David is on the run for his life. He received a clear signal from his friend Jonathan that his father King Saul is bent on killing him.
[Read] 1 Sam 21:1-9 – NOB
David went to NOB and met a priest Ahimelech. He has nothing with him so he requested for bread and for a weapon to defend himself.
• David wasn’t perfect. He was pressurised to keep his whereabouts secret and so he lied about his purpose being there.
• There wasn’t any bread available except the bread of the Presence (showbread) which was just replaced in the Holy Place (weekly). The priest gave them to him.
Jesus made reference to this event when he was questioned about eating grain on a Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5):
1 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
3 Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 5 Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
The Law was given for the benefit of man, and not as a bondage. The focus is not on keeping the rituals but in honouring God.
• There was a real need here (as with the disciples in Jesus’ time), and the LORD PROVIDES.
• David left also with a weapon he needs to defend himself. He took the sword of Goliath that was there.
1 Sam 21:10-14 – GATH [Look at the Map]
David went to Gath where he tried again to keep a low profile but was recognised by the servants of the King of Gath (Achish).
• He was terrified, believing that his life was threatened and so pretended to be a mad man. It wasn’t his great acting skills that saved him.
• Psalm 34 reveals that the LORD DELIVERED him. 34:2 “My soul will boast in the Lord.” 34:4 “He delivered me from all my fears.”
[Read] 1 Sam 22:1-5 – ADULLAM
• 22:1 - David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. His family got news that he was hiding there and came to see him. (Most likely because Saul was coming after David’s family, in trying to look for David).
• 22:2 – Many of those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became the leader of 400 men.
• 22:3-4 – His elderly parents couldn’t be staying with him in the cave, so he made arrangement for them to get a refuge Mizpah in Moab.
• 22:5 - the prophet Gad said that he should not stay there but go back to Judah. David obeyed and went to HERETH. The LORD DIRECTS.
David may be running for his life as a fugitive, but the Lord is with him. He provides, He delivers and He directs him.
How do you think David felt? Hard to see from historical records like 1 Samuel but we can read it from the psalms.
• Throughout this ordeal, David kept up his conversations with God. He wrote quite a few psalms during this time – 1 Sam 19 (his house) Psalm 59, at Nob Psalm 52, in Gath Psalm 34, while hiding in Adullam cave Psalm 57, 142, and later in Keilah (1 Sam 23) Psalm 54.
• He is on the RUN but not without God. He is “running with God”.
Psalm 57 was his prayer to God when he was in the cave at Adullam.
For the director of music. [To the tune of] "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfils [His purpose] for me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah
God sends His love and His faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts - men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet - I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path - but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
We are almost led to sing and worship with David in this Psalm!
We tend to think we need to get out of the cave to praise God, to be freed from our troubles before we can sing and make music, or for God to fulfils His purpose for me (v.2), but not so. David worships God in the midst of it all!
• To him, there is no correlation between what he is experiencing and the character of God.
• God is good. He is my refuge. He will deliver me. He has His purpose and I know His great love and His faithfulness (twice he said it, in verse 2 and 10).
This is the posture of David’s heart. No wonder God declares that this man DAVID is “a man after MY own heart!”
• His trust in the character of God does not waver, no matter what.
This is the right perspective but a difficult one for many people.
• If things are in a mess, how can God be good? If I’m running for my life, how can God be loving?
• Don’t use hardships to COLOUR God (or should I say DISCOLOUR God!). God will not change.
• Sing like David: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.” (34:7)
God is on our side. He is in the suffering with us. He provides, He delivers and He directs. “God is on the run with you.”
Philip Yancey puts it this way in his book, WHERE IS GOD WHEN IT HURTS?
• “Where is God when it hurts? He is in us – not in the things that hurt – helping to transform bad into good.”
• That’s what God is committed to and that’s why Jesus came.
• Philip Yancey: “We can safely say that God can bring good out of evil; we cannot say that God brings about the evil in hopes of producing good.”
DAVID SUBMITS TO GOD’S LEADING
Listen to what he says to the King of Moab (22:3), “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”
• “I’m still seeking God. I don’t know how this thing will turn out. I’m trusting God to show me, but in the meantime, can you take care of my parents.”
• David is not out to seek his own will. It wasn’t even his idea to be King or seize the throne. He honours God, worships God and submits to God’s will.
When PROPHET GAD tells David (22:5) not to stay in the stronghold but go back to Judah, DAVID LEFT and went to the forest of Hereth. God directs.
• As simple as that. It comes from the prophet. It’s the Word from God!
• This is the first time we meet the prophet GAD in the Bible. 2 Sam 24:11 and 1 Chron 21:9 tells us GAD became David’s seer.
• David had 3 prophets who guided and instructed him throughout his life - Samuel, Nathan and Gad. 1 Chron 29:29 “As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer.”
Prophets speak God’s will. You can tell David’s heart towards God by the way he responds to God’s prophets.
• We see his great respect for prophets’ words. In 2 Sam 12:7 when prophet Nathan confronted him (regarding his adultery and murder), he repents immediately.
As a King, no one is above him (authority over the entire nation). But when it comes to the words of prophets (Samuel, Nathan, Gad), when God’s Word is concerned, we see DAVID’S SUBMISSION!
• That’s the highest authority to him, that’s absolute authority. He is the King of all kings! The king listens to the King of kings.
• This is the reason why he is called the “man after God’s own heart.” (1 Sam 13:14). This is one thing we need to emulate – his RESPECT for the Word of God!
• You can always tell a person’s heart towards God by the way he responds to God’s Word.
WHEN YOU ARE SUFFERING, remember:
1. GOD IS IN YOU AND WITH YOU, transforming the bad into good.
• He is not somewhere else; He promises never leave you nor forsake you.
2. KEEP THE LINE WITH GOD OPEN
• David PRAYS throughout the ordeal, as the psalms reveals.
• The one thing that David DID NOT DO is to fall into self-pity, and start blaming God for his plight or asking God WHY.
3. KEEP FAITH THROUGH SUBMISSION
• Nothing can stand in God’s way. We will triumph at the end. God’s will prevails.
What God has started – anointing David as King - He will finish it. We just need to wait and persevere.
• David says (Psalm 23:5): “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
• At the end of the day, MY CUP OVERFLOWS!
