David Fleeing: Perseverance and Trials
July 9, 2025
Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
1 Samuel 19-21
Introduction
When God’s anointed walks through the valley of trial and betrayal, the Lord provides His presence, His people, and His providence to sustain him for His purposes.
Life as God’s chosen servant isn’t always easy. David had been anointed king, but instead of ascending to the throne in triumph, he found himself running for his life. These chapters remind us that God often allows His people to endure seasons of hardship to shape their character and prove His faithfulness. As we walk with David through betrayal, covenant loyalty, and divine provision, we’re invited to trust the same God who carries us through our valleys.
1. Betrayal and Escape (1 Samuel 19:1–24)
1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself.
God preserves His servant despite human schemes.
“But David fled and escaped that night.” (19:10)
David had done nothing to deserve Saul’s rage. In fact, he had served Saul faithfully, defeating Goliath and delivering Israel from the Philistines. But Saul, consumed by jealousy and fear, made David his enemy.
Jonathan’s intercession (vv. 1-7): Jonathan warns David of Saul’s plot and pleads with his father. Saul listens—for a moment.
Saul’s renewed attempts (vv. 8-10): When David’s success continues, Saul once again tries to kill him. David escapes from Saul’s spear.
Michal’s deception (vv. 11-17): David’s wife, Michal, helps him flee by lowering him out a window and creating a ruse with a household idol in his bed.
God’s sovereign protection (vv. 18-24): David flees to Samuel. When Saul sends messengers to capture him, the Spirit of God overwhelms them, causing them to prophesy. Even Saul himself is overcome by God’s Spirit.
Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:20)
God’s Spirit can sovereignly intervene to protect His purposes.
Even when others fail you, God never will: (Psalm 27:10)
For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. (Psalm 27:10)
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; 2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. (Psalm 59:1–2)
Question: How should you respond when someone you love or serve turns against you?
2. Covenant Loyalty in Uncertainty (1 Samuel 20:1–42)
16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. (1 Samuel 20:16–17)
God provides faithful relationships for encouragement in trials.
David’s flight leads him to seek clarity from Jonathan: Why is your father trying to kill me? Jonathan struggles to believe his father would do such a thing, but he commits to discovering the truth.
Reaffirming the covenant (vv. 12-17): Jonathan and David renew their bond, recognizing that their friendship is knit together by God.
Testing Saul’s intentions (vv. 18-34): Jonathan devises a plan to signal David depending on Saul’s response.
Painful farewell (vv. 35-42): When Saul’s hatred is confirmed, Jonathan warns David. Their parting is filled with grief as they recognize they may never see each other again.
Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’ ” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. (1 Samuel 20:42)
God often sustains us through covenant friendships in times of pain (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Faithful friends encourage us to trust the Lord in uncertainty.
Sometimes obedience to God leads to heartbreaking separations.
Who are the “Jonathans” God has placed in your life for encouragement? Are you being a Jonathan for others?
3. God’s Provision in Flight (1 Samuel 21:1–15)
Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen. (1 Samuel 21:1–7)
When David came to Ahimelech and requested bread, all the priest had was the Bread of the Presence (showbread), which was lawfully reserved for priests only (Leviticus 24:5–9). Yet in David’s extreme situation, Ahimelech gave it to him. Jesus refers to this moment in Matthew 12:1–8 (also Mark 2:23–28, Luke 6:1–5):
The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath by plucking grain and eating it.
Jesus responds: “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?” (Matthew 12:3–4)
Key Point: Jesus uses David’s action as an example of how human need can take precedence over ceremonial law—especially under extraordinary circumstances.
Jesus then asserts His Messianic authority: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:8)
David, God’s anointed king-in-waiting, received the holy bread in a time of life-and-death need. This foreshadows Jesus—the true King—meeting His disciples’ needs and challenging legalistic interpretations.
Just as David’s actions weren’t condemned, neither are the disciples. Jesus appeals to David’s precedent to demonstrate God’s mercy and prioritize life over rigid ceremonialism.
God’s law is not meant to crush but to give life.
The legalistic mindset misses the heart of God.
8 Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” 9 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.” (1 Samuel 21:8–9)
God’s providence sustains His servant in weakness.
On the run, hungry and unarmed, David comes to Ahimelech the priest.
Provision of bread (vv. 1-6): David receives the consecrated bread from the tabernacle. Jesus later references this in Matthew 12:3-4 to illustrate mercy over ritual.
Provision of a weapon (vv. 8-9): David is given Goliath’s sword, a reminder of God’s past deliverance.
David’s fear in Gath (vv. 10-15): David flees to Gath, enemy territory, and feigns madness before Achish to escape harm.
And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. (1 Samuel 21:12)
God provides for His people in unexpected ways (Philippians 4:19).
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
Even a faithful servant like David feels fear and weakness—but God works through it.
Remember past victories in times of fear (Goliath’s sword as a symbol).
Question: Are you trusting God’s provision even when you feel weak and vulnerable?
Connecting to Christ
David’s flight from Saul foreshadows Christ’s rejection and suffering.
Like David, Jesus was betrayed by those close to Him.
Like David, Jesus trusted the Father’s plan even as He walked through the valley of death.
And just as God delivered David for his ultimate kingship, so God raised Jesus to reign forever.
“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)
Application: Trust Jesus, the greater David, who persevered in trials to secure our salvation.
How do I respond to betrayal and opposition? Do I trust God’s sovereignty or react in fear?
Who are the covenant friends God has placed in my life for encouragement?
How has God provided for me in surprising ways in my wilderness seasons?
Am I prepared to persevere even when God’s plan seems delayed?
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:19)
David’s wilderness years remind us that God’s path often leads through valleys of testing before the throne of blessing. Will you trust Him in your trials, knowing that He is shaping you for His purposes?
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)
Persevere in trials, lean on God’s people, and trust His provision. Your valley is not the end—it’s preparation for the victory ahead.
