Saul and the army were constantly chasing David around the
wilderness of Ziph, disturbing herds of livestock, trampling down the grasses,
and driving away game. Hoping to end the
disruptions and curry favor with Saul, the local people offered to help capture
David, in I Samuel 23:19-23. “Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah,
saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the
hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to
all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him
into the king's hand.”
And Saul said, Blessed
be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see
his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me
that he dealeth very subtly. See
therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth
himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you:
and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out
throughout all the thousands of Judah.”
Learning of the Ziphites offerto help Saul, David moved
further south, to the wilderness of Maon, just south of Carmel. Thanks to the Ziphites help, Saul almost
captured David, according to I Samuel 23:24-26.
And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul:
but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south
of Jeshimon. Saul also and his men went to seek him. And
they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the
wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the
wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on
this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain:
and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men
compassed David and his men round about to take them.”
The Philistines were still looking for the opportunity to
invade Israel, and took advantage of Saul’s hunt for David. Saul had David surrounded, and was just about
to capture him when he learned the Philistines had invaded. It was such a serious threat he didn’t dare wait
to make the capture, according to I Samuel 23:27-28. “But
there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the
Philistines have invaded the land.
Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the
Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.” God caused Saul to learn of the invasion
just at the right time.
Realizing how close he had come, when Saul went to fight the
Philistines, David moved east to the limestone cliffs along the western coast
of the Dead Sea in the area known as Engedi.
Upon his return, Saul learned of the move and pursued him with a large
group of special forces, according to I Samuel 23:29-24:2. “And
David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi. And it came to pass, when Saul was returned
from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is
in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul
took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and
his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.”
The rocky cliffs made the area popular for herds of sheep
and goats, and there were a number of corrals for holding flocks
overnight. There were also a number of
caves in the area where the shepherds stayed.
David and his men had hidden one of the
large caves, and Saul came into the cave alone to take a nap. David’s men believed God was giving him the
chance to get rid of his enemy, according to I Samuel 24:3-4. “And he came to the sheepcotes by the way,
where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men
remained in the sides of the cave. And
the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto
thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do
to him as it shall seem good unto thee…”
David refused to murder Saul, but he did want him to know he
could have killed him, so he cut off a piece of hi robe. Later, he felt guilty about even doing that,
as I Samuel 24:4b-7 tells us. “Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of
Saul's robe privily. And it came to pass
afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that
I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth
mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. So David stayed his servants with these words,
and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave,
and went on his way.”
While David knew God intended him to be the next king, he
also recognized God had chosen Saul. He
refused to try to accelerate his taking control by doing something that was
wrong himself, preferring to wait and trust God to remove him at the proper
time. He allowed Saul to go
unharmed.
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