Chapter Introduction
At first reading, you might be surprised that God’s anointed king would have so much trouble in his life. David was on the run, and the odds were against him. God used these things to prepare him to sit on the throne. Affliction shaped his heart and faith. He learned to trust God in the wilderness.
1 Samuel 22:1-5
David escaped Gath, which had never been a good idea. He met his family at the cave of Adullam, about ten miles southeast of Gath, halfway to Bethlehem. Others met David at the cave, who, like his family, were under Saul's threats and feared for their lives. Adullam means refuge to hide from Saul. But David knew his refuge was found only in the Lord. During these years as a fugitive, David learned to find solace, peace, and shelter in the Lord.
David wrote Psalm 57 as he fled from Saul into the cave.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.
Psalm 142 also describes David’s time in the cave. This cave is believed to have been very close to where David killed Goliath. Hiding from Saul in a cave was quite a contrast to the day of his anointing or the day he slew Goliath.
David ended up with a group of loyal followers who were distressed. This could be socially, politically, or otherwise. They were likely on the wrong side of Saul. Others were in debt, unable to repay the debt they had created. Still others were discontented. The word speaks of those with regrets who were grieved over their lives. These were the broken and disillusioned men, not bad people, just those who had felt the effect of sin in their lives and saw it for what it was.
If we were having a New Testament Bible study, we’d say that these are the kind of people coming to Jesus, the repentant. God could use these kinds of folks. These men needed leadership, and God gave them David, who became captain over them. God turned this band of misfits into mighty men.
David went to Moab to find asylum for his friends and family. This would be a safe place out of Saul's reach until they saw what God was going to do. The Moabites were nearly perpetual enemies of Israel. This must have been a time of peace or neutrality when David felt it was safe to leave his family there. He had family ties to Moab through his great-grandmother, Ruth, who was a Moabitess. It's possible this family connection provided shelter for his family.
God answered them through the prophet Gad. David was to depart from the stronghold and go to Judah. The stronghold is the word masada, causing some to believe the prophet was referring to the famous site southwest of the Dead Sea. Gad was likely informing David that he couldn’t stay in Moab. He needed to return to Israel and face Saul. He left and went to the forest of Hereth.
1 Samuel 22:6-8
Saul is speaking to his tribe and is upset at their lack of loyalty. We see a sort of pathetic paranoia in Saul. He’s a sad man who has trusted in his ways and his strength, and it's not working out for him. He stands with a spear in his hand, which would have kept everyone on their toes. We’ve repeatedly seen Saul characterized as having the spear in his hand. He was defined by his enemies. His spear was his confidence.
Make no mistake, Saul was holding court, and the spear could be used in sentencing. He attempted to buy the loyalty of those near him by promising possessions and authority. Since no one revealed to him that David and Jonathon had a covenant, he called them co-conspirators.
1 Samuel 22:9-15
As Saul confronted the Benjamites, Doeg spoke up and told him that the priest had helped David. Saul had set Doeg the Edomite over his servants. He refers to David as Saul did, as the “Son of Jesse,” meant to be derogatory. He didn’t just reveal David’s whereabouts but implied the priests colluded against Saul.
Saul called the priests to him. Ahimilech didn’t know anything about the division between Saul and David. He saw David as a faithful servant of Saul and helped him as he would anyone else. But that didn’t matter to Saul. Anyone who helped David is automatically an enemy. He ordered his men to kill the priest, but they wouldn’t do it. This is fascinating. Saul had his spear in hand and was normally ready to kill anyone, but he wouldn’t execute the priests. His men were in agreement. Executing priests wasn’t part of their job. Each of these men would have been risking their life in denying this.
It's not hard to imagine that David was a bit of a hero among the army ranks. He was the leader they craved, and the military experienced much success under David’s leadership. They know that Ahimilech was innocent of any wrongdoing.
While David lied to Ahimelech to get what he needed, the priest did not lie to Saul to preserve his life. He spoke the truth.
1 Samuel 16-23
In our day, we know this as lawfare, using the law as a weapon against political opponents. Saul wanted these men dead, starting with Ahimelech. Doeg, the Edomite, stepped right up as the executioner. Killing Jewish priests meant nothing to him.
We might remember when Saul was still in good standing with the Lord. In God's name, he was assigned to fight a holy war against the Amalekites. It’s fascinating that Saul was reluctant to kill the enemies of God when he was instructed to do so, and now has no problem killing all these men. He was slow with the spear toward God’s enemies but quick to throw the spear at his own.
But even then, he assigned Doeg to do his dirty work. Doeg obliges the king’s wishes and proceeds to kill eighty-five priests. In addition, he wiped out the city of Nob.
This fulfills the prophecy that Eli, the priest, was told his house would be judged.
Abiathar fled to David and told him all that had happened. We see David reveal that he was suspicious of Doeg when he saw him that day. He had a feeling that guy was trouble. Read Psalm 52.
David realized his part in the priest’s murders. Going to him for help was risky – being truthful would have allowed him to learn the risk. Alimelech knew something wasn’t right – David coming to him alone like he did. But David lied to him, leading him to believe everything was normal.
The Big Idea
This must have been a dark time in David’s life. We can look back and see the Lord building a team. David was a leader and would learn to lead and make tough decisions. He would have to learn how to trust God in the wilderness before he could lead from the palace.
©2004 Doug Ford; Further Study and Revision 2015, 2024
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