If the story of David in 1 Samuel were a TV series, the teaser for upcoming episodes would be: “In yesterday’s show, David was living in Gath, scared of the king, and pretending to be crazy. Now, he’s left Gath and is hiding in the cave of Adullam.”
David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him (1 Samuel 22:1).
David’s brothers joined him in the cave, likely fleeing Bethlehem to escape Saul’s reprisals. They were not alone, as others also gathered in the cave with David.
And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men (** 1 Samuel 22:2**).
David now had an army of 400 men, which would soon grow to about 600. These men were unhappy with their lives under Saul and gave David a fighting force to oppose the king.
Honor Your Father and Mother
As we recall the story of Ruth, we learn that David had Moabite blood from his great-grandmother’s side.
David fulfilled the commandment to honor his father and mother (Exodus 20:12) by taking them to the land of the Moabites for safety from Saul’s armies.
And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.”
And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold (1 Samuel 22:3-4).
God used a prophet to guide David on his journey.
Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth (1 Samuel 22:5).
Even though David had the Holy Spirit and a strong relationship with God, he still needed the prophet’s advice to know what to do next.
In the Old Testament, prophets were meant to share God’s will with the kings. Sometimes, the kings listened, and they received the guidance that was needed. Other times, kings brought in prophets who told them what they wanted to hear, leading to disastrous results.
The Priests of Nob and Saul
The story of David moves from his journey to Judah to Saul sitting under what was likely a pagan worship site. We also get a glimpse into Saul’s state of mind through his words to his troops.
Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.
And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me?
No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day” (1 Samuel 22:6-8).
We can learn a lot about leaders from their words. When desperate, they turn to idols. In this case, Saul sits under a tree linked to pagan worship. Modern day destructive leaders turn to the customary substitutes for obedience to God, money and power
They also speak to their troops with outlandish and unbelievable words. Even when leaders are on their way down, they can still be dangerous, as we will see in the next part of this story.
Saul had a man, Doeg the Edomite, who informed him about David’s encounter with the priests of Nob. Because of this, Saul summoned all the priests to come to him. When Saul accused Ahimelech of helping David, this was his response.
Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house?
Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little” (1 Samuel 22:14-15).
In the Old Testament, we find two types of prophets. One type is like Ahimelech, who speaks God’s truth to the king, even at the risk of his life.
The other type includes professional prophets who tell the king what he wants to hear. These prophets receive benefits from serving the king but sadly turn their backs on God.
The faithful prophets sacrificed their lives for their dedication to God and His servant. Saul showed his evil nature by attacking God’s servants and killing the entire community of God’s people in Nob.
Reflections
Jesus taught that discipleship comes with a cost.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:34-36).
Ahimelech and many faithful followers of God have experienced this cost when choosing to follow God’s direction instead of giving in to the directives of destructive leaders.
I doubt if readers of my blog will be required to die for their faith. However, we all have the opportunity to surrender the throne of our self-will and be willing to follow God’s directives each day.
YouTube Discussion
I discuss this passage on YouTube today. I will soon be joined by Rudy Ross and Bruce Kirby for our discussion of 1 Samuel.
Real Voices 