Paws & Tales

Gooz: Hey, Gooz here! You probably know by now that here in the Clubhouse, we have a quest each and every month. A quest is a very fun thing to do. A thing to bake with your folks, a thing to make with a friend. Sometimes it's a thing to record so you can possibly make it onto a real Paws & Tales episode.

I have it by good authority that the kids that have the most fun go to the Clubhouse every month to find out what the newest quest is. And you can do that too! Just log on to pawsandtales.org and head on into the Clubhouse for the latest quest and the ginormous ton of other fun stuff too. That's pawsandtales.org. I will see you in Wildwood!

Samuel: Previously on Paws & Tales. Go ahead, go ahead and say it.

Jonathan: You need to start acting like a king.

Samuel: Samuel, look what the Lord has done. You have done well this day. Continue to follow the Lord and you'll be a great blessing to your nation.

Saul: My king, I think I just may have what you need.

Elder Akran: Do you now? And what is it that I need, Elder Akran?

Danal: My king, perhaps a compromise would help. Perhaps you could perform the offering.

Insight for Living: Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. You stay on the trails and stick with me, there's adventures to be had there too. Inside the Living is proud to present Paws & Tales.

Now King Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. Now I was at this location yesterday and I was shocked to see that it's not the kind of place to launch an attack. It is a place to hide.

There's a deep ravine with high cliffs on each side. The Bible calls them crags. These crags are what separated the two armies. There is a narrow path around these crags, but it would be too dangerous to undefended for anyone to cross without being killed. So it was here that King Saul hid, just like he hid among the baggage when he first became king. I've often wondered what the soldiers who followed King Saul, what did they think that day about their situation and their king?

Simon: So what does it mean?

Captain Abner: What does what mean?

Simon: What does it mean when Samuel tells King Saul that God has chosen someone else to be king?

Captain Abner: That's enough. Jonathan will hear you.

Jonathan: I did hear him. It's alright, Simon. That's a good question. What do you think it means?

Simon: Most think it means God's left him.

Odeda: Whatever it means, he's still king today.

Jonathan: You're right. He is still king today and we are duty-bound to follow him until the next king takes the throne.

Simon: I think it means that Jonathan will be the next king.

Jonathan: I don't think so, but I don't know what God has in mind.

Odeda: So if he's still king today, what's he doing in there? He's not making plans, that's for sure. I mean no offense to your father, Jonathan.

Jonathan: Speak freely.

Simon: He's not acting like a king. We're all willing to die for our God and king, but he's not willing to come out and lead us. Maybe Captain Abner will do something. Someone needs to do something.

Jonathan: You're right. Someone does.

Captain Abner: That won't work. We have one opportunity, and it must be one of surprise.

Guest (Male): Captain Abner, they have 30,000 chariots and we have 600 men. That will come as a complete surprise. From the way the king was acting before we made camp, he seemed willing to take on the Philistines by himself.

Captain Abner: His moods change constantly. There's no way to know what he'll do next. And we can't know what he wants to do next unless he comes out of isolation. What's he doing in there? Praying?

Guest (Male): If only he were, we might survive this day. But I'm confident he is not praying. He won't ask for direction from the Lord. He won't lead an attack. He won't even lead a retreat. What do you do when a king won't be a king?

Jonathan: Just what do you suggest that he do?

Odeda: He should be out here, leading us.

Jonathan: Would that defeat the Philistines?

Odeda: He should plan and execute an attack.

Jonathan: If the king had a perfect plan and rode into the enemy camp right now, could we win this battle? We could, if the Lord would fight for us. To be a king in Israel is not to rush into battle. It is to seek the Lord and to follow Him.

Captain Abner: Yes, that is what the king should do. But our king won't seek the Lord. So what do we do?

Jonathan: This is just not a charge to kings; it is the charge of all men to seek the Lord and follow Him.

Guest (Male): So do we go into battle without the king? What do you do when the king won't be a king?

Saul: I would have thought you'd all have deserted me by now.

Captain Abner: May it never be!

Odeda: We would never leave you, my king. Do you have a plan?

Saul: We do. We must inquire of the Lord.

Captain Abner: Yes, but then what? My king, what do you want us to do?

Saul: I don't know! Has word come back from Samuel?

Captain Abner: No, my king, nothing yet.

Odeda: The Lord will deliver us. My king, do not give in to despair.

Saul: Like Samuel warned? If you call me a donkey again, I'll have your head, Odeda. Samuel is not the king. He can stroll in and proclaim and profess and lead. I am here always. It's up to me to organize and to lead and to fight the nation's battles. I am the king and I will give the orders!

Captain Abner: What are your orders, my king?

Saul: I don't know!

Simon: Jonathan, I want you to know that I'm proud to carry your armor.

Jonathan: I'm proud to have you with me, Simon.

Simon: And I am proud to die with you today.

Jonathan: I order you not to die today. If you do, I'll beat you without mercy. Why won't my father make a move?

Simon: I think we are in an impossible situation. I don't think there's a good move to make. Is there?

Jonathan: Any move would be better than waiting for the Philistines to come over us like a wave. Father, what are you doing? Have you forgotten everything you taught me? Where is your strength? Where is your faith?

You were there for me from my first breath and taught me everything you knew. Helped me see what's right from wrong, kept me honest, made me strong. Oh, how I looked up to you.

Now you've wandered from what you believe. Where has my hero gone? I never thought I'd see this day. It hurts me more than I can say, but still, I've got to carry on.

Though my hero lets me down, in the Lord my strength is found. And He'll help me stand my ground, though my hero lets me down. I remember how you'd pray with me, with each success, with each mistake. You said that I should trust the Lord, even when the way gets hard, and I'd know which path to take.

So now I wonder what has made you stray from the leading of God's hand. But I never will forget the foundation that you set, and on that, I'll make my stand. Though my hero lets me down, in the Lord my strength is found. And He'll help me stand my ground, though my hero lets me down.

I want to make you proud of me, I do. But no matter what, I'm holding on to what I know is true. Though my hero lets me down, in the Lord my strength is found. And He'll help me stand my ground, though my hero lets me down. In the Lord my strength is found.

Simon, let's go.

Simon: Where are we going?

Jonathan: We're going to cross over to the Philistines and see what they're doing.

Simon: We're climbing across those crags? Is that wise?

Jonathan: No. Is it possible? Well, we'll see. If we don't fall to our deaths, we're going to surprise some Philistines. Come on.

Simon: As you wish, master. I'll have someone tell the king.

Jonathan: Do not tell anyone. Come on.

Saul: We cannot win. We cannot even survive this day by ordinary tactics.

Captain Abner: That is certain.

Odeda: We might be able to do some damage if we are bold.

Captain Abner: We need a miracle, and boldness often precedes a miracle. We could send some men over the crags. They could sneak up on the rear flanks of the unsuspecting soldiers.

Odeda: It is unlikely that they could climb over the crags anyway. But if they could, there would be no opportunity for retreat.

Captain Abner: I think we should try it. If it worked, what would it accomplish? Killing a few dozen?

Odeda: We should inquire of the Lord.

Saul: He is against me! There's nothing to do.

Elder Akran: My king, if I may, He is not against you. There is another who will one day be king, but God is still for His chosen people, and He will be with those who seek Him.

Saul: Tell me, tell me again about your bold plan.

Simon: Jonathan, you alright?

Jonathan: I've not fallen to my death. That's all I can say.

Simon: Now what? We can't get any closer without being seen, and I'd rather not go back over those crags.

Jonathan: Let's go have a chat with these pagans. Maybe the Lord will be with us. He can win a battle with an army or with just two.

Simon: I'm with you. But how will we know if the Lord will be with us?

Jonathan: Let's show ourselves to them. If they say, "Wait until we come to you," we stay where we are.

Simon: And then what do we do?

Jonathan: I don't know. But if they say, "Come up to us," then we'll attack. That's how we'll know the Lord has given them to us. Ready?

Simon: May God be praised. Ready.

Mariana Roberson: Hi everyone! My name is Mariana Roberson and I'm seven years old. I listen to Paws & Tales when I go anywhere in the car. You should too. Bye-bye!

Tiffany: So are you Gooz? I'm Tiffany's agent.

Ned: Really? I didn't know she...

Tiffany: When she gets here, she needs the script.

Ned: Sure, right here.

Tiffany: A spray of geraniums.

Ned: Excuse me?

Tiffany: Greetings, support staff. I'm ready to go. Is tape rolling? Good. Is this the script? I may ad-lib a bit. I am Tiffany Rockler from Wildwood. I have come to encourage you all to get a copy of the very first Paws & Tales book ever, The Overcomers. How was that?

Ned: So inspiring, Miss Tiffany. Just stick to the script, please.

Tiffany: The Overcomers is a wonderful continuation of the grand story of Paws & Tales. This is better. A continuation of the original story arc. How's that?

Ned: I have chills, goosebumps. I don't know. Story arc is too technical. Please stick to the script. To get a copy of your own, just log on to pawsandtales.org. You are going to love all the adventure, the fun, and the great teaching that Paws & Tales is famous for. Wait! Manny, where are my geraniums? There are supposed to be geraniums in here!

Ned: On to something, to something. Stopping tape.

Jonathan: Philistine dogs! If you leave now, your wives may still have husbands tonight.

Philistine (Male): Hey, look what just crawled out of the rocks. Is it a rat? No, it's just a Hebrew. Hey, you! Come over here! There's something I want to tell you!

Jonathan: Did you hear him? Follow me in! The Lord has given them into the hands of Israel! Go! May God be praised!

Simon: This one in front is noisy. I'll just have to shut him up. Die, Hebrew!

Insight for Living: And the Philistines fell before Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed them as well. The two of them killed about 20 men.

Philistine (Male): We're being attacked from behind! What is this? The ground shakes! The earth is against us! Run! Run!

Saul: What's going on?

Captain Abner: My king, the men at the front say the Philistines are running in every direction.

Saul: From who? Take an account of the men. Find out who's missing.

Captain Abner: My king, Jonathan has gone. I saw him leave.

Saul: Jonathan?

Captain Abner: His armor-bearer? He went as well.

Saul: It is Jonathan! Bring the Ark of God here! I will be victorious this day! Send the men across the pass! Attack the Philistines! My fist will scatter them without mercy! I want them all destroyed! Cursed is the man who eats food before evening until I have avenged myself on my enemies! Attack!

Insight for Living: The Philistines were confused and scared and they began killing each other. Even the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in fear came out to join in the battle. So the Lord delivered Israel that day.

Odeda: Captain Abner! We've been collecting weapons from the dead Philistines. Every man in Israel is now armed with a sword and spear and wearing full armor.

Captain Abner: Excellent!

Odeda: We've also collected supplies. There's food for everyone.

Captain Abner: No! Do not let anyone eat anything. The king has put us under an oath. No one eats until evening.

Odeda: The men are weak. They've been chasing and fighting the Philistines all day.

Captain Abner: Nothing! No man will eat anything. There'll be a curse on the man who does.

Insight for Living: When the soldiers entered the forest, there was honey flowing on the ground, but no one dared to have any for fear of the oath. Unfortunately, Jonathan didn't know of the oath.

Jonathan: This is unbelievable. The Lord's victory today will be remembered and retold forever. Simon, I am starved.

Simon: Everyone is starved. We're all weak from hunger.

Jonathan: Look at that! Honey is dripping out of that hive.

Simon: I see. Well, maybe we can come back once evening is... Master, no!

Jonathan: I never knew honey could be so good. I suppose everything's better when you're starving.

Odeda: Your father has put the army under a solemn oath. There is a curse on the man who eats anything before evening!

Jonathan: My father. His pride has hurt us once again. Look at me. I'm better off because I ate, not cursed. I feel better and my strength is back because I had some honey. If the men had eaten freely today from the spoil of battle, we would have killed a lot more than we did.

Simon: But you have eaten, and you are under the king's curse.

Amara Sunshine: Hi! I'm Amara Sunshine from North Carolina. You know what I like listening to the most? Paws & Tales, of course! There is more Paws & Tales coming right up.

Tiffany: Hello lovely listeners! Tiffany Rockler from Paws & Tales here to tell you all about the very new and very fashionable t-shirts now on sale in our store. We have a wonderful Tiffany Rockler shirt with lovely detail...

Ned: Tiffany, ah, that's not true.

Tiffany: Ned, what are you talking about? Of course it's true. If I said it, then it is true.

Ned: I, you see, we do have new t-shirts. Really nice ones that you should go online at pawsandtales.org to see them.

Tiffany: All of our listeners should do that.

Ned: Yeah, there are Gooz shirts. So cute! And there are Ned shirts.

Tiffany: Go on.

Ned: No Tiffany shirts yet. It's just that Gooz shirts... really nice ones too. And Ned shirts, but no Tiffany shirts? Oh boy, here it comes. Goodbye everybody!

Tiffany: You all will rue the day!

Saul: What is your report? How is it going?

Captain Abner: We have certainly won the day.

Elder Akran: Greetings, my king, and may all your victories be like this one today.

Saul: Now, it's good that you've come to join us now that the battle is won.

Elder Akran: Oh, please.

Saul: Go on with the report.

Captain Abner: There is no resistance at all. The enemy is running in every direction.

Saul: Excellent! However, the men are exhausted and too weak from lack of food to keep up with them.

Saul: What? I will not have my victory spoiled by lazy foot soldiers.

Captain Abner: The men are doing more than can be expected, my king. It is...

Saul: It is the what?

Captain Abner: Your oath, my king. Your promise of a curse if anyone eats. That is what's spoiling the victory.

Saul: It was meant to rally the troops. I wanted them to know that...

Elder Akran: The king will curse what he wants and bless what he wants. The day is now ending and the men can eat the spoils as much as they want. What is the plan to complete this battle?

Saul: Yes, yes, what is the plan?

Captain Abner: Our numbers increase constantly. There were Israeli mercenaries fighting with the Philistines.

Elder Akran: Unthinkable!

Captain Abner: Even they have returned...