1 Samuel 22

1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. 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.

3 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.

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.

6 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.”

9 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.”

11 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.”

16 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.

20 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 take your life is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”

Points of Interest

• ‘his brothers and his father’s household heard about it’--David and his brothers have done nothing but bicker throughout this story. But now, as so often happens, this outside threat draws them together. It’s probably not just brotherly solidarity that brings his family to David; being the brother of a traitor, as David is now considered, could be dangerous for them as well.
• ‘those who were in distress or in debt or discontented’--David becomes the leader of an outlaw band, rather like Robin Hood and his merry men. Some of the people who come to him are relatives. Many others join him because they, like him, are outcasts from normal society, through legal or financial difficulties, bad fortune, the wrong enemies, or just plain disaffection. While a large number of them are from David’s own tribe, Judah, there are representatives from all over Israel, and even from foreign countries. This ragtag group of outlaws, known as David’s Mighty Men, remains with him his entire life, serving as the core of his military forces even after he becomes king. They’re quite renowned, especially the members of two elite units, known as the Three and the Thirty. You can find their names and read about some of their exploits in 2 Samuel 23:8-39 and 1 Chronicles 11:10-12:22.
• ‘he left them with the king of Moab’--David is sending his parents to neutral territory for safekeeping. It’s possible he chooses Moab because of family connections; Jesse’s grandmother was a Moabite.
• ‘men of Benjamin’--Benjamin is Saul’s own tribe. These would be the troops most closely bound to Saul personally.
• ‘Will he make all of you commanders’--Saul, ever more unhinged, chooses to interpret their inability to catch David as disloyalty. ‘Has he promised to give you all promotions in the new administration? Is that it?’
• ‘Who of all your servants is as loyal as David’--Ahimelek’s words are both completely true and something of a deception. David is, in fact, the most loyal of Saul’s servants; and Saul has indeed often sent David to Ahimelek himself. But Ahimelek did have an inkling that something had gone wrong between Saul and David and chose to support David anyway.
• ‘your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair’--despite the fact that Ahimelek had sniffed out that something was amiss, this is a reasonable defense of his actions; he had never been officially notified of David’s change in status. ‘How was I supposed to know without you telling me?’ he asks. Saul is not, however, in a reasonable mood.
• ‘unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests’--even hardened warriors might hesitate to massacre unarmed priests, mistreatment of priests pretty much universally being thought to bring bad luck. Ancient Israelites might be especially reluctant to wipe out all of the priests. In Israel, the priesthood is hereditary; so they would essentially be cutting themselves and their entire nation off from God forever if they killed off the entire family.
• ‘Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down’--Doeg is a foreign mercenary, from the neighboring kingdom of Edom. Perhaps, as a foreigner and probably a worshipper of different gods, he is less bothered by the stigma attached to killing these priests. Or perhaps he’s just desperate enough for advancement that he’s willing to do anything.
• ‘Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David’--Saul’s efforts to destroy David are actually accelerating David’s advancement. First, David ends up collecting his own army. Now, the remaining priest has switched over to David’s side. David practically has an entire shadow government in operation.
• ‘I am responsible for the death of your whole family’--David knew that stopping at Nob could put Ahimelek in danger; that’s why he lied about being on a mission from Saul. Ahimelek could have denied David the help, and Saul didn’t have to kill Ahimelek; so, David isn’t solely responsible for the situation. Nonetheless, because he put Ahimelek at risk, he feels the responsibility at least to protect and care for Ahimelek’s remaining family.

Taking it home

• For you: Even if David is slowly gaining a band of people who support him, he is still fleeing, in fear for his life, and mostly alone. What are the ways in which you feel alone and under-resourced? Pray some of David’s prayers during this time in his life from Psalm 31:

1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

deliver me in your righteousness.

2 Turn your ear to me,

come quickly to my rescue;

be my rock of refuge,

a strong fortress to save me.

3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,

for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,

for you are my refuge.

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;

deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;

as for me, I trust in the LORD.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

for you saw my affliction

and knew the anguish of my soul.

8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy

but have set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;

my eyes grow weak with sorrow,

my soul and body with grief.

10 My life is consumed by anguish

and my years by groaning;

my strength fails because of my affliction,

and my bones grow weak.

11 Because of all my enemies,

I am the utter contempt of my neighbors

and an object of dread to my closest friends—

those who see me on the street flee from me.

12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;

I have become like broken pottery.

13 For I hear many whispering,

“Terror on every side!”

They conspire against me

and plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, LORD;

I say, “You are my God.” …

17 Let me not be put to shame, LORD,

for I have cried out to you;

but let the wicked be put to shame

and be silent in the realm of the dead. …

22 In my alarm I said,

“I am cut off from your sight!”

Yet you heard my cry for mercy

when I called to you for help...

24 Be strong and take heart,

all you who hope in the LORD.

• For your six: Pray for the families of your six. Ask God to bring reconciliation to broken family relationships. Pray for unlikely circumstances to bring their families closer together.
• For our church: From Gath, to Adullam, to Moab to Hereth to Gibeah--God both knows and tracks the physical places where his people are. Ask God to use our church in meaningful ways here in our city.
• For families: Parents, spend some time sharing with your children things you feel like God has called you to. Talk about people who have been partners to you along the way in this mission. Ask your family: do you think God is calling us to do anything special with God as a family? Are there others we know of who are also interested in this and might be our partners? If you come up with something specific, see if you can plan a date during Lent to take action on this in some way. Invite those you think might be partners to do it with you.