I Samuel Chapter
22
Memory verses for this week:
Hag 1:6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye
have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye
clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages
earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
Introduction: We continue
our study on Samuel this week. In last week’s lesson, we studied
about David fleeing to Ahimelech, the high priest who was from the
line of Eli whom God did not recognize. He obtains food and a weapon
from the priest, and then flees to Gath and tries to find safety
among the Philistines. They still feared David and he had to pretend
to be a crazy man in order to get away from the Philistines.
-
David
in Rejection Gathers Mighty Men
1 Sam
22:1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave
Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it,
they went down thither to him.
1 Sam
22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in
debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto
him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him
about four hundred men.
David
escaped from the men in the town of Gath and comes down to the cave
of Adullam. This was approximately 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
He set up a strong hold here for himself against Saul. It was at
this time that he began to attract a following of strong men to
himself. First his brothers came whose lives were also in danger
from Saul. Then there came out a crowd of the distressed, those in
debt, and every one that was discontented. David became a captain
over these 400 men. As David drew the distressed to him, the Son of
David stands today waiting to help those that are in distress and a
far from God.
J. Vernon
McGee said this about David gathering his army at this time.
Chapter
22 begins that period in David’s life when he hides in the caves and
dens of the earth. He is learning that the King’s business does not
require haste. God is schooling and training him as He has His other
men. During these years when he hides from the presence of Saul who
seeks to kill him, he is hunted and hounded. He is driven from
pillar to post. He is forced to hide in the forests and caves of the
earth to escape the king’s wrath. During this time David describes
himself in the following ways: (1) I am hunted like a partridge (1
Sam. 26:20); (2) I am like a pelican of the wilderness (Ps. 102:6);
(3) I am like an owl of the desert (Ps. 102:6); (4) My soul is among
lions (Ps. 57:4); and (5) They have prepared a net for my steps (Ps.
57:6).
David becomes weary during these
years of running away from Saul. When Saul presses him hard, he
withdraws to the cave of Adullam, which is a rocky mountain
fastness, southwest of Jerusalem, in a valley between Philistia and
Hebron.
In the book
of faith, Hebrews Chapter 11, David is mentioned and how that he
wandered in mountains, dens, and caves.
Heb 11:32
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of
Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also,
and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34
Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight
the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection:
Heb 11:36
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover
of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain
with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;
being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38
(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received
not the promise:
Heb 11:40
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us
should not be made perfect.
II.
David’s Wandering and Dangers
1 Sam
22:3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the
king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth,
and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
1 Sam
22:4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt
with him all the while that David was in the hold.
1 Sam
22:5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold;
depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed,
and came into the forest of Hareth.
At this
time, David moved his very aged father and mother out of the country
for their safety. He carried them to the king of Moab and asked that
they might stay with him. Jesse, David’s father, was distantly
related to the Moabites. His grandmother was Ruth, the Moabitess,
the wife of Boaz.
Ruth 4:10
Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to
be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance,
that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren,
and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
The prophet
Gad joined David with a message from the Lord. He was to depart from
Adullam and go into the land of Judah. After receiving this message,
David went to the forest of Hareth in the mountains of Judah.
1 Sam
22:6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that
were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah,
having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing
about him;)
1 Sam
22:7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear
now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you
fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and
captains of hundreds;
1 Sam
22:8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none
that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of
Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth
unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in
wait, as at this day?
Saul accuses
the tribe of Benjamin of joining with David and Jonathan to conspire
against him. Apparently, David had admirers and loyal followers in
the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was the tribe from which Saul had
descended. Saul accuses the tribe of Benjamin of four things.
1. Turning
to David despite the fact that Saul had given them a privileged
position among the tribes.
2. Joining
with Jonathan in protecting David.
3. Keep a
secret of the league between David and Jonathan.
4. Lack of
sympathy with him and in general encouraging David in his rebellion.
III. Doeg
Reveals David’s Contact with Ahimelech
1 Sam
22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants
of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to
Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
1 Sam
22:10 And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals,
and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
Doeg speaks
up and tells of how he was present in the tabernacle when David came
to Ahimelech. Ahimelech had given David bread and the sword of
Goliath, and had also inquired of the Lord for him.
1 Sam
22:11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of
Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob:
and they came all of them to the king.
1 Sam
22:12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered,
Here I am, my lord.
1 Sam
22:13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou
and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a
sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against
me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
King Saul
sends a messenger to bring Ahimelech and his family to the king. He
questions Ahimelech and asks if he has conspired against Saul by
giving the son of Jesse bread and a sword and sought guidance from
the Lord for him? Saul intimates that if he had done this, that he
was helping David to rise up against him and to lie in wait to this
very day.
1 Sam
22:14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so
faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in
law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?
1 Sam
22:15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it far from me:
let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the
house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less
or more.
1 Sam
22:16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and
all thy father's house.
Ahimelech
quickly replies that he has helped David, and questions who better
could he help but the very son in law of King Saul. He asks is not
David the one that goes at they bidding and is honourable in his
house? He goes on to state that he knew nothing of any conspiracy
against the king, and really knew nothing at all, neither less or
more. Saul is not impressed with his excuse and says that he and his
people should all die.
1 Sam
22:17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn,
and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with
David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to
me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to
fall upon the priests of the LORD.
1 Sam
22:18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the
priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests,
and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a
linen ephod.
1 Sam
22:19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of
the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and
asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
Saul gives a
command to his foot soldiers to turn and slay the priests of the
Lord due to them being against him and helping David. But the men
feared God, and did not carry out the command. Saul then commands
Doeg to turn on the priests and to slay them, and it says he went
forth and killed 85 that wore a linen ephod. He then sends him to
slaughter those who lived in the town of Nob, both men, women,
children, and animals.
1 Sam
22:20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named
Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
1 Sam
22:21 And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S
priests.
1 Sam
22:22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg
the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have
occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.
1 Sam
22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life
seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
Abiathar,
one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled after David. He tells
David of how Saul had slain the Lord’s priests. David tells him that
he knew the day he saw Doeg the Edomite there that he would most
likely tell Saul. Because off this, David said “I have occasioned
the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.” He promises to
help safeguard Abiathar since the one that sought his life was the
same one that sought his life.
Matthew
Henry said this about Abiathar and his escape.
The escape
of Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, out of the desolations of the
priests’ city. Probably when his father went to appear, upon Saul’s
summons, he was left at home to attend the altar, by which means he
escaped the first execution, and, before Doeg and his bloodhounds
came to Nob, he had intelligence of the danger, and had time to
shift for his own safety. And whither should he go but to David? v.
20. Let those that suffer for the Son of David commit the keeping of
their souls to him, 1 Pt. 4:19. He gave David an account of the
bloody work Saul had made among the priests of the Lord (v. 21), as
the disciples of John, when their master was beheaded, went and told
Jesus, Mt. 14:12. And David greatly lamented the calamity itself,
but especially his being accessory to it: I have occasioned the
death of all the persons of thy father’s house, v. 22. Note, It is a
great trouble to a good man to find himself in any way an occasion
of the calamities of the church and ministry. David knew Doeg’s
character so well that he feared he would do some such mischief as
this when he saw him at the sanctuary: I knew he would tell Saul. He
calls him Doeg the Edomite, because he retained the heart of an
Edomite, though, by embracing the profession of the Jewish religion,
he had put on the mask of an Israelite. David granted protection to
Abiathar. He perceived him to be terrified, as he had reason to be,
and therefore bade him not to fear, he would be as careful for him
as for himself: With me thou shalt be in safeguard, v. 23. David,
having now time to recollect himself, speaks with assurance of his
own safety, and promises that Abiathar shall have the full benefit
of his protection. It is promised to the Son of David that God will
hide him in the shadow of his hand (Isa. 49:2), and, with him, all
that are his may be sure that they shall be in safeguard, Ps. 91:1.
2
2 Henry,
Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible, (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers) 1997.
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Prov 4:18
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Practice
Random Acts of Kindness. Each act spreads, and many will be blessed.