1 Samuel 23:1-14 English Standard Version David Saves the City of Keilah 23 Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3 But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7 Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand. The Philistines are still up to their old tricks--letting everyone else around them farm and grow grain, and they swoop in at the time of harvest and steal the grain that they have not sown or worked to grow. This is so much a pattern in the Old Testament that it seems like it was just part of their culture to try to benefit off of the hard work of others without putting in a lot of effort themselves (other than going to war, which they knew they were good at).
David inquired of the LORD whether he and his men should go to war against these Philistine raiding parties, and the LORD told David that he should attack the Philistines and save the city of Keilah. The men who were with David though were pretty cowardly as they were even scared living in their caves in secret while among their own people, but now David (and the LORD) are asking them to go out in public in full view of the other tribes and expose themselves to attack by Saul and his army and anyone allied with Saul. David goes back tot the LORD and the LORD repeats Himself for the benefit of these cowardly men. The direction is clear and the LORD promises that the victory is sure--He has already given the Philistines into their hands. So David and his men struck down the Philistines at Keilah and took their livestock and saved all the inhabitants of Keilah. It is here at Keilah that Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech the priest (the one who gave David and his men the holy bread so that Saul killed Ahimelech and all of the other priests at Nob save Abiathar who was able to escape) met up with David and his men. Abiathar came with his ephod in his hand. Saul then hears that David was at Keilah and that he and his men are inside the walled city with the gates closed and barred for the night for protection, so Saul immediately thinks that God has given Saul the opportunity to take captive (and probably kill) David and his men. Notice that Saul attributes to God the evil things that are in his own heart and mind, for he will no longer listen to the voice of the LORD. Saul marches to Keilah with his troops to attempt to make a blockade around the city so that no one may enter or leave without going through Saul and his army and in so doing hoped to make the city give David and his men up for their own survival or they would let David, his men, and all the inhabitants of the city starve as they would be cut off from all necessary supplies. Remember thought that Israel has no standing army, so when the king wanted to go to war, he had to blow the trumpets throughout the land to summon the people to come and gather for war. David hears the signal and knows that the king intends to make war against him and his men there at Keilah, so that David tells Abiathar to come with he ephod so that he can make inquiry before the LORD (probably by casting lots with the white stone and black stone that are in the ephod, for this was a way that the LORD designated for the priests to be able to divine the will of the LORD because the LORD would manipulate the laws of probability so that the white stone would be chosen for an answer of "yes" and the black stone would be chosen for an answer of "no," but this limited the kinds of questions that could be asked to be binary in nature so that they could be answered by lots with a white stone and black stone). David asked the LORD if Saul was coming against David and his men and the inhabitants of Keilah, and the LORD told David that Saul was coming after them to attack the city because David was there. Then David asked if the people of the city would give David and his men into Saul's hand, and the LORD replied that they would (if given the opportunity to do so), for the LORD knew the heart of the people. So David and his 600 men with him fled in all directions to make it harder for Saul to pursue them. When Saul got to the city and heard that David and his men had already escaped, he did not give chase. David returned to living in the strongholds (probably caves) in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought David every day, but the LORD did not give David into Saul's hand. Now imagine being David....you hear your people are in trouble and you want to go save them (for David needs to act like the king even though Saul won't give up his throne). Saul isn't interested in saving the people of Keilah, but only in using them to get to David, and Saul is willing to destroy the city (more than the Philistines were going to do) in order to get to David--yet Saul thought somehow this was the LORD's plan because he imagined the LORD to have a heart like his own. David inquires if he should lead this ragtag group of misfits into battle and the LORD says twice that he should go save the city and then tells them that their victory against the Philistines is sure, yet, this opens the door for Saul to try to capture (and probably attempt to kill) David so that he has to escape, seemingly under the cover of darkness. David is once again living in strongholds (again, probably caves in the wilderness) when he was already anointed and told that he was destined to live in the palace--the same palace where he had grown up almost like a son to Saul and brother to Jonathan, but Saul is bent on keeping the throne for himself now that he knows that Jonathan has his will aligned with David and would give the throne over to David. In fact, we will see Jonathan make this covenant with David in the very next passage we will study together. 1 Samuel 22:6-23 English Standard Version Saul Kills the Priests at Nob 6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” 11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword. 20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.” Saul is enraged that David has escaped him and he knows that Jonathan had to have had something to do with it. He starts off by trying to make the tribe of Benjamin swear loyalty to him and make it as if this is some tribal dispute between the tribe of Benjamin and the tribe of Judah (specifically the house of Jesse, to which David belonged). Saul promised his relatives from the tribe of Benjamin power and wealth if they would stay loyal to him, but in this situation choosing to be loyal to Saul would mean choosing to be on the wrong side, for the LORD had already rejected him.
His chief herdsmen, Doeg the Edomite, the speaks and says that he saw David at the Tabernacle at Nob, and that the priest named Ahimelech gave David comfort and aid in the form of provisions for the journey and the sword of Goliath. Ahimelech was innocent in all this as David had lied to him about his reason for him and his men needing rest and food, and David's story to Ahimelech seemed reasonable because David had been on similar missions for the king in the past, and many times, David had come to the priests for them to make inquiry of the LORD for him. This was a privilege that belonged not only to the king of Israel, but to all the people of Israel, but especially those in leadership and command that needed to make decisions that affected the entire nation (like to ask if David should go to battle against the Philistines, which may break out into all-out war). Saul's anger is kindled against Ahimelech, but also against all the other priests of Nob who would have been there and seen David, and none of them reported to Saul that they had seen David (this tells us a lot about Saul. First, he thinks the priests work for him, and not for the LORD. Second, he thinks that they should be able to know things that he has never told them--it was only that day that David had become a fugitive, and if the king had never made it known to the priests that he wanted to keep tabs on David, they had no reason to be suspicious of or to try to restrict David's movements, especially if it appeared to them that he was once again going to war against the Philistines). Now Saul ordered his guards to turn and kill the priests, but they would not do so, for they feared the LORD (the same cannot be said for Saul), so we see Doeg the Edomite, who also has no fear of the LORD, turn and strike down eighty-five priests that day. He also devoted to destruction the women and children and infants and donkeys and oxen--everyone and everything in the city that belonged to these priests was destroyed. In so doing, Saul had openly declared war against the LORD for the priests and all that belonged to them belonged to the LORD and to His service. One of Ahimelech's sons named Abiathar escaped the attack and made his way to David to share the news with him that Saul was out to kill David and had killed Ahimelech and all the priests of Nob for the aid they rendered to David and his men. David says that he knew that day when he saw Doeg the Edomite there at the Tabernacle that there would be trouble, for he knew Doeg would eventually tell Saul that David was there and that the priests helped David and his men. David blames himself for the deaths of all the priests because he involved them with his conflict with Saul (Saul would have eventually tried to force them to help him though as he viewed them much like pagan priests that were to inquire from the LORD whenever the king asked but to make sure to only deliver the message that the king wanted to hear). David invites Abiathar to join his company and vows to keep him safe since David feels responsible for what happened to Abiathar's home and family. So it will be that David will now have a faithful priest of the LORD travelling with him and Abiathar will make inquiry for David before the LORD as needed so that David knows which way he should go or not go and which battles he should pursue or not pursue. David is in a tricky situation where he must act like the king that is protecting his people, even though his people don't recognize him as the rightful king (yet). We'll look at one such decision that David needs to make to save the city of Keilah next time. 1 Samuel 22:1-5 English Standard Version David at the Cave of Adullam 22 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. David did not stay in Gath for very long, but he escaped quickly and headed towards the cave of Adullam. Apparently, it was no secret where he ended up, because his brothers and all his father's house heard about it, and they all went down to meet him for a big family reunion. Not only did David's family come to him there, but everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt, and and everyone who was bitter in soul--everyone that was looking for a new king that could, in their eyes, fix all their problems because people often fail to look inside themselves to their sin and sin nature for the reasons that their lives are falling apart. They want to blame something external to themselves and say "if only this situation or circumstance would go away, be fixed, or at least become someone else's responsibility, then I could be happy." All these people had reached the end of themselves, and they were turning to David when they should have been turning to God (though David will help them see that they need to turn to God). David will become the commander of these 400 men that don't seem to have much to offer to anyone, especially to someone seeking to become king.
David went from the cave of Adullam and went to Mizpeh of Moab and spoke to the king of Moab, asking Moab to harbor his family for him until he knew what God would do for him. It would not be safe for his family to stay out in the open when Saul was trying to kill David or anyone loyal to him, and it would be safe to assume that all of his family would be loyal to him. For as long as David remained in the stronghold (in Adullam), David's family stayed in Moab. However, the prophet Gad was sent to David to give him instructions from the LORD to tell him not to remain in the stronghold, but that he should return to Judah (the wording of the text would seem to indicate that David's family left Moab at that same time, possibly even returning to Judah with him). David did not go home though, but instead went to the Forest of Hereth. This was just to the southeast of the cave in which he had originally found refuge in Adullam. I'll include a map from https://bibleatlas.org/hereth.htm for reference. You'll see Hebron to the southeast which should be a name you recognize from the book of Joshua, as that is in the land of Judah where Caleb and his descendants from the tribe of Judah wanted to settle. 1 Samuel 21:10-15 English Standard Version David Flees to Gath 10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” 12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” Last time we left David fleeing from Saul, he had stopped at the Tabernacle for he and his men to get bread for the journey and for the priest to provide David with a sword. David was given the sword that he had taken off of Goliath, and David and his men made their way towards Goliath's home of Gath in the land of the Philistines. He went to approach Achish the king of Gath to ask him for protection from King Saul (the enemy of my enemy is my friend type thing). However, the Philistines were aware of the political atmosphere of the Israelites, that David had been anointed as king of Israel, the the LORD was blessing all that David laid his hand to, and that King Saul would not leave the throne willingly and sought to kill David so that he or at least his son Jonathan might stay on the throne. David was disturbed when he heard the king of Gath call him the king of Israel, though he took the words to heart that even the enemies of God realized what the LORD was doing and how He had made David to be king over all of Israel.
David then pretended to be insane before the king of Gath, for it was the only way he could imagine to save the lives of himself and his men, for if the Philistines had been able to capture him and kill him, they would have relished the fact that they were able to capture and kill the king, but if he was an insane man who drooled all over himself and couldn't put words together to make a sentence, then they would have been doing the Israelites a favor by killing him, and they certainly didn't want to be seen as doing the Israelites any favors. So David let his beard grow out, and made marks on the door of the gate and let dried spit stay in his beard so that he looked disheveled and insane. The king of Gath sees David's act and believes it and asks his men why they captured and brought to him a madmen--he had enough of them among his own people to worry about and didn't need to deal with a madman from Israel too. If David was truly insane, then he posed no threat to the Philistines. So they let David stay there for a time until he had an opportune time to escape, but he will escape alone without any of the men who originally accompanied him to the Tabernacle. It's unclear whether David sent these men home, or if they turned back before David went into Philistine territory (for if David wasn't armed, they probably weren't either), or if they were captured. All we know is that after he escapes in the next chapters, he'll have to put together a band of outlaws and degenerates to be his new army. He'll have gone from commanding Israel's elite fighting forces to leading a group of four hundred men that can't agree on much of anything other than looking out for themselves. We'll look at that passage a little more next time. 1 Samuel 21:1-9 English Standard Version David and the Holy Bread 21 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen. 8 Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.” 9 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.” David is running for his life though it seems he has taken his company of men with him (or at least some of them). He came up the Tabernacle that was set up in Nob, and spoke to Ahimelech the priest and asked the priest for bread for himself and his men. Unfortunately, it seems the people had not been bringing grain offering of bread to the Tabernacle, so the only bread left was the holy Bread of the Presence that only the priests were supposed to eat. It was also named the Showbread and was on the table that stood before the Golden Lampstand in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. The priest was caught between a rock and hard place because it would be wrong for him to let David and his men starve, but it would also be wrong for him to give them the Bread of the Presence for food. The priest decided that as long as David and his men had kept themselves holy and were sexually pure that he would bring the Showbread out for them to eat so that they wouldn't die, for the Showbread could be replaced, but the lives of David and his men could not be replaced. Jesus will use this example in the New Testament to show that God allows rules like this to be bent sometimes for the sake of keeping a greater commandment and to argue that He is Lord of the Sabbath (and all that is holy for that matter).
Mark 2:23-28 English Standard Version Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath 23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” I don't have time to break down this passage for you today because we need to get back to David and his men, but Jesus argues that if the LORD was willing to let David and his men eat the bread meant only for the priests so that they wouldn't die of hunger, then He is willing to permit His disciples to eat a few heads of grain which they had every right to since they were growing along the path/road, and that it was Jesus who was Lord of the Sabbath, not the Pharisees. Jesus held them guiltless in the same way that David and his men were held guiltless. Jesus also makes it clear that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, meaning that in cases where the Sabbath regulations came in conflict with saving a man's life or even as we'll see later where Jesus would heal a man or set a man free from an evil spirit on the Sabbath, it is always right to do right on the Sabbath. Now back to David and his men. David had not been honest with the priest, because the priests seemed to be loyal to King Saul. There also was a servant of King Saul in custody with the priests at that point and it is very likely that this man would report back to King Saul that he had seen David at the Tabernacle. David pretended that he and his men were on official top-secret business from the king so that they could not even disclose where they were going, but time was so much of the essence that they didn't have time to pack provisions or to get their weapons as David had no sword or spear and asked the priest if there was any weapon there in the Tabernacle that could be given to him. The only weapon there was the sword of Goliath, which was a massive sword, but David was happy to take that with him (especially where he was going, which we'll see next time) for there was no other sword like it all of Israel. David has hidden the real reason he is there from the priest so that the priest will not be put in a position of having to lie for him and his men, and this seems like a situation where one sin led to another, but the LORD was willing to forgive and overlook these sins on the part of David, his men, and the priest and even use it as an example later on of how Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath (and all that is holy) could overlook any offenses against God because the offense were against Himself and He would have the power to forgive sins as we see when He heals the paralytic earlier in Mark 2 (See Mark 2:1-12). So then Jesus would establish once again by citing this Old Testament passage that He was God the Son and that meant that the Sabbath (and all that was called holy, including His disciples) belonged to Him and not to the Pharisees. 1 Samuel 20 English Standard Version Jonathan Warns David 20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3 But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. 8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field. 12 And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; 15 and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.” 24 So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25 The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty. 26 Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.” 30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” 32 Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34 And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him. 35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. We get the feeling of Michael W. Smith's song Friends from this passage of Scripture. David knows that Saul is out to kill him, but really isn't sure why. Jonathan is sure that he can use his position being close to the king to give information to David and to help save him, but David is certain that Saul already suspects Jonathan and that he will exclude Jonathan from information about David, or that he might even feed Jonathan false information to test him. It is better for David to leave and live like a fugitive and an outlaw so as to not put Jonathan's life in danger. However, David had to make up some excuse for why he left, and Jonathan would have to be the one to deliver the news to the king, which might put Jonathan at risk. There were supposed to be New Moon festivals every month, though this appears to be an even more special one that happens at the beginning of the year. There would be additional sacrifices made and the people would feast together. David being one of Saul's servants would have a seat at the king's table, but David makes the excuse that he wants to go back and celebrate this feast with his father's family because it was a time for family to come together and celebrate. So, Jonathan relays the message that David has gone to his home town of Bethlehem to attend the feast and annual sacrifices with his family. However, David did not really plan on going to Bethlehem at all--he was going to be hiding in a field near the palace the whole time so that he could get information from Jonathan and hear some of what was going on. He was interested in how Saul would react to this news that David had gone to Bethlehem because it would be something he should have celebrated that David wanted to be part of this feast with his family and he should have been more than willing to give him a bit (maybe up to a week) to celebrate with them, but if it angered Saul that David left, it would only be because Saul was trying to kill David and David made it harder to get to him. Jonathan swore an oath to David that he would make sure to tell David one way or another if he was in danger or not in danger (Jonathan saw the place where David was hiding), and the professed their unbreakable love of friendship for one another (this is not a romantic covenant--I've had these kinds of friendships before, usually with other Christian brothers where I feel they are closer than my own family and we are almost certain that we will be friends for our entire lives). They loved each other as they loved themselves and they were both willing to lay down their lives for the other and to avenge the death of the other should anything happen. Jonathan then comes up with a signal that he's going to use to tell David whether it is safe to return or not. On the third day of the feast, Jonathan will go out and shoot three arrows towards the pile of rocks that David is hiding under as if it is a mark that he's trying to aim at (This will get David's attention so that he will know to listen for what Jonathan is going to say next). Jonathan will then send a boy out to fetch the arrows for him. If he tells the boy that the arrows were "on this side of him" (closer to Jonathan) then that is to mean that it is safe for David to come home. However if he tells the boy that the arrows are beyond him (he needs to go farther away from Jonathan) then that is to mean that it is not safe for David to return home and he is to run for his life. No matter what happens though, their friendship is unbreakable with each other because it is based first in their love for the LORD. So David's seat was empty when the feast took place. Jonathan was sitting towards the head of the table next to Saul and across from Abner who was the general in charge of the army. Saul originally thought that David did not come that day because he was ceremonially unclean and that would prevent him from participating in the sacrifices and the feast that night, for he would be unclean until sundown of that day, but he would be clean the next day (there are many ways this could happen under the Law). However, on the second day, Saul is concerned because if David had been unclean the first day, he should have been ceremonially clean the second day. Saul is angry with Jonathan's answer that David has gone to Bethlehem to be with his family. He knows that Jonathan has chosen to take sides with David to protect him and Saul thinks that Jonathan should want to kill David too because as long as David lives Jonathan will never be king--but Jonathan wants David to be king. In fact we're actually going to have the other problem that as long as any of Saul's sons are alive there will people that will never accept David as king. We'll get to that later though. Saul then hurls his spear at Jonathan to try to kill him in the same way that he had done in the past to try to kill David and Jonathan is sure that Saul means to kill David to force Jonathan to be king. Jonathan, understandably, got up from the table and refused to eat any more food that day (I wouldn't want to sit at the table with a homicidal maniac father either, even if he was the king). However, it is not for his own life that he won't eat, but because he is so grieved that his father wants to kill David. In the morning, Jonathan goes out to the field and shoots his arrows towards the rocks as they had agreed upon and he tells the boy fetching the arrows that the arrows are beyond him (telling David that he needs to run for his life), adding to the signal, "Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!" The boy with Jonathan did not understand the signal, but David and Jonathan did. After the boy retrieved the arrows, Jonathan also gave him his bow and told him to return to the city with them. Once the boy was gone, Jonathan went out to meet David to say goodbye to him one last time and they wept together, David weeping the most that this probably meant that he would never see his best friend again. They renewed their covenant with each other and said that no matter what, their offspring would always be at peace with one another (we'll see that David will remember this promise and will take care of one of Jonathan's offspring later and treat him like he is David's own family). They parted ways there with David headed away (he'll live in the wilderness as a fugitive and outlaw for many years) and Jonathan headed back into the city towards the palace. They are uncertain at this point if they will ever see each other face-to-face on this side of eternity. I'm going to embed the song that I referred to at the beginning of this article as some of you may not be familiar with it. It likely is based on this very passage of Scripture, though he doesn't directly reference it anywhere in the song. 1 Samuel 19 English Standard Version Saul Tries to Kill David 19 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5 For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. 8 And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9 Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. 11 Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’” 18 Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” We saw last time that it was Saul's intent to get David killed in battle with the Philistines. When that plan didn't work, Saul instead tried the direct approach and tried to get his son Jonathan who was close to David as well as all of his servants to kill David. Since Jonathan loved David like a brother, he refused these orders and went and told David of the assassination plot. Jonathan also went and stood next to his father to make intercession on behalf of David and to say all the good things that he remembered about David so that Saul's heart might be inclined to not murder David. He also stood there so that he would hear of any news that was passed back and forth between the king and his messengers and he could pass that information along to David.
Jonathan specifically tells Saul that he should not kill David because David has not sinned against him and it is because of the blessings being poured out on David that Saul has been so blessed. Jonathan reminds Saul of how David struck down the Philistine (Goliath) and how the LORD used David to bring a great salvation to all the people, and how Saul was able to celebrate this victory at that time, even though it was accomplished by way of David (because no one else, not even the king himself, had faith that the LORD could be successful in battle against the giant Goliath). After hearing all of Jonathan's arguments for why David shouldn't be put to death, Saul makes a vow before the LORD that he will not kill David, so Jonathan called for David and told him all these things and Jonathan brought David into the presence of Saul as before. This peace only lasted for a little while though because war broke out again between the Israelites and the Philistines, and David once again went out to battle with his men and the LORD gave him great success yet again. We see again that a harmful spirit came upon Saul and once again David tried to play the lyre for Saul to clam his heart, soul and mind, but instead Saul once again tries to throw a spear at David to pin him to the wall, but he missed again as he had before, and David was able to escape. Saul sent his men to David's house to kill him when he came out in the morning, but David's wife Michal, remember that she is the daughter of Saul and knows her father well, warns David that she is sure if he doesn't escape under the cover of darkness that night that he won't be alive in the morning. So, Michal let David down through a window and he escaped. Michal then made a decoy and laid it in the bed where David would have been sleeping, and laid it on a pillow and covered it with clothes so that it looked enough like David, especially if Saul's men came while it was still dark or at first light. Saul sent his messengers to the house to arrest David, and Michal answered them to say that he was sick and in bed and could not come out to them. This was reported back to Saul and Saul insisted that they go up to his bed and should kill him there. They discovered the decoy that Michal had made and then Saul interrogated his daughter asking why she had deceived him and let his enemy escape. Michal lies and says that David gave her a choice to either help him escape or that he would kill her, and that he said that he didn't want to have to kill her (this is not at all how it happened as David was long gone before Michal planned any of this deception on her own, so she is simply piling lies on top of lies). David fled and escaped, and he went to Ramah to the house of Samuel and told Samuel all that Saul had done to him. Samuel got up and left Ramah (for perhaps Saul was going to come after him next), and went to a place called Naioth in the region of Ramah, and took David with him. Samuel's movements were closely tracked by the people at that time so it was reported back to Saul where Samuel had gone and that David was with him. Now Saul sent a group of men to go to the house of Samuel and to kill David there. Samuel was with a group of prophets all prophesying with Samuel standing at the head of all of them, and when the "messengers" that came to take David (and probably kill him) saw all the prophets of the LORD prophesying, the Spirit of the LORD came upon all of them and they too began to prophesy. Saul then sent other "messengers" and the Spirt of the LORD came upon them as well and they too started to prophesy. Saul then finally goes to Ramah himself and he gets to the great well in Secu. He asked where Samuel and David were, and the people reply that they are still in Naioth, where Saul had sent his messengers, so Saul went up to Naioth and the Spirit of the LORD once again came upon Saul so that he prophesied the entire way up to Naioth. When he got there, he stripped off his clothes (probably his royal robes) and prophesied before Samuel and the Spirit of the LORD caused Saul to lay there all day and all night. So once again Saul prophesied when the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, just like he had before he become king so that the people once again asked, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" We know the answer to that is "No." The first time it was to establish to the people that the LORD had chosen him as king. This time, the LORD chose to rush upon Saul so that David's life might be saved, for it is David that the LORD has now chosen and David will be counted among the prophets when the LORD uses some of the Palms of David to speak prophetically about the coming of the Messiah--even to speak clearly of the crucifixion of Christ many years before crucifixion even existed. Even this act of God will not deter Saul from seeking David's life and we'll see next time that David knows that he says, "There is but a step between me and death." David has already had to leave his wife and next time we'll see that David will have to leave his best friend behind too. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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