17) Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; let the wicked be ashamed, let them be silent in the grave.

Once again, David prayed that he never be ashamed to publicly declare and call on his Lord.  May the Lord deliver him so that he would never be viewed as ashamed of having trusted in the Lord.  Rather let the wicked be ashamed because they did not trust in Him.  Let the wicked be silenced in their graves so that they did not triumph in their wicked ways.

(18) Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

David continued to pray that those lying lips of the arrogant wicked who so proudly and contemptuously slandered the righteous, be put to silence, in their graves, if must be.

(19) How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for them who trust in You before the sons of men!

How great is the Lord's goodness which He has laid up as treasure to be used for those who reverently fear and follow Him.  The greatest single goodness that the Lord wrought was planned and created by Him from the beginning, in the human form of Jesus Christ who made a way for all who trusted in Him to be saved, even in the midst of a wicked world.

(20) You shall hide them in the secret of Your presence from the pride of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

I get a picture of the Lord hiding His people under His mighty wings of protection from the arrogant pride of wicked men.  He shall protect them and keep them in the safety of His tent, away from contentious and slandering tongues.  To quote Paul in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Even David said in another one of his psalms, "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me." (Psalm 56:4)

(21) Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city.

When we are blessed by the Lord, we are divinely favored and fortunate to have what we have.  When we bless the Lord, it's in adoration, reverence, worship, and thanksgiving.  David worshiped his Lord in thanksgiving for His marvelous kindness to him in a strong city, which may have referred to Keilah where he was walled in by gates and bars.  The Lord had led him out of there.

(22) For I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before Your eyes;" nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to You.

In his first knee-jerk reaction David felt he had fallen into his enemies' hands; he had not held strong to his faith in God to deliver him.  Yet, even in his weakness, when he cried out to God, He heard him.

(23) O love the Lord, all you His saints, for the Lord preserves the faithful and plentifully rewards the proud doer.

David called on all the Lord's children, His followers, the Christians, to love the Lord for His goodness and providence.  The Lord always preserved His faithful, if not in this life, always in the next in eternity, and He justly rewarded the proud evil-doers.

(24) Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

David called on those who had their hope in the Lord to be encouraged that He would not leave or forsake them, but would strengthen their hearts, keeping them from being disheartened.  Give the Lord all you can, and He will meet you where you are and carry you through.  It reminds me of the man who brought his son to Jesus because he was possessed by an evil spirit (Mark 9:17).  Jesus told him if he believed, all things were possible, meaning even the healing of his son.  The man cried out, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, and He will give you more of what you need.

David Delivers Keilah and Abiathar Escapes to Tell David About the Slaughter of the Priests at Nob

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:1) Then they told David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors."

Before an interlude of psalms, Saul had Ahimelech and all the priests at Nob killed because he thought Ahimelech had conspired with David against him.  In fact, he had his servant Doeg kill all the people in Nob, even women, children, babies, and animals.  David had returned to Judah, and now he heard that the Philistines were fighting against Keilah, a city in Judah.  They were robbing the corn or grain that had been collected to thresh and winnow.

(2) Therefore David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and strike the Philistines and save Keilah."

When David heard the news, he asked the Lord if he should go strike the Philistines.  Normally, David would not have hesitated to help his countrymen, but he was no longer under commission from King Saul and did not have a large army, besides the fact that it might be foolish for him to come out of hiding when Saul was looking to kill him.  However, the Lord told him to go and save Keilah from the Philistines.

(3) And David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" (4) Then David enquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."

There were just four hundred men with David (1 Samuel 22:2), and they were afraid of Saul there in Judah because they had joined David.  They were even much more afraid of going out to fight the Philistines with so few men.  For the sake of his men, David again asked the Lord if they should all go against the Philistines in Keilah, and the Lord told him to go, and He would deliver the Philistines into his hand.  That was encouragement to the men.

(5) So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle, and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

So David and his army of four hundred men went to Keilah where they defeated the Philistines and brought away their cattle, which probably meant they were theirs to begin with, and the Philistines had taken them, and now they brought them back.  Thus David had saved Keilah, or more precisely, the Lord had saved Keilah by delivering the Philistines into David's hand.

(1 Samuel 22:20) And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 

Meanwhile, one of the sons of Ahimelech the priest at Nob, escaped the slaughter and came to David.

(1 Samuel 23:6) And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

Abiathar came to David in Keilah carrying an ephod in his hand, the garment that the high priest wore.

(1 Samuel 22:21) And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests. 

Abiathar told David about how Saul had killed the Lord's priests at Nob.

(22) And David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house."

David told Abiathar that when he had seen Doeg there in Nob, he knew he would tell Saul.  Although it was never his intention, he told Abiathar that he was the cause of his family's deaths.

(23) "Abide with me; fear not, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you are in safeguard."

David told Abiathar to remain with him because he, too, was in danger of being killed by Saul.  Actually, he realized that Saul's enmity against Abiathar was because of his hatred against himself, so David would defend the life of Abiathar as he defended his own life.

Jesus Calls Matthew and Teaches the Spirit of the Law

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 2:1) And again He entered into Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.

At the end of the last chapter, Mark said that the fame of Jesus had grown so much that He could no longer stay in the city, but had to stay in the wilderness.  It appears that after some days He did come back into the city of Capernaum.  Although I am sure He came privately, it was soon heard that He was back in the house, which would have been Peter's house.

(2) And immediately many were gathered together so that there was no room to receive them, no, not even at the door. And He preached the word to them.

As soon as word got out that Jesus was there, there gathered so many people that there was no room for them in the house, not even about the door.  Jesus preached to the people.

(3) And they came to Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, who was carried by four men.

Four men carrying a man sick of the palsy, or paralysis, on a mat or bed as told by Matthew in Matthew 9:2, attempted to come to Jesus in the house.

(4) And when they could not come near to Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was, and when they had broken through, they let down the bed where the paralytic lay.

When the men carrying the paralytic saw that they could not get near to Jesus because of the crowd of people, they uncovered the roof above where Jesus was preaching.  When they had uncovered a large enough area, they let the paralyzed man on his bed down through the opening.

(5) When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

When Jesus saw the great faith of the men in that they would work so hard to get the paralyzed man to Him, knowing He could cure Him, He said to the paralytic that his sins were forgiven.

(6) But there were certain scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, (7) "Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?"

There were some scribes in the crowd who, upon hearing Jesus's words, began to reason and question within their hearts about why "this man" would speak such blasphemies; after all, only God could forgive sins!

(8) And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?"

Jesus, demonstrating one of His Godly abilities, showing that He knew what they were thinking, asked the scribes why it was that they questioned within their hearts the things they heard Jesus say.

(9) "Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your bed, and walk'?"

Jesus continued to speak to the scribes questioning within their hearts, and asked them which was easier for Him to say to the paralytic, that his sins were forgiven, or telling him to get up, take up his bed, and walk, thus suggesting (actually proving) to them that He could do either, or both, for that matter.

(10) "But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins," (He said to the paralytic), (11) "I say to you, arise, and take up your bed, and go your way to your house."

Then telling the scribes that He would show them that He indeed had the power on earth to forgive sins, and to heal the man, He told the paralytic to rise up, take up his bed, and go to his house.

(12) And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything in this manner."

Indeed, the paralyzed man rose up, being completely healed from his paralysis, and took up his bed and walked out before all the people.  They were all amazed and glorified God, and said they had never witnessed anything like that before.

(13) And He went forth again by the seaside, and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.

Jesus then went out again by the seaside of the Sea of Galilee, or Tiberius, as it was called at Capernaum, and a multitude of people came to Him there, and He taught them.

(14) And as He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt office of customs, and said to him, "Follow Me." And he arose and followed Him.

Jesus passed by the tax office, and saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting in the office.  Jesus called to him to follow Him, and he immediately did.  Levi was also called Matthew, as men often had two names in those days, and sometimes names were added to distinguish men with the same names from each other.  Interestingly, as I am noticing for the first time, Levi was called the son of Alphaeus.  In Matthew 10:2-4, the second James (not the son of Zebedee) was called the son of Alphaeus.  It would appear that Matthew and James were brothers.  However, as the scriptures often point out the sets of brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John, it never pairs Matthew and James together, so these were probably sons of two different Alphaeuses.  These people known by only one name can be very confusing!  Nothing is as confusing as all the Marys!  

(15) And it came to pass that as Jesus sat at the meal in his house, many publicans and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples for there were many, and they followed Him.

The account in Luke tells us that Matthew made a great feast in honor of Jesus, and that is where Jesus sat.  As Matthew had been a tax collector, it is reasonable to expect his friends also at the feast to be in the same line of work.  Therefore, Jesus and His disciples sat among many tax men and sinners for many had followed Him into the feast.

(16) And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with publicans and sinners?"

When the scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus eating with publicans, whom they looked upon as lowlifes and sinners, and Gentiles whom all called sinners, they asked His disciples why He did such a thing.

(17) When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "They who are whole have no need of the physician, but they who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

When Jesus heard what the scribes and Pharisees were asking His disciples, He told them that He was with the people who needed Him.  The righteous did not need His healing, but the sinners did.

(18) And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

At that time the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came to Jesus and asked why it was that His disciples did not fast as they did.  In the beginning, all the questions of the Pharisees were not necessarily bad.  They had more knowledge so as to ask more questions.  It's what they did with the answers in their hearts that mattered and began to show later.

(19) And Jesus said to them, "Can the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast."

Jesus said that the bride and bridesmaids of the bride chamber could not be expected to fast when the bridegroom and the time of the wedding had come.  That was a time of celebration, not fasting.  As Jesus was considered the bridegroom with the church as His bride, His analogy, of course, meant that while He was present with them, it was a time for celebration, not fasting.

(20) "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."

Jesus went on to say that there would come a time when He the bridegroom would be taken away, and then it would be a time for fasting.

(21) "No one also sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment, or else the new piece that filled it pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse."

Sewing a new unwashed and unworn piece of cloth on an old garment would not work because the new piece would shrink and pull away from the old fabric and cause a bigger tear.  Jesus's point was that now that He was here, some rules did not fit.  Bringing the new for the people Messiah into the scene did not fit for the old ways of fasting, but for joy and celebration, a new thing now that their much anticipated Messiah was there.

(22) And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine bursts the wineskins and the wine is spilled and the wineskins will be ruined; but new wine must be put into new wineskins."

Likewise, Jesus said that new wine could not be put into an old wineskin for it would burst the old skin; it must be put into a new wineskin.  This new thing with Jesus now on earth among men called for a new way.  That is not to say that Jesus came to change the old law; He didn't, but He did come to teach the spirit of the law and to do away with the legalistic laws of man.  Another way to look at this is that Jesus bringing His message of repentance and salvation to the old scribes and Pharisees would only fill them with rage and fury to the point they burst, metaphorically.  This new testament was better received by sinners who would be new Christians.

(23) And it came to pass that when He went through the cornfields on the sabbath day, and His disciples began as they went to pluck the ears of corn, (24) The Pharisees said to Him, "Behold, why do they do on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?"

Then came the time when Jesus and His disciples walked through the cornfields on the sabbath day, and His disciples began to pluck ears of corn.  The Pharisees asked Jesus why it was that His disciples did that which was not lawful for them to do on the Sabbath.

(25) And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and those with him? (26) How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to them who were with him?"

Jesus asked the Pharisees if they had ever read about David, the man after God's own heart, when he was hungry and in need of food, had no difficulty in eating the shewbread, which by law was meant only for the priests and their families.  He not only ate it, but gave some to those who accompanied him.  I like the way Matthew Henry put it, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "Ritual observances must give way to moral obligations; and that may be done in a case of necessity, which otherwise may not be done."  God is love, and His laws were made to teach us how to love God, our neighbors, and our parents and authority.  When we become so legalistic and strict about the letter of the law that we cease to love and actually hurt people because of it, then that law should give way to love and moral obligations.  

(27) And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

Jesus went on to tell them that the Sabbath was made for man, for his good and not for his hurt, a day of rest for both his body and his soul.  Man was not made for the Sabbath of which laws he must obey even at the cost of hurting himself and others.  I can't help but think of environmental laws we have on the books that would save a tiny reptile at the expense of denying people water.  There is a moral order to things, and people are more important than animals that God put on earth for man.  A baby's life is more important than the convenience of its mother.  Doctors and hospitals must work on the Sabbath in order to save lives.

(28) "Therefore, the Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

Jesus the Messiah, God on earth, the Supreme lawgiver, who made all things, had the right to dispense with any law He had made.  In this case, it's not so much that He was dispensing with the law, but He taught the spirit of the law, and how it was meant for the good of man.  Therefore, plucking and eating a few ears of corn on the Sabbath when they were hungry, especially when you consider their jobs were ministry and not tending farms and preparing food, was not a sinful act.