Feeding Corruption

Fearing he was insane, and that the evil spirit causing it would get loose if they killed him, the Philistines allowed Him to leave unharmed.  David took refuge in the cave Adullam, about thirteen miles west of Bethlehem.  There are a number of large caves in the area, providing ready and easily defended hiding places.  It was in an area he was familiar with from herding his father’s sheep.  Learning of his presence, others soon joined him, according to I Samuel 22:1-2.  “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.”

David was not the only person hurt by Saul’s selfishness and fits of rage, and many people were looking for a way to escape his tyranny.  They joined David for mutual protection against Saul’s government.  Fearing Saul would retaliate against his family, David moved his parents to Moab for protection, in I Samuel 22:3-4.  “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.”

Hunters and herdsmen frequently visited the caves around Adullam, and while a small group could easily escape detection, it would be almost impossible to hide a group of four hundred for long.  The prophet Gad warned David to leave the area and go south into Judah where they would be more difficult to trap, in I Samuel 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.”

Saul and his army were camped just a short distance from the Cave, waiting to find out where David was.  Learning that David had been spotted at Adullam but had left, Saul got angry at his men, accusing them of conspiring against him and helping David to escape, in I Samuel 22:6-8.  “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?

The more fixated against David he became, the more paranoid Saul became.  When his herdsman, Doeg mentioned seeing David talking to the Priests at Nob, he turned on the priests, accusing them of conspiring against him and ordering them killed, in I Samuel 22:9-17.  “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.

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.  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.”

Ahimelech tried to explain he had not known that Saul was seeking David and had not conspired against him, but Saul refused to listen, ordering that all the priests and their families be killed.  The soldiers still had respect for their constitution, the Jewish Law, and refused to obey such an immoral and unlawful order.   

There is a familiar saying that “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Power does not cause corruption but it does feed itb y enabling them to get by  with it.  As we have seen, the longer Saul was in power, the less concern he had for what was right, even to the point of ordering the entire population of a city murdered because of one person.