The Hey Eddy! Podcast

In this episode, Cousin Michael gently walks kids through 1 Samuel 31, where King Saul’s story comes to its sad end on Mount Gilboa. As the Philistines overwhelm Israel’s army, Saul’s sons, including David’s faithful friend Jonathan, are killed. Badly wounded by archers, Saul dies by his own sword, and everything Samuel predicted comes true. Israelites abandon their towns, and the Philistines mock God by displaying Saul’s body on the wall of Beth Shan and placing his armor in the temple of their goddess. But the men of Jabesh Gilead, whom Saul had rescued long before, march through the night to recover the bodies and give Saul and his sons an honorable burial. The episode looks back on all of 1 Samuel and shows that God’s word never fails. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

In this episode, Cousin Michael takes kids through 1 Samuel 29–30, where God rescues David twice. First, as David marches with the Philistine army toward a battle against his own people, the other Philistine commanders refuse to trust him, so Achish sends him home, freeing David from a trap he couldn’t escape himself. But David returns to find Ziklag burned and every wife and child taken captive by the Amalekites. His grieving men even talk of stoning him. In that lowest moment, “David found strength in the LORD his God,” asking God for direction for the first time in sixteen months. God tells him to pursue, and an abandoned Egyptian slave David kindly feeds leads him to the Amalekite camp, where David recovers everything. David then insists that all his men share the plunder equally, crediting the victory to God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

In this episode, Cousin Michael carefully walks kids through 1 Samuel 28:3–25, one of the Bible's spookiest and saddest stories. With Samuel dead and a massive Philistine army gathered, a terrified Saul asks God for guidance, but God stays silent after years of Saul's refusal to truly repent. Desperate, Saul does the very thing he once banned: he disguises himself, sneaks through enemy lines, and visits a medium at Endor, asking her to bring up Samuel. To the woman's shock, Samuel really appears and delivers a crushing message: God has torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David, and tomorrow Saul and his sons will die as Israel falls to the Philistines. Saul collapses in fear, and the medium kindly feeds him before he walks back into the night. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

In this episode, Cousin Michael takes kids through 1 Samuel 27:1–28:2, where an exhausted David makes a decision based on fear instead of faith. Instead of asking God, David "thought to himself" that Saul would eventually kill him, so he fled with his six hundred men to King Achish in the Philistine city of Gath. Saul stopped chasing him, but David had left the Promised Land and placed himself under an enemy king. Achish gave David the town of Ziklag, where he lived for sixteen months, raiding Israel's enemies while lying to Achish that he was attacking Judah, and leaving no survivors to expose the truth. Fully fooled, Achish then ordered David to march with the Philistines against Israel, trapping him in a battle he could never fight. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com

In this episode, Cousin Michael takes kids through 1 Samuel 26, where Saul breaks his promise and hunts David again with three thousand soldiers after the Ziphites betray David a second time. Under cover of darkness, David and his nephew Abishai sneak into the center of Saul's camp, possible only because God has put the whole army into a deep sleep. Abishai begs to pin Saul to the ground with his own spear, but David refuses to harm "the LORD's anointed," trusting that God will deal with Saul in his own way and time. Instead, David takes Saul's spear and water jug, then shouts from a distant hilltop, mocking Abner for failing to guard the king. Saul again confesses his sin, but David wisely keeps his distance, placing his hope in God rather than in Saul's promises. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com