I Samuel 22:1-23
“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. 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.” (I Samuel 22:1-2)
Recognizing the risk of staying in Gath, David fled to the Cave Adullam, but it wasn’t long before people began to hear where he was. His relatives all came down to help him partly out of family ties and partly in fear of Saul. In addition, those who were suffering under Saul’s administration came to David in hopes of seeing a change. Saul had begun to support a standing army, taking food and property from the people to do so. This forced some into debt and left others homeless and increasingly concerned that it was to promote Saul’s interests, rather than that of the people.
“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. And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.” (I Samuel 22:3-4)
Fearing retaliation by Saul, and knowing his parents were too old to spend their lives in hiding, David took them to Moab on the east side of the Dead Sea, where they would be protected, making a deal with the king of Moab. They stayed there through out the time David was in hiding.
”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.” (I Samuel 22:5)
The prophet Gad warned David not to stay in the stronghold of Adullam where he risked attack by both Philistines and Saul’s forces, but to go farther into Judah. David followed the advice, going into the forest of Hareth.
“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;) 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; 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?” (I Samuel 22:6-8)
Learning that David had moved to Judah, Saul turned on his own tribe of Benjamin, accusing them of supporting David in hopes that he would reward them. He accused Jonathan of betraying him and turning David against him to try to assassinate him, and his own people of helping him. The more he let the evil spirit control his thinking, the more paranoid and irrational he became.
“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. And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” (I Samuel 22:9-10)
In an effort to ingratiate himself and allay Saul’s suspicions, Doeg told Saul about seeing David at the tabernacle talking to Ahimelech, and that he had supplied David with food and weapons.
“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.
And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub.
And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
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?
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? 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.
And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.” (I Samuel 22:11-16)
Saul immediately called Ahimelech in and accused him of treason for assisting David. Ahimelech defended his actions, pointing out that David was still officially one of Sauls most trusted emmissaries, as his son-in-law, and that he had no reason to doubt David’s word when said he was on a special mission for Saul. He had acted in good faith. Saul ignored his innocence, condemning him to death, along with all his relatives. It was a very unjust sentence.
“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.
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. 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.“ (I Samuel 22:19)
None of the Jews were willing to murder God’s priests, so Saul ordered Doeg to do so. As an Edomite, he still retained some of that old family animosity, as well as traces of Esau’s disregard for God. He obeyed Saul, killing eighty five of the priests and murdering every man, woman and child in the city of Nob, as well as their livestock. Though it was a very wicked action, it fulfilled God’s prophecy to Eli in I Samuel 2:31-33. “Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.”
“And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 1sa 22:21 And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests.
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. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.” (I Samuel 22:20-23)
One of the priests, Abiathar, escaped and brought the news to David. David said it was what he had feared after seeing Doeg at the tabernacle. He promised to protect Abiathar if he would stay with him, and Abiathar did. He would continue as priest throughout David’s reign. Only when Solomon became king was he removed from office to finish the prophecy.
“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. 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.” (I Samuel 22:1-2)
Recognizing the risk of staying in Gath, David fled to the Cave Adullam, but it wasn’t long before people began to hear where he was. His relatives all came down to help him partly out of family ties and partly in fear of Saul. In addition, those who were suffering under Saul’s administration came to David in hopes of seeing a change. Saul had begun to support a standing army, taking food and property from the people to do so. This forced some into debt and left others homeless and increasingly concerned that it was to promote Saul’s interests, rather than that of the people.
“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. And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.” (I Samuel 22:3-4)
Fearing retaliation by Saul, and knowing his parents were too old to spend their lives in hiding, David took them to Moab on the east side of the Dead Sea, where they would be protected, making a deal with the king of Moab. They stayed there through out the time David was in hiding.
”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.” (I Samuel 22:5)
The prophet Gad warned David not to stay in the stronghold of Adullam where he risked attack by both Philistines and Saul’s forces, but to go farther into Judah. David followed the advice, going into the forest of Hareth.
“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;) 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; 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?” (I Samuel 22:6-8)
Learning that David had moved to Judah, Saul turned on his own tribe of Benjamin, accusing them of supporting David in hopes that he would reward them. He accused Jonathan of betraying him and turning David against him to try to assassinate him, and his own people of helping him. The more he let the evil spirit control his thinking, the more paranoid and irrational he became.
“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. And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” (I Samuel 22:9-10)
In an effort to ingratiate himself and allay Saul’s suspicions, Doeg told Saul about seeing David at the tabernacle talking to Ahimelech, and that he had supplied David with food and weapons.
“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.
And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub.
And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
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?
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? 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.
And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.” (I Samuel 22:11-16)
Saul immediately called Ahimelech in and accused him of treason for assisting David. Ahimelech defended his actions, pointing out that David was still officially one of Sauls most trusted emmissaries, as his son-in-law, and that he had no reason to doubt David’s word when said he was on a special mission for Saul. He had acted in good faith. Saul ignored his innocence, condemning him to death, along with all his relatives. It was a very unjust sentence.
“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.
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. 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.“ (I Samuel 22:19)
None of the Jews were willing to murder God’s priests, so Saul ordered Doeg to do so. As an Edomite, he still retained some of that old family animosity, as well as traces of Esau’s disregard for God. He obeyed Saul, killing eighty five of the priests and murdering every man, woman and child in the city of Nob, as well as their livestock. Though it was a very wicked action, it fulfilled God’s prophecy to Eli in I Samuel 2:31-33. “Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.”
“And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 1sa 22:21 And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests.
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. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.” (I Samuel 22:20-23)
One of the priests, Abiathar, escaped and brought the news to David. David said it was what he had feared after seeing Doeg at the tabernacle. He promised to protect Abiathar if he would stay with him, and Abiathar did. He would continue as priest throughout David’s reign. Only when Solomon became king was he removed from office to finish the prophecy.
It is truly tragic when covetousness and jealousy get the better of common sense, reason, and justice. Saul was God's anointed, yet he strayed far from the path of righteousness. Thanks for the great post & exposition of God's Word.
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Laurie
Once again, we are reminded how far a man God has chosen can go into sin if he gets caught up in doing his own thing.
DeleteI feel like I haven't been here for awhile. Saul's behavior continues to grow more outlandish to the point of being very frightening. But I suppose this is what happens when there are billions of warring wills on the planet rather than billions of obedient ones under one will. The slaughter of the priests was a very dark moment in Saul's life.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, when people begin to allow Satan to influence their thinking, instead of thinking for themselves, their behavior becomes increasingly erratic.
ReplyDeletePlease pray for a gentleman named Gary, a Lutheran very convinced that water baptism has some role in one's salvation. We have been talking through my blog for some months, but he is adamant in his position, so I have been praying for him. If you would like to see what the thrust of his argument is, visit "Refuting Baptismal Regeneration Part 1" on my blog. It's hard to break down the walls of tradition...
ReplyDeleteHe has posted a couple of comments on here as well. Unfortunately, so many, including the Jews in Jesus' day value tradition more than God's word. In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus said, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." It is troubling how many are making that mistake.
Delete