1 Samuel 20: Saul had already tried to kill David several times. Jonathon found out that Saul was still trying to kill David and Saul even tried to kill Jonathon for siding with David. Jonathon let David know by a pre-arranged sign when shooting arrows that he was in danger and should flee. They had one last emotional, tearful meeting after the arrows and pledged their loyalty and love to each other. Jonathon is a great person. He would have been the next king and yet he kept Saul from killing David who would be king instead of Jonathon. He was a great friend to David. David then begins 10 years of fleeing from Saul. Instead of studying by chapters, I will number the places david went to during that 10 years. Here is a map that shows each of the places.
1. Nob 1 Sam 21. Ahimelek the priest gives David the forbidden shewbread that only the priests could eat. Saul’s commander Doeg the Edomite was present. Ahimelech also gave David the sword of Goliath. The heading of Psalm 52 is “When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.” showing that David wrote this psalm while in Nob. Many of the psalms have headings that reflect the places David fled from Saul to.
2. Gath 1 Sam 21. David flees to the Philistine city of Gath and fakes insanity to keep King Achish from killing him. He scribbled on the gate and let saliva run down his beard as a madman. Why does David resort to such tactics instead of just trusting God to protect him? The heading of Palm 56 is “when the Philistines seized him in Gath” showing that the wrote that psalm in Gath. The same with the Psalm 34 heading: “…When he feigned madness before Abimelech [Achish], so that he drove him out, and he went away.”
3. Cave of Adullum 1 Sam 22. David gathers a “Robin Hood” army of 400 men who were in debt, discontented, and distressed. His army will grow to 600 eventually but Saul is chasing him with several thousand men.
4. Mizpah in Moab 1 Sam 22. David leaves his parents with the king of Moab for safety. We don’t know why David trusted the king of Moab b/c the Moabites were enemies of Israel. Was there some connection b/c of Ruth the Moabite who was David’s great grandmother? Mizpah is not on the map but it is in Moab.
5. Gibeah 1 Sam 22. Saul has Doeg kill Ahimelech and 85 priests. One priest escaped and told David. David feels guilty for causing their deaths. 22:19 He (Saul) also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep. Have you ever unintentionally caused hurt or harm to someone and felt guilty later?
6. Keilah 1 Sam 23. David “inquires” of the Lord and rescues Keilah from Philistines. Saul comes to Keilah to kill David. David “inquires of the Lord” (23:2,4), and God tells him Keilah will surrender him to Saul so David escapes with his men who now number 600. Things always went better when David inquired of the Lord for knowing where to go and what to do instead of relying on his own tactics.
7. Wilderness of Ziph 1 Sam 23. Jonathon makes his last visit to David to encourage him and make a covenant. Jonathon humbly tells David that David will be the next king and offers to be second to him. Jonathon would have been the next king so that is true humility to “play second fiddle” as we say. The heading of Psalm 54 is “…When the Ziphites went and told Saul, ‘Is David not hiding among us?'” showing that psalm was written in Ziph.
8. Wilderness of Maon. 1 Sam 23. Ziphites tell Saul that David was in Ziph and then that he has gone to Maon. Saul surrounds David at Maon but news of a Philistine raid make him withdraw. The heading of Psalm 63 is “When he was in the Desert of Judah.” showing that it was written at this time.
9. Engedi 1 Sam 24. Saul goes into a cave to “relieve himself”, probably laying his robe aside, the cave David and his men are hiding in. David secretly cuts off the edge of his robe. His men tell him that this is the Lord giving Saul into his hand, but David’s conscience bothers him b/c Saul is still the Lord’s anointed. Saul left the cave, and David confronted him, showing him the robe with the edge cut off, asking Saul why he was so intent on killing him since he had never sinned against Saul. Saul seems penitent, and says that one day David will be king and left. But later he continued his pursuit of David trying to kill him. The headings of Ps 57, 142 “when he (David) had fled from Saul into the cave” tell us that David wrote those 2 psalms, crying out to God for help, while at Engedi.
Psalm 18 has the heading: “He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” He wrote this psalm at some time and place when fleeing from Saul.
We will cover 4 more of the places David fled to in the next blog. A lot of historical facts but think of how David must have felt while fleeing Saul for 10 years, constantly fearing for his life. He knows he will be the next king but he refused to kill Saul twice in the cave.
