Guidance and decisions

²⁰ The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.

²¹ And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.

Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go.

²³ I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.

²⁴ Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice— not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, and to the place where You dwell.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

So David inquired of God, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go,” replied the LORD, “for I will deliver them into your hand.”

So David again inquired of God, who answered him, “Do not march up after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

² So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

³ But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

⁴ Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

⁷ Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,

⁸ and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”

Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.

So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go,” replied the LORD, “for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

²³ So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

²⁴ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

²⁵ So David did as the LORD had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,

²⁰ and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

²¹ And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night.

²² Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place before the people.

The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,

³⁷ then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

³⁸ And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”

⁴⁰ And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”

Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

² After three days the officers went through the camp

³ and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.

⁴ But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before.”

¹⁶ It remained that way continually; the cloud would cover the tabernacle by day, and at night it would appear like fire.

¹⁷ Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites would set out, and wherever the cloud settled, there the Israelites would camp.

As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because this will mean that God has marched out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”

³⁶ And Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until dawn, leaving no man alive!” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied. But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”

³⁷ So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.

¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” “He will,” said the LORD.

¹² So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD.

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”

⁶ After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

⁷ And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.

⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁹ During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰ As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

¹⁸ So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take along in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

³⁶ Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey.

³⁷ If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up.

¹³ Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

¹⁴ Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.

²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,

²⁷ saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

⁴⁸ Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.

⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere.”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

Pray that the LORD your God will tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do.”

² Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah:

³ “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.

“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”