1 Samuel 22:1a David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. David couldn’t go home, to the palace, to Samuel, to Jonathan, or to the house of the Lord. So, he ends up the cave of Adullam.
The name Adullam can mean refuge, justice of the people, or retreat, but the cave wasn’t to be David’s refuge. God wants to be David’s refuge.
The title of Psalm 142 reads: A psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer. So, this Psalm shows us David’s heart while in the cave: Psalms 142:1-7 I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. 2 I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. 3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. 4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. 5 I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. (David pours his heart out to the Lord) Uncertain discouraged
The title of Psalms 57 reads: For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.
This Psalm describes David’s heart as the LORD strengthened him in the cave and prepared him for what was next. (Attitude/Demeanor)
Psalm 57:1-11 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. 4 I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6 They spread a net for my feet—I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path—but they have fallen into it themselves.
7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
This Psalm shows a heart of trusting and praising to the LORD. The LORD brought David into this place while He was still in the Adullam cave. We often think we have to get out of the cave (darkness) before we can have the heart David has in Psalm 57. But we can have it now, no matter what our circumstances are.
1 Samuel 22:1b-2 When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. (Vs4)
David’s family comes to him. What a precious gift from God, because previously all David had was doubt and persecution from his father and his brothers (1 Samuel 16 and 1 Samuel 17). Now they join him at the cave of Adullam.
Then God calls an unlikely and unique group of men to come to David at the Adullam cave. 400 men who were distressed, in debt or discontent.
These men all came to David when he was down and out, hunted and despised. The glory of these 400 is that they came to David in the cave.
This was not a mob. These were men who needed a leader, and David became that leader. God doesn’t work through mobs. He works through called men and women, but He also calls others to stand at their right hand and support those men and women that He calls.
David was the one anointed by God to be the next king over Israel, and he will become Israel’s greatest earthly king. But just as much as God called David, God called his family and these four hundred to come alongside David. (explain)
1 Samuel 22:3-4 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” 4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
David took his parents to Moab. Remember David’s great-grandmother Ruth was a Moabite. He wanted his parents to be safe in whatever battles he may face in the future. David doesn’t know the whole story. He knew he was called and anointed to be the next king of Israel, but he had no idea how God would get him there. David had to trust and obey when he didn’t know what God would do. (faith)
1 Samuel 22:5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth. (Months)
The prophet of God, Gad tells David to leave his stronghold and to go back to (Judah) the stronghold of Saul. This probably wasn’t what David really wanted to hear but he obeys anyway. God here is teaching David to trust Him in the midst of danger, and not just on the other side of it. (It will make the journey easier).
Saul Kills the Priests of Nob 1 Samuel 22:6-8 Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side. 7 He said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”
When it was just David, hiding would be much easier. Now with the 400 men it was harder to hide especially since they were now in Judah where Saul’s network of informants quickly discovered them.
Saul appealed to the truly worst in these men, asking them if a man from Judah will favor the tribe of Benjamin with riches and promotions.
Notice how Saul refers to David: “the son of Jesse.” He doesn’t say, “The Man Who Killed Goliath,” or “The Man Who Killed 200 Philistines,” or “The Man Anointed by God.” Saul knows David came from a family of simple farmers, so he called him by the most obscure name he could think of — the son of Jesse.
In his fleshly, self-focused world, everything revolved around Saul. He has clearly become very paranoid.
1 Samuel 22:9-10 But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub at Nob. 10 Ahimelek inquired of the Lord for him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” We last saw this man Doeg in Nob, at the tabernacle, at the same time David came there. Doeg implicates the priest Ahimelech as David’s accomplice.
1 Samuel 22:11-15 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all the men of his family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” “Yes, my lord,” he answered. 13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?” 14 Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? 15 Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”
Ahimelech answered Saul with the honesty of a man with a clear conscience. But Saul continues in his reckless paranoia, accusing Ahimelech and David of conspiracy against him.
Remember when David came to Ahimelech, the priest questioned him very carefully. But instead of telling Ahimelech the truth, David lied and deceived him. Those lies and deception have put Ahimelech in a very vulnerable position.
Ahimelech is so unaware of the hatred Saul has for David that he actually praises David before the jealous king: “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David.” This is because David told Ahimelech that he was on a important secret mission for the King, when he was really running for his life.
1 Samuel 22:16-19 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.” 17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.” But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.
Saul was reluctant to kill the enemies of the LORD when he was commanded to back in 15 (Agag). But he’s not reluctant to murder 85 priests of the LORD and wipe out the entire town of Nob in cold blood. Saul has clearly gone off the deep end. This is the worst act in Saul’s life that he ever did.
To their credit, Saul’s servants (king’s officials) feared God more than Saul and they refused to murder the priests in cold blood.
1 Samuel 22:20-23 But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. 21 He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family. 23 Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”
David wrote a Psalm about this man, Doeg. The bible doesn’t tell us what happened to this man, but I think we can surmise it from David’s Psalm.
For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
Psalm 52:1-5 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 You who practice deceit,
your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. 4 You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue! 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Heb. 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.)
David admits to Abiathar that he was responsible for the death of his family.
We also know from 1 Samuel 21 and Psalms 56&34 that David turned his heart back to the LORD, asked forgiveness after his lies and deceit to Ahimelech and God restored him and delivered him from Gath.
But even after repentance and restoration, there were still consequences to his sin that David had to deal with.
David’s lies did not directly kill Ahimelech and the other priests. But at the very least, David’s lies and deceit kept Ahimelech from dying a death of/with honor.
Because if David had been honest with Ahimelech about the conflict between him and Saul, Ahimelech may have chosen to stand with David and thus died with honor.
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