Some of his men overheard him as he said this to himself, and three of his brave soldiers left the cave where they were hiding, and broke through the enemy's lines and brought back a drink of the water to David. But when David saw them all bleeding from the wounds which they had received, he would not drink the water which they brought, because it had cost so much in the blood of his men.
So he poured it out upon the ground as an offering to God of something very sacred and precious, and as a way of showing his friends that he prized their love more than the water for which he longed.
From an old photograph in the possession of the Springfield Public Library, and used by kind permission.
It was here that perhaps the oldest city in Palestine was built. The picture shows the character of the country, the hills and valleys with the towns showing white on the hillsides or nestling in the valleys. [End illustration]
After Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle David became king. He did many brave and wise things and some foolish and evil things. For the wrong deeds he was punished by great sorrows.
He had a favorite son named Absalom. Absalom grew up to be a very bad boy. No doubt David was foolish in his affection and did not train the boy as he should.
He grew so bad at last that he gathered an army and rebelled against the king. At first he was successful and actually drove his father out of Jerusalem.
But David's army rallied and defeated Absalom and his bad friends in a great battle.
When Absalom knew that his army was defeated he tried to escape by riding away on the back of a swift mule. But as he passed under a great oak in the dark forest where the battle was fought, his long hair was caught in the low hanging branches: Here he hung helplessly until the soldiers of David came up and killed him.
David was very sorrowful while the battle was being fought, because he loved the boy so much. He sat at the gate of the city and watched and waited. Suddenly the watchman on the tower called out that he saw a man running, and in a few moments he said that he saw another.
In the lands of the Bible, messengers, swift of foot and trained in running, always brought the news to the city as quickly as they could run.