1 Samuel 21

because he was too old, and they didn’t want his sons to succeed him because they accepted bribes and perverted justice (8:3). But King Saul was guilty of disobeying God’s clear commandments and also of lying about what he had done, and because of these sins, he had forfeited his throne. He was still in office and yet was unfit to lead the nation, and Samuel had broken fellowship with him (15:34–35). In his grief, Samuel must have felt like a dismal failure as a father, a spiritual leader, and a mentor to the new king. The word translated “mourn” means “to mourn for the dead” and reveals the depths of Samuel’s sorrow.

There is a time to mourn (Eccl. 3:4), but there is also a time to act (Josh. 7:10), and for Samuel, that time had arrived. In spite of how he felt about himself, Samuel’s work wasn’t over yet, for God wanted him to anoint the new king, David, the son of Jesse. If Saul was “the people’s king,” then David was God’s king, and the events recorded in these two chapters indicate clearly that God’s hand was unquestionably on David, the leader of His choice.

David has been criticized and called impulsive because he left Ramah and his friend Samuel and fled to Gibeah to confer with Jonathan. But David knew that Saul’s ecstatic experience would soon end and would leave his heart unchanged. Saul had promised Jonathan that he wouldn’t try to kill David (19:6), but he had already broken that promise four times (vv. 20–24), so the wisest course for David was to get away from Saul and go into hiding. For David to remain at Gibeah wasn’t an exercise of faith; it was an act of presumption and he was only tempting God. The drama in these three chapters involves four persons: Jonathan, Saul, David, and Doeg.

When David fled to Nob, it marked the beginning of an exile that lasted about ten years (21:1–29:11). Not all of David’s wilderness experiences are recorded, but enough history has been given to show us that he was a man of faith and courage. While it’s difficult to determine the background of every psalm, it’s likely that David’s fugitive years are reflected in Psalms 7, 11–13, 16–17, 22, 25, 31, 34–35, 52–54, 56–59, 63–64, 142–143. Psalm 18 is his song of praise when God gave him triumph over his enemies. It’s wonderful that David wrote so many encouraging psalms during this period of great suffering, and from them God’s people today can find strength and courage in their own times of testing. Our Lord quoted Psalm 22: and 31: when on the cross.

David goes to Nob (vv. 1–9). This was a priestly town three miles south of Gibeah where the tabernacle was located. (The ark was still in the house of Abinadab in Kiriath Jearim; 7:1.) Because of his friendship with Samuel, David knew he would find refuge and help among the priests there, and he had a strong personal devotion to the sanctuary of the Lord (Ps. 27:4–6). The fact that David arrived alone frightened Ahimelech, the high priest, who was a great-grandson of Eli and was also known as Ahijah (1 Sam. 14:3). He knew David’s reputation and position and wondered that he was traveling without a royal entourage.

If “the king” in 21: refers to the Lord Jehovah (see 20:42), then David isn’t lying, for David certainly was doing the Lord’s business and would be for the rest of his life. But if this statement was a deliberate lie, then David was scheming instead of trusting. His motive was probably to protect the high priest from Saul’s future investigations, but the plan failed, for Saul killed Ahimelech and all the priests except Abiathar, because they conspired with his enemy. However, it is possible that David had asked some of his men to rendezvous with him at the cave of Adullam (see 22:2). David’s reference to the ritual purity of his men suggests this.

David needed food, so Ahimelech gave him the sacred loaves from the tabernacle, food that was reserved only for the priests (Lev. 24:5–9). If the people had been bringing their tithes to the tabernacle as the law commanded, there would have been more food available, but it was a time of spiritual decline in the land. Jesus used this incident to teach a lesson on true obedience and spiritual discernment (Matt. 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5). Ahimelech wanted to be sure that David’s soldiers were ritually clean, and David assured him that neither the men nor their equipment had been defiled (Lev. 15:16–18). David also asked for Goliath’s sword, which for some reason was kept in the tabernacle alongside the ephod (Ex. 28:4–13). David could now proceed on his journey with food to strengthen himself and a sword for protection.

Doeg’s presence at the tabernacle is a mystery. He was an Edomite and therefore not born a child of the covenant, but he was “detained before the Lord” at the sanctuary (1 Sam. 21:7). Perhaps he had become a Jewish proselyte and was following the Hebrew faith in order to hold his job. As Saul’s chief shepherd, Doeg could easily have become defiled so that he had to bring a sacrifice to the Lord. David knew that Doeg would report to Saul what he had seen at Nob and that this would mean trouble (22:9ff.).

From Nob to Gath (vv. 10–15). Fear of Saul now temporarily replaced faith in the Lord, and David fled twenty-three miles to the enemy city of Gath, the home of the Philistine giant Goliath (17:4). It wasn’t a safe place to go, but after seeing Doeg at Nob, David may have decided that his presence anywhere in Israel would only jeopardize the lives of his friends, so he decided to leave the land. Furthermore, the last place Saul would look for him would be in Philistia. David’s reputation as a great warrior had preceded him, and the king and his counselors didn’t view his presence as a blessing. David then pretended to be mad, and this made it easy for him to escape unharmed. Had David waited on the Lord and sought His will, he might not have gotten into trouble.

Psalms 34 and 56 both came out of this bizarre experience. Psalm 56 was his prayer for God’s help when the situation became dangerous, and Psalm 34 was his hymn of praise after God had delivered him, although he mentions “fear” (vv. 4, 7) and deliverance from trouble (1 Sam. 21:6, 17, 19). The emphasis in Psalm 56 is on the slander and verbal attacks of the Philistine leaders as they tried to get their king to deal with David. There’s no question that David was a frightened man while he was in Gath, but he sustained his faith by remembering God’s promises (vv. 10–11) and God’s call upon his life (v. 12). According to Psalm 34, David did a lot of praying while in Gath (vv. 4–6, 17–22), and the Lord heard him. David learned that the fear of the Lord conquers every other fear (vv. 9–16). The Lord was indeed merciful to David to enable him to escape back to his own land. No matter how we feel or how dismal the circumstances appear, the safest place in the world is in the will of God.

From Gath to the cave of Adullam (vv. 1–2). This was a well-known place in Judah, ten miles from Gath and about fifteen miles from Bethlehem, David’s hometown. David was at least in friendly territory, and the fighting men from Judah and Benjamin came to join his band (1 Chron. 12:16–18). It was here that David longed for a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem and three of his mighty men broke through enemy lines to bring it to him (2 Sam. 23:13–17). Knowing how much that drink of water cost those three men who risked their lives, David poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord. Great leaders don’t take their followers for granted or treat lightly the sacrifices that they make beyond the call of duty.

All of David’s family joined him at the cave, which meant that his brothers deserted Saul’s army and became fugitives like David. They knew that David was God’s anointed king, so they linked up with the future of the nation. Many others saw in David the only hope for a successful kingdom, so they came to him as well: those who were in distress because of Saul, those in debt, and those discontented because of the way Saul was ruining the nation (see 1 Sam. 14:29). David ended up with 400 high quality fighting men, and the number later increased to 600 (23:13; 25:13; 27:2; 30:9). Some of his mighty men and their leaders are listed in 2 Samuel 23:8–39 and 1 Chronicles 11:10–41. Saul had an army of 3,000 chosen men (1 Sam. 26:2).

True leaders attract the best people who see in the leader those qualities of character that they most admire. The people around David would never have been noticed in history were it not for their association with him, just as our Lord’s disciples would have died unknown had they not walked with Jesus. God usually doesn’t call the great and the powerful to be His servants, but those who have a heart for Him and an eagerness to obey His will (1 Cor. 1:26–31). David’s little band of rejects represented the future of the nation, and God’s blessing was with them. History reveals that it is the devoted remnant, small as it might be, that holds the key to the future of God’s work on this earth.

Psalms 57 and 142 are associated with David’s stay in the cave of Adullam, and both of them emphasize David’s faith that God was his refuge. As David prayed, the cave became a holy tabernacle where by faith he could find shelter under the wings of the cherubim in the Holy of Holies (57:1). What looked like a cave to others was to David a divine sanctuary, for the Lord was his portion and his refuge (142:5). To David, the fugitive life was like being in prison (v. 7), but he trusted the Lord to see him through. He knew that God would keep his promises and give him the throne and the kingdom.

From Adullam to Moab (vv. 3–4a). David honored his father and mother and sought to protect them, so he asked the king of Moab to shelter them until his days of exile were over. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot from his incestuous relationship with his older daughter (Gen. 19:30–38). In the days of Moses, the Moabites were not a people favored by the Jews (Deut. 23:3–6), but David’s great-grandmother Ruth came from Moab (Ruth 4:18–22), and this may have helped David to gain their support.

From Adullam to “the stronghold” (v. 4b). After David had secured the safety of his parents, he returned to Adullam and then moved his company to “the stronghold” or “fortress,” which many students believe was at Masada by the Dead Sea, about thirty-five miles southwest of Adullam. The Hebrew word mesuda means “fortress” or “stronghold,” and can refer to natural hiding places in the wilderness. David lived in different “desert strongholds” (23: niv) as he tried to protect himself and his friends and outwit Saul and his spies. But the prophet Gad warned David that the wilderness fortress wasn’t safe and that he should return to the land of Judah, so he relocated in the forest of Hereth in the vicinity of the cave of Adullam. Hereth means “thicket.”

The prophet Gad will appear again in the narrative of David’s life. It was he who gave David the Lord’s message after David had numbered the people (2 Sam. 24:11–19; 1 Chron. 21:9–19) and assisted David in setting up the musical ministry for the sanctuary of the Lord (2 Chron. 29:25). He also wrote a book about David’s reign (1 Chron. 29:29). Later, Abiathar the priest would escape Saul’s slaughter of the priests at Nob and join David, so that the king would have available the ministries of both prophet and priest.