David’s Life As A Fugitive

Transcript

GRS 2-71
6/3/2007
David’s Life as a Fugitive
1 Samuel 21-23
Gil Rugh

We are studying the life of David because we are studying First Samuel and we are in the section where David has become the key person. First Samuel Chapter 21 is where we will be picking up. Saul has been rejected by God because of his disobedience, the Spirit of the Lord has departed from Saul, an evil spirit, a demonic being has come to plague Saul. The Spirit of God now rests on David, he has been anointed the next king of Israel, but David has a number of years yet before he will be able to enter into that kingship.

Chapters 18 to 20 recorded the time that David had serving in the presence of Saul and that was an up and down time and Saul was seeking to kill David, at other times David was able to serve in his presence, so constant tension, constant conflicts, concluding with Chapter 20 where Saul’s set intention is now to kill David and remove him as a rival for the throne. In Chapter 20 verse 31, Saul rebuked his son Jonathan for not joining him in attempting to kill David and he said, for as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established, therefore now send and bring him to me for he must surely die. Saul is aware that David is the next king of Israel and yet in his perverted mind he thinks that he can frustrate God’s plan by killing David.

So that’s where Chapter 20 left us, the final break between David and Saul has occurred and so now from Chapter 21, we are going to the end of the Chapter, David will be a fugitive spending his days hiding from Saul, running from Saul, avoiding capture by Saul and Saul’s men. Chapter 21 focuses on that, beginning of that period is a very difficult time for David, but its part of God’s preparation of David to be a more effective servant of his. You know we get frustrated with the difficulties in our lives, the trials, but then we look at a man like David and we realize what a key role trial and difficulty plays in our lives. If David is a young man of around 20 when we begin Chapter 21 which he may well have been, he has ten years of his life that he will spend fleeing from Saul.

According to Second Samuel Chapter 5 verse 4, David will be 30 years of age when he assumes the kingship over Israel following Saul’s death and events after that. So we are not given an age for David, but some commentators have estimated he may well have been around 20 years of age as we come to the events of Chapter 21. Regardless, he has a period of years here, they are condensed for us so we get certain highlights over these Chapters of what happens to David’s life, but you realize you have seven days a week and 365 days of a year, and years of being a vagabond, a fugitive. At times coming, it seems to the very brink of losing his life and then God intervenes and delivers him. You see what a key period of time in David’s life this is because as we will notice we go through these Chapters, this was a period of time when some of the great psalms of David were written, psalms that we turn to under pressure and in trial, difficulty and they remind us of God’s great grace and delivering power, so while it may have been a time of great difficulty for David, it was a time when God was using it as a very productive time of David’s life. It can help you think of this as works through these Chapters again, how often we are confused and don’t realize the times when our lives seem most difficult, hardships and depress and pain comes, whatever, little do we realize that that maybe the time of our greatest productivity, time when God uses us in great ways. David couldn’t measure it, he was occupied with survival, but it is a time when he is used greatly of God in the psalms that he wrote, 3000 years later still impact our lives.

Well let’s look at Chapter 21, Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; remember, David has had his conversation with Jonathan and Jonathan is confirmed to David that my father has determined you have to die, so there is no coming back now to Saul. There is no possibility of restoration, so David’s only alternative is to flee and to flee immediately. I mean sometimes we read this and we have read the conclusion and we fail to appreciate the dire circumstances in which David finds himself, he is under such pressure and such danger that is immediately his conversation with Jonathan, he has to takeoff on the run, he takes no food, no weapons with him, and it tells you something of the urgency because he realize the king and his men are out to kill him, if he is caught, humanly speaking, it’s all over.

So Chapter 21 opens up with David on the run, “David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no one with you?" Ahimelech is the great grandson of Eli, remember Eli back in the earlier part of first Samuel, well this is the great grandson of Eli and he is the high priest. He knows something is wrong. David shows up here by himself. Well David has been, remember, a commander in the armies of Israel, he has been a significant figure. Now, he just turns up here alone, he doesn’t travel alone, wouldn’t come here by himself under normal circumstances and he is trembling and he knows there is something wrong, David doesn’t tell him the true story and it was for his own benefit that he doesn’t. David said to Ahimelech the priest, the king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me let no one know anything about the matter in which I am sending you, with which I have commissioned you, I have directed the young men to a certain place, so David said, I am on such a secret mission for the king that no one knows, no one is traveling with me. Saul has commissioned my men to meet me at a certain place, but it’s so urgent I had to leave immediately and I couldn’t even get provisions. Verse 3, "Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found." Now you see David left in such a hurry he didn’t even attempt to gather any provisions to sustain him, so here he stops and ask for bread and the priest said to David, there is no ordinary bread on hand, there is consecrated bread. Now, this is the bread of the presence called the Hallowed Bread. 12 loaves of bread according to Leviticus Chapter 24 were set out on the table, the golden table before the Lord and then they were replaced with new ones on the Sabbath day and the bread that is taken from the presence of the Lord belongs now to the priests and it’s part of their provision to sustain them, so the priest says to David, “well this is all we have, now if you and your men are ceremonially clean, then you can partake of this bread” and David said, of course we are. Verse 5, he explains that and so verse 6, the priest gave him the consecrated bread for there was no bread there, verse 6, but the bread of the presence which was removed from before the Lord in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away and Jesus referred to this action.

Come to the book of Mark in the New Testament, as an example that the provisions of the laws were for the benefit of God’s people. Mark Chapter 2 verse 23, it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. Now they are breaking off the heads of grain and eating them. The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath. He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry?" How he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?" Then he said "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” The bread pictured God’s provision for his priest and his people and so this was a valid use, he compares that to the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for man, and God didn’t intend that his people not eat on the Sabbath, so it’s a valid use and he is the Lord of the Sabbath, so this occasion here is a unique case, but it is a valid case, David is not sinning here, the priest is not sinning, it’s a valid use of this bread given for the sustenance of God’s priest primarily, but it pictures the provision God makes for his people.

Now come back to first Samuel 21, a person here were not told why is here, what he is doing here, but the chief of Saul’s herds, Saul’s chief shepherd who was in charge of the king’s flocks, chief shepherd if you will is present when David is talking to Ahimelech, he sees how Ahimelech give the provisions to David. Verse 7 tells you that his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds. He also hears and observes David asking for a weapon, he said to Ahimelech, "Now is there not a spear or a sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's matter was urgent." David said, this is such a serious matter, such a secret matter, I had to leave so quickly, I couldn’t even get back and get my weapons, do you have anything here I could use? The only thing there is Goliath’s sword that David had taken from Goliath when he slew him. So the priest says in verse 9, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it.” I mean it’s David’s sword, it was his trophy from battle, David says at the end of verse 9, "There is none like it; give it to me." now that event just mentioning the fact that Doeg was there, it’s going to have a dramatic effect. When it’s all done, this man will be the cause of the death of the priest and I believe 85 members of his family as we will see in the next Chapter.

So David arose that day and fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. Now, the philistine city of Gath, one of the five major philistine cities is about 30 miles away from the city of Nob. Not a place where Saul would have thought to look for David or would have gone to get David because naturally the philistines and Israel are enemies, but it is a strange twist for David to go to Gath. Remember, he just got the sword of Goliath, the philistine that he slew and who is Goliath, but he is Goliath of Gath. Right, he is at the home city of Goliath carrying the sword of Goliath, God has strange ways to protect his servant and so here is David turning up in the city of Gath and I have wondered as I read this and there is no explanations, so I won’t let my mind run too far, but remember, Goliath’s weapons were oversized and here comes David traipsing into the city with the sword of Goliath, perhaps hidden under his long garment, I don’t know, but it’s an interesting turn of events and when he comes to Gath, he is recognized.

Verse 11, "Is this not David the king of the land?” It’s interesting how they know, how word is spread that David is the future king even to the city of the philistine. “Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?" they even where familiar with the song that has been sung that so offended Saul and turned him against David. David took these words to heart and he greatly feared the king of Gath. He realize that he is in danger here because they view him as a prominent enemy, so David decides he will be pretend to be crazy. You know the first insanity defense. Verse 13, he disguised his sanity before them, he acted insanely in their hands. So they come to get his Male Speaker: bring him before the king of the city and he is acting like he is crazy, he letting his saliva run down into his beard, he is scribbling things on the door like he is a man who doesn’t know what he is doing. Verse 14, Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why did you bring him to me? "Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence?” You think I am going to bring him into my house?" So when they brought David to him, here he is, he looks like a crazy man. You know out of this incident, David wrote two very moving psalms. Turn over to Psalm 56, you can leave something in the psalms although they are easy to get, we will come back to here a couple of times. Psalm 56 and you will note the title to the Psalm, a Miktam of David when the philistines ceased in Gath, brought him to the king of Gath.

So here is a psalm David wrote commemorating that incident and reflecting his thoughts on what went on, be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me. My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me. When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? Now verse 8, a verse that many of us memorize, you have taken account of my wanderings, put my tears in your bottle, are they not in your book? The end of verse 9, this I know that God is for me, In God, whose word I praise, In the Lord, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Verse 13, for you have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living. You see here, David amidst of his enemies and those who would destroy him, he put his trust in the Lord and the God is where he believe.

Come back to psalm 34, I mean you think about it, here is the man that God has had anointed as king of his people, here is the man on whom he has placed his spirit and he is acting like an insane person to try to save his life as he has fled from the land over which he is to be king and he is trying to hide in the city of his enemies. Remarkable, the way that the Lord works. Psalm 34, note the tile of the Psalm. The Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech who drew him away and he departed. You see some difference in names, Abimelech, Achish, if you look at the title of the psalm and then you go back and look at the title of the king in first Samuel 21 and you get into – and we are not going back, genesis 20, genesis 26, you went up with dynastic titles that are passed down and Abimelech appears as a title or a name, not a formal title, but the named used by the kings of these cities often in addition to their own personal name. It starts out, I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Verse 3, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Remember, in verse 12 of First Samuel 21, it’s said that David feared greatly the king of Gath, but here we are told the Lord delivered me from all my fears. Verse 7, the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. Preceding verse, this poor man cried, the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. Verse 8, O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the Lord, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life and loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. On he goes, verse 18, The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. Verse 22, The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.

Now, in one sense, you look at it, humanly speaking and this is a terrible time for David, here you are in the city of his enemies hiding from the people that he is to rule over who would desire to kill him and now trying to spare his life and save his life as he is in the city of his enemies and out of that come beautiful psalms like psalm 56, psalm 34, you see how God is shaping David’s heart and molding it, so learn to trust him in the worst of circumstances and the most difficult situations when his life hangs by a threat so to speak, there is time to complain, a time to say Lord I thought you were intending me to be king, what kind of king am I going to be? Look at me. No, he is learning to trust God, depend upon God and see God’s hand at work.

Chapter 22, interesting, here is further, what does David do? David has family. Verse 1, David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; here is the future king of Israel, what’s God’s preparation for him hiding in a cave? When his brothers and all his father's household heard of it, they went down there to him. Everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, everyone who was discontented. I mean there is a great following the future king of Israel has and he became captain over them. Now there is a ragtag kind of collection here, you have everyone in distress, everyone in debt, everyone who is discontent and he is their captain. There was about four hundred men with him. David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; so he has crossed over the Jordan, the other side of the Jordon now. The Land of Moab, he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me." He left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

Now you see David has to do something because the danger, his family is in danger, what if Saul comes and takes his parent captive and requires David then to come to give his life for his parents or something like that, so David is responsible to secure his parents, so he takes out of the land of Israel to the land of Moab where they can be left for safekeeping. Verse 5, before we go on, we will mention here the psalms that David wrote on this occasion, you know he is hiding in the cave, we are told in the opening verses, the cave of Adullam and you know a terrible place for a king, you see, you think of a king in a royal house and someday David will sit in a royal house, a majestic palace if you will, home for a king and have some of the trappings of the king, but here he is in the cave and that exactly where God wants him because you know when he comes out of this, two more psalms.

Come back to psalm 57, we were at psalm 56, go to psalm 57, read the title, a Miktam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in you; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. What's David thinking in the cave? Well boy, a cave, what do I do? Now that’s not what he sees himself, my soul takes refuge in you, in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge. I see myself secure and protected under the care of my God just like the bird that would gather, the chicks under the wings, so here is where I see myself. And I think what I be complaining about? Lord, what am I doing in a cave? What am I doing here? No, I am okay, I am under the shadow of his wings. My soul is among lions, I must lie among those who breathe forth fire. The sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, their tongue a sharp sword. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; here you can get how his enemies are and how they want to kill him and everything is geared towards destroying him, but in the midst of that, what does he say? Be exalted above the heavens O God, let your glory be above all the earth, it’s not all about me, here is my trouble Lord, here is my need, but you are God. I mean marvelous. Verse 7, my heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your loving kindness is great to the heavens and your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. A Miktam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave and this is what he is writing? I wonder this is what I would be writing sitting in the cave, if we have anything to do, I would be sitting there writing my last will in testament, be mourning the fate that has overtaken me.

Turn to psalm 142, again, when was this written? It was a maskil of David when he was in the cave, a prayer. I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord; I make supplication with my voice to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path. In the way where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see; for there is no one who regards me; there is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul. I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Verse 7, "Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to your name; the righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me." I mean what preparation in the midst of the worst of circumstances, hiding in a cave like an animal. My full confidence is my God. Deliverance he will bring for me. David is learning valuable lessons to trust his God, to walk with his God, to give praise and glory to his God when things are as bad as they can get. All preparing him for the time when he will sit on the throne.

Come back to Chapter 22 of First Samuel. Interesting person comes to the scene, verse 5, the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. The prophet Gad has a long ministry with David, we won’t turn there, but in Second Samuel Chapter 24, all the way down the line Gad is still with David. In fact first Chronicles Chapter 29 verse 29, it says that Gad along with Samuel and Nathan the prophet were used to compile the history of David’s reign. So a very key person here, a prophet of God who is used of God to give David directions and instructions of what he ought to do in certain situations, here he is told not to stay in the stronghold, but to go into the land of Judah. So David does, danger being in the stronghold is you know you get trapped some place and Saul comes out with the armies of Israel and now David is trapped, he can’t escape. So the prophet is here to tell him to get out more into the open country of Judah. Verse 6, then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. So spies come back, the word is through the land, Saul is looking for David, so word comes back that they know where David is. Saul was sitting in Gibeah, sitting there under the tree shade and he has got his men around him, his spear is in his hand, and Saul said to his servants, verse 7, who stood around him, "Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to you all of your fields and vineyards?” All of your fields and vineyards, will he make you commanders for all of you have conspired against me, there is no one who tells me when my son Jonathan makes a covenant with David, everybody is against me, even my own son and you also are too because you are not helping me find him.

Verse 9, then Doeg the Edomite, remember, the man who was at Nob at the priest’s place when David got the bread and Goliath’s sword, now here he is with Saul. Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul. Now he is going to go up and say, “Oh I am with you king, I want to help you”, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. "He inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine." So you see, Ahimelech, he is on David’s side, he inquired of the Lord on David’s behalf, he gave David provisions, he gave David Goliath’s sword. Now, what he is trying to do is query the favor of Saul obviously. The king says someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob, all of them came to the king. When the king summons you, you come. Saul said "Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, "Here I am, my Lord.” Saul then said to him, "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me?” Verse 14, after telling what he did Ahimelech answered in verse 14 and said "And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king's son-in-law” I mean he is married to your daughter, I mean he has been one of your commanders. Did I just begin to enquire of God for him, I mean I have done this long before and you would have expected me to do it for him, far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair." Saul’s wrath is stirred, there is no turning it back, you shall surely die Ahimelech and all your father’s household.

The king said to the guards who were standing around him, turn around the put the priests of the Lord to death because their hand also is with David, because they knew he was fleeing and they didn’t reveal it to me. Saul’s servants are not willing to step forward and do this, to turn their swords on the priest and his family? Not me, no there is a line they draw. The king said to Doeg, the Edomite, you turn around and attack the priest. Doeg the Edomite turned around, attacked the priest, he killed that day 85 men who wore the linen ephod. He struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants as well as the animals. I mean this is a fierce slaughter that takes place, not a soldier, but a priest and the family of the priests.

You know this is a terrible deed, it reveals again the character of Saul, a godless man, a man who thinks nothing on putting the priest of the Lord to death because he has been offended and his acquisitions aren’t even true because Ahimelech didn’t know what was going on when David came. No fear here and so these priests are executed. You know what amazing me? Here you have such a sinful deed of Saul carried out by Doeg the Edomite and yet this is a partial fulfillment of the prophesy that God gave. Turn back to Chapter 2, remember, Ahimelech is the great grandson of Eli the priest and Eli’s family in Chapter 2 of First Samuel, we just can’t read the whole thing, but verse 27, then a man of God came to Eli and said – so there is a prophet coming to prophesy to Eli, did I not reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt? Did I not chose them from all the tribes of Israel, my priests to go up to the alter, in verse 28, I gave the house of your father all the offerings of the sons of Israel, the priest Eli had received the benefit of the provision of the sacrifices, the animal sacrifices and then of course the bread even that we have seen, so the rebuke given to him and down verse 31, behold days are coming when I will break your strength, the strength of your father’s house so there will not be an old man in your house, you will see the distress of my dwelling in spite of all the good that I do for Israel, an old man will not be in your house for ever, yet I will not cut off every man of yours.

But you see the destruction that’s going to be reaped. So partial fulfillment of that occurred almost immediately with the death of two sons of Eli, now further fulfillment of that prophesy and another part of it is being fulfilled here. God is even using the most wild sinful deeds in accomplishing his work. Saul can’t frustrate the purpose and plans of God even in his most overt rebellion in destroying the priest of God, all he does is fulfill the prophesies of God and reveal his own wild character.

Come back to Chapter 22, in verses 20 and following, to close the Chapter, one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to David and he tells David what has happened. One son here, one priest comes to David and David said to him "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father's household.” “ Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me." And as long as I am alive, you will be alive because Saul is after me as well as you. David realizes and knew on that day Doeg is going to be trouble, but he let him live and its part of the plan of God.

Chapter 23 is about Saul pursuing David. Now you have a problem, David’s got his hands full with his own problems, but now he hears that an Israelite city is under siege from the philistines and they are being plundered and the harvest is being taken from the city, so what do I do? Do I continue to be worried about me and my own preservation or do I go and use my armed men to deliver this city from the philistines? Verse 2, David inquired of the Lord saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" the Lord said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah." the city under siege. David’s men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah” I mean what are we going to do now? Go and attack the philistines. I mean you realize we are hiding and running for our lives. I don’t know that this is the best plan now to go and attack Philistines. We had enough to do to keep ourselves alive. Well, David inquires of Lord once more in verse 4. The Lord answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for the Lord will give the Philistines into your hand.” That’s settled there for David, no more discussion here recorded, God’s plan for David is clear, I want you to go and deliver this city of Israelites from the philistines and I will give the philistines into your hands.

So David went, his men went to Keilah, fought with the philistines, he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter and thus David delivered the city. Now it came about when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand. When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand. You know amazing things go on here, David is not so taken up with his own problems, but he is now will be used of the Lord to deliver others. And Saul, he has no idea what's go on, verse 7, when it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, and God has sent him there Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand. I mean Saul doesn’t have a clue what's going on in the true spiritual dimension here, what a sad-sad life of a man anointed the first king of Israel, now he has got a totally twisted view of everything and yet he thinks God is at work. You got to be amazed when people make certain statements and we tell how can he even think such a thing, don’t be surprised. He thinks David is now trapped because he is in a city that he won’t be able to get out of. Verse 7, the end of the verse for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars, he has put himself in a fortress of a city, but you know what that means? He can’t get out because I will have my armies there, so Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here.” Now he is going to ask this priest to use the ephod and go to discern and ask the will of God. So certain things are seen here. In verse 10, David said, "O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. "Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? First concern, will the people of the city turn me over to Saul? So this is not a matter of will all stand together and we will be able to hold out.

First concern, will they stand with me or they just say let’s give David over to Saul and let’s spare the city and the answer is very simple. The end of verse 12, the Lord said, "They will surrender you." That doesn’t matter you just delivered them, people are fickle, people in the city don’t have great appreciation for David and what he did, when Saul comes they will swing to Saul’s side, Saul didn’t come deliver them from the philistines, David did. But when Saul comes, they will turn David over to the philistines and save their own skin. David and his men, about 600 men arose and departed from Keilah and they went wherever they could go, when it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah then he gave up pursuit because now he is out in the open country again. You know if I have got them in the city confined, then I can bring my armies and surround the city and there is no escape for them, so eventually we will get him, but once he is out in open country, we could chase him again throughout the open country of Judah and I just don’t have time to do that, he has other responsibilities, so Saul gave up the pursuit, David stayed in the wilderness in the stronghold, remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph.

Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. Saul hasn’t given up, they just releases if you will the major trust to try to trap them in the city of Keilah, but his still intention is to search them out, so he has always got, if you will search parties out trying to find David. David is in the hill country of Ziph where he is hiding from Saul. Final meeting between David and Jonathan is going to occur, beginning in verse 15.

David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh and Jonathan, Saul’s son arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. You see, it was possible to find out where David was and Jonathan can go and see David. I think it’s a remarkable meeting here that occurs between Jonathan and David, their last meeting. Jonathan comes to meet David and what's he there for? The end of verse 15, he encouraged him, strengthened his hand in God. I mean remarkable character in the man Jonathan, who has an ungodly father Saul, but he demonstrates himself time and again to be a godly man of faith. What did he say to David? Do not be afraid because the hand of Saul, my father will not find you and you will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you; that’s good enough, I maybe privileged to serve under you and your king.

Saul, my father knows that also, it’s remarkable here. Everybody knows David is the next king of Israel, what happened when David went to Gath? They are talking about him as king. Jonathan says, I know you are going to be king, my father knows you are going to be king, don’t get discouraged, remarkable man here, when you remember he is next in line for the throne humanly speaking because he is the son of the king, but Jonathan is not fighting against God’s plans because he is a man of God and he is willing to submit himself to God’s plan, his father – my father won’t find you. How can you be so sure? Because you will be next king over Israel, how can the one that God has designated next king get killed?

I mean it’s a matter of faith, isn’t it? We walk by faith, so Jonathan, great man of faith, so they renew their covenant that they had made back in Chapter 20 verses 12 to 17 where David covenanted with Jonathan that he would not harm Jonathan or Jonathan’s family when he becomes king, so they renew that bond between them, then Jonathan returns home. Then the Ziphites – you know David doesn’t have many friends around, now he is in the wilderness of Ziph, you can get a map and a Bible atlas and it will show you all the different places David goes out here as he is running from Saul. The Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? I mean word gets out, David just can’t go anywhere, the people of the land, you can’t kill everybody. I mean so here you have people and so the people of this region, some of them go up to tell Saul, you know you are looking for David, David is down in our land and so David has a very close call here. The king is pleased with the people of Ziph and so he tells them to go back and narrow down where he is for me because David is allusive and so pinpoint more his location.

Verse 23, look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and we will search him out. So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness there and Saul went on one side of the mountain, David and his men on the other. When you go to Israel, when you visit this region and the guide will point out how that could be or where we are with Saul going down one side and David going down the other and you realize how close to disaster David is.

Verse 26, the end of the verse, David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. And he is about to get trapped here, but God intervenes and so a messenger came to Saul, verse 27 saying "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land." You are down here chasing David and the philistines are invading the land. I mean you are on the point of being in real trouble that the philistines overrun us, so Saul breaks off the pursuit, it’s just almost past David. But isn’t it amazing how God controls the philistines. Philistines have nothing to do with the living God, but God so moves to use them for his purposes that they invade the land just at the right time to require Saul to break off the pursuit, so David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

You know, it’s against the background of this life threatening situation that David writes another psalm, so we will look at that as we close. Look at Psalm 54, see how many psalms have come out of this very difficult time in David’s life. How God is using these trials and difficulties. Look at the title of the psalm. Psalm 54, a Maskil of David when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, is not David hiding himself among us, you just read about that in the last part of Chapter 23. Save me, O God, by your name, and vindicate me by your power. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me and violent men have sought my life; they have not set God before them. Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. And it concludes he has delivered me from all trouble. I mean another one of those marvelous psalms that come out of what? A time of trial, a time when everyone around him, you think that he might be experiencing here in the plan of God that the Ziphites and others in the land would come to encourage him and provide for him and help protect him and give him supplies. But the very people he is destined to rule over are his enemies, they are looking to turn him over to Saul and out of this David writes a psalm, God is my helper, the sustainer of my soul.

You know, all these trials, they tell us something of God’s working for his people Israel in the life of David to prepare him, but they are written for our admonition as we have noted that previously in these Old Testament passages, we don’t want to miss what God has for us, sometimes in our trials, in our pains, in our worst difficulties, we have our greatest opportunities to grow and mature. Greatest opportunity to be used of the Lord, oh Lord use me, but don’t bring any trouble into my life. Oh Lord mold and shape me, but do it without pain and hardship, that’s not the way the word works. Count it all joy my brethren when you fall into various testing and trials because that’s what matures us and so it was with David. Let’s pray together.

Thank you Lord for your grace in David’s life, thank you Lord that he was indeed a man of God in life threatening situations, in overwhelming opposition, those who should have been his greatest supporters become his greatest enemies and yet Lord, in it all he trusted you, he turned to you, he depended upon you. It became a time for him to grow and mature, to become a great instrument in your hands that continues to be a blessing thousands of years later as we read these precious Psalms, they are hard to be encouraged, the privilege that is ours to walk with you, to be sheltered under your wings, to know that you are the God who protects us and keeps us and will preserve us, we praise you in Christ’s name, amen.