1 Samuel 21-22 – David Escapes Saul
David
went Nob to Ahimelech the priest Ahimelech because he needed supplies. The priest was nervous about David being
there because he had probably heard about Saul and David not getting
alone. Ahimelech questioned David. David was too afraid of Saul to give honest
answers. He lied and told him Saul had
charged him with a secret matter and he was to tell no one. He told the priest that he was alone and
asked him for provision and a sword. David
lied because he was not yet able to trust God completely. The priest showed mercy and gave David
provisions and the sword of Goliath.
Doeg, one of Saul’s servants was there and witness this
interaction.
The
sword was the sword of Goliath, the Philistine David killed. It was kept there in the temple as a
reminder and evidence that God had rescued Israel through David. David handed the sword over to the
priests. They considered it a sacred
object.
Do you
find yourself forgetting about God faithfulness in your past?
How are
you reminded of what God has done for you?
Then
David fled from Saul and went Gath, which was a Philistine city. Achish, king of Gath was not a friend of
David and David became afraid. He should
have trusted the Lord, but he did not and devised a plan of his own. He made the king think he was crazy. The king didn’t kill him because in those
days they thought it was wrong to kill crazy people. Instead the king sent David away.
David reflected
back when he wrote Psalm 34. We learn from this Psalm that God is the
solution to our fears. We are to fear
God not man. Fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. We learn that the Lord
rescues His servants and that He loves us and forgives us when we mess up. We are righteous, but we grow into it on our
walk with Him.
David took
refuge in a cave of Adullam. This cave
was David’s physical refuge, but God was David’s spiritual refuge. There were about 400 men with him. From there David went to Moab. Remember his mother, Ruth was from Moab. He asked the king of Moab to keep his family
safe. David hid in the caves and then
found a safe place in the forest. He waited
for God’s instructions.
Saul
continued to pursue David and took his officials to the tree of Gibeah. He throws a pity party feeling sorry for
himself. He was blinded by his pride and
hatred of David and trusted no one. He
rants about how everyone was against him.
He said even his own son, Jonathan made a covenant with David.
Doeg told
Saul all that was said when David met with the priest, Ahimelech. Saul then accuses the priest Ahimelech of
conspiring against him. The priest
explains that he knew nothing. Saul finds
out the truth about the priest, but told his men to kill him anyway. They refused to kill a priest so Saul commanded
Doeg to do it. Doeg killed the priest
and 85 others and others in the town including women, children, cattle, donkeys
and sheep. Abiathar the son of Ahimelech
escaped and joined David.
Pride
and self-pity can mess with your mine.
We can twist what we hear to suit our needs. Don’t go there. God is in control. Put your faith in Him. He has a perfect plan even though we may not
see it at the time.
By
David’s lying to Ahimelech he caused his death and the death of his
family. We see that lies can be
dangerous. David couldn’t do anything
about the priests’ murders, but he felt guilty and confess to the Lord.
When
have you told God your fears and knew He would help you?
What is
your response when misunderstood, gossiped about or unappreciated?
Principle: God is faithful to those who depend on Him.
1 Samuel 23 – God Guides David
When
David heard that the Philistines were fighting the people of Keilah, he asked
God if he should go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah. The Lord told him to go and David and his men
saved Keilah. David consulted God first
before moving ahead. He already had
trouble with Saul and didn’t need to add to his troubles. Saving Keilah would be dangerous. It would expose David to Saul. But David obeyed the Lord and God blessed him
for it.
Saul
learned that David was at Keilah and continued to pursue him. Saul was obsessed with killing David. When David learned Saul was after him again,
he called on the Lord for help. This
prayer is found in Psalm 54.
God
provided for David through Jonathan.
Jonathan was unselfish. He had
the right to be king after Saul’s death, but he gave that right to David. God had appointed David to be the next king. Jonathan only desire was to be his friend and
adviser. He encouraged David and
promised to be loyal to him and to support his rule as king. They declared themselves to be responsible to
God. The two had genuine love and
friendship for each other. Their
circumstances would change, but their friendship would last forever.
David recalls
in Psalm 54 that God is his
helper. He sustains him. He is faithful and delivers him.
Principle: God always strengthens those who depend on
Him.
1 Samuel 24 – David Spares Saul
Saul just
happened to go into the cave where David and his men were. But we know God’s hand was it that. Saul didn’t know David was there. David’s men urged him to kill Saul, but David
refused. So while Saul was sleeping
David slipped close to him and cut off part of his robe. David could have killed Saul as his men
wanted David to do, but David spared Saul because he knew God’s promise that he
would inherit the throne of Israel one day.
He knew if he killed Saul, he would be disobedient to God. God had put Saul into authority as king and
it was God’s job to deal with Saul not David’s.
God would do it His way.
We need
to learn from David. He resisted the
temptation to kill Saul. He was not
bitter or angry toward Saul. David was
always faithful, obedient and trusted God even in all his troubles. David knew how to wait on the Lord.
The
robe was a symbol of Saul’s royal authority and cutting the robe is like
cutting away Saul’s authority. David
felt badly that he had done anything against God’s appointed authority. David then revealed himself to Saul because
he wanted to reconcile with him. David
bowed before Saul. Saul could have
killed David right there, but David trusted God would keep him safe because he
was obedient. He showed mercy to Saul
and doesn’t blame him directly.
Saul
saw David’s obedience and to the Lord and the kindness he gave to Saul. This softened Saul’s heart, although he never
really asked David for forgiveness. He
asked David to promise not to mistreat or kill his descendants. It was customary when a new king came to
power that all the potential rulers in the family of the previous king would be
killed. David kept his promise.
In Psalms 57 and 142 we see that David praised
God and asked that God be his refuge. He
asked God to rebuke his enemies. David
praised God even in his troubles. He had
confidence in the Lord. We need to
praise God in our troubles and always look to Him as our refuge and our
hope. We need to have confidence in the
Lord and His plans for our lives.
Do you
depend on God when you experience hard times in your life?
Principle: God guides those who depend on Him.
Next time
we will continue our study in 1 Samuel. See you here.
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