David's Victory over the Amalekites

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 30:1) And it came to pass, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag and struck Ziklag and burned it with fire, (2) And had taken the women captives, those who were there; they did not kill any, either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way.

In the last chapter and post, David had left his home in Ziklag and had gone with Achish to fight against the Philistines' enemy which was Saul and the Israelites.  The Philistine princes did not trust David to fight for them, so the king had sent him back to his home.  It seems David had been gone only three days, or perhaps it was the third day of his trip back to Ziklag, when he came back to find that the Amalekites had invaded Ziklag and burned it, and they had taken all the women who were left there, young and old, as captives, but they did not kill them.  While living in Ziklag, David had gone out and struck the Amalekites, killing every one of them (1 Samuel 27:8-9), so these Amalekites were probably a wandering band of raiders, the ones mentioned in 1 Chronicles 12:21.  They had struck Ziklag and the south, which judging from this map borrowed from Braman's Wanderings, was probably Israelite territory:

(3) So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. (4) Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep. (5) And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

When David and his men came to Ziklag and saw the destruction and that all their wives and children had been taken, they shrieked and cried until they had no more tears to cry.  David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail were also taken.

(6) And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters, but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

David was greatly distressed, not only because of what had happened, but also because the men spoke of stoning him, blaming him for what had happened to their families.  He was the one who had provoked the Amalekites in the first place, and then he chose to go with Achish and bring his men with him, leaving their families defenseless.  David turned to the Lord for encouragement.

(7) And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "I pray you, bring me here the ephod." And Abiathar brought there the ephod to David. (8) And David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail, recover all."

Abiathar had undoubtedly been with David and his men as he would have otherwise been carried away with the women and children.  David asked him to bring him the ephod in which were the Urim and Thummim, something akin to lots that were cast to determine the will of God.  David asked the Lord if he should pursue the band of raiders, and if he would overtake them.  Had David been consulting the Lord before this, he probably wouldn't have been in the trouble he was now, but the Lord was merciful to him and told him to pursue the Amalekites, that he would overtake them, and would recover everyone.

(9) So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. (10) But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred abode behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

I would have thought that the number of his army would have grown by now as the men from Manasseh had joined him (1 Chronicles 12:19-20), but I suppose 600 was a rounded number.  The Besor Brook was south of Ziklag as seen on the map above.  200 of his men were so faint after all they had been through that they stayed behind at the Besor Brook, and David and 400 men went on after the band of Amalekites. 

(11) And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water, (12) And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him, for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk water, three days and three nights.

Some of David's men found an Egyptian in the field, and they brought him to David.  He was apparently very faint from hunger as he had not eaten for three days and nights.  They gave him food and water, and he was revived.

(13) And David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me because three days ago I fell sick."

David asked the Egyptian where he came from and to whom he belonged.  He told him he had been a servant to an Amalekite who just left him there to die because he fell sick three days prior.

(14) "We made an invasion on the south of the Cherethites, and on what belongs to Judah, and on the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."

The Egyptian servant then went on to tell David what he and his master's party had done.  They had made an invasion south of the Cherethites, which were probably a group within the Philistines, on what belonged to Judah, on the south of Caleb which included Hebron seen on the map above, and he admitted they had burned Ziklag.

(15) And David said to him, "Can you bring me down to this company?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this company."

David asked the Egyptian if he would take him to the company he had been with when they did all he had described.  The Egyptian said he would take him if he would swear not to kill him or take him back to his master.  Apparently, David agreed:

(16) And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and out of the land of Judah.

The Egyptian brought David and his men to where the band of Amalekites were.  They were at ease spread across the land, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from Ziklag in the land of the Philistines and from Judah.

(17) And David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

David and his men struck the Amalekites for apparently over 24 hours, and there must have been a very great number of them they destroyed, for the scriptures reads that none of them escaped except 400 who rode away on camels.  400 is no small number, considering that was the number of David's army that attacked them, and the way scripture is worded that not a man of them escaped except 400, certainly sounds like there must have been initially a very great number of them.

(18) And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives.

David and his men recovered all that the Amalekites had taken from them, and David also rescued his two wives.

(19) And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken from them; David recovered all. (20) And David took all the flocks and the herds they drove before those other cattle, and said, "This is David's spoil."

David and his men had recovered everything that was taken from them.  Nothing or no one was missing.  I believe the sense of verse 20 is that in addition to their own flocks and herds that the Amalekites had taken from them, David also took the herds that the Amalekites had before they stole from Ziklag, considering them spoil from the battle.

(21) And David came to the two hundred men who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to abide at the brook Besor, and they went forth to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.

David and his men came back to the 200 men who had not gone with them to fight the Amalekites because they had been too faint to fight.  They had evidently been told to stay there at the Besor Brook and probably look after any personal supplies they had taken with them when they had left Ziklag and had gone with Achish.  They came forward to meet David upon his return from battling the Amalekites, and David saluted them.

(22) Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those who went with David, and said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart."

Then some of David's men who had gone with him to fight the Amalekites, with selfish and greedy hearts, men of Belial, which meant wicked and morally worthless, said they did not want to give the 200 men any of the spoil because they had not gone with them to fight the Amalekites.  They wanted them to take what was originally theirs that was recovered and just leave.

(23) Then said David, "You shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord has given us, who has preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. (24) For who will hearken to you in this matter? But as his part who goes down to the battle, so his part who tarries by the stuff; they shall part alike."

David told the men they would not be allowed to do as they wished in that matter, for after all, it was the Lord who had delivered the Amalekites into their hands and therefore provided them with the spoil.  It was not theirs to decide who would receive of it and who wouldn't.  David resolved that as some men did their part in going to battle, it was just as important to have men doing their part to guard their supplies, and that all the men would share in the spoil.

(25) And it was from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. (26) And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord."

So it was from that time forward, that he who stayed at home and defended home and property had an equal right to share in the spoils of war as the one who went to battle.  Then David went even further and sent some of the spoil to elders of Judah whom he considered friends, who had been kind to him when he had sojourned among them.  He told them it was a present of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord, not his personal enemies, but enemies of the Lord and all His people.

(27) To those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in south Ramoth, and to those who were in Jattir, (28) And to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, (29) And to those who were in Rachal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, (30) And to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Chorashan, and to those who were in Athach, (31) And to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to rove.

There must have been a very large spoil as it was not only shared with all six hundred of his men, but also with those who were most likely elders, as with the elders of Judah, and friends, to all those who had sheltered and relieved him and his men in the times of their distress.  Six hundred men in one place could have been quite an imposition on the inhabitants, and David showed his gratitude to them by sharing his spoil.

David Spares Saul's Life Again

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 26:1) And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, "Does David not hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, before Jeshimon?"

David had gone to Carmel where he met and married Abigail.  He apparently then hid out in a hill of Hachilah before Jeshimon which was a wilderness north of Hachilah.  Being in close proximity to Ziph, the Ziphites knew David's movements and went to Saul a second time to tell on David (1 Samuel 23:19).  It seems strange that David would hide out in the same area where the Ziphites had told on him before, but perhaps he wanted to stay close to Abigail's home.  This map at Bible Hub shows where Ziph and Hachilah were in relation to Carmel:

(2) Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

So much for the good will Saul had seemed to offer after David had spared his life in the cave (1 Samuel 24:17-20), when he heard where David was hiding, his anger toward David was renewed, and he went to the wilderness of Ziph to seek him, taking 3000 choice men, meaning surely men of war, with him.

(3) And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah before Jeshimon, by the road.  But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

Saul encamped at the hill of Hachilah by the road.  David had moved to the wilderness around Hachilah and saw that Saul had come after him.

(4) David therefore sent out spies and understood that Saul had indeed come. (5) And David arose and came to the place where Saul had pitched, and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

David had sent out spies who confirmed that Saul had indeed come.  He then went to where Saul was encamped and saw him in the trench with Abner, the captain of his army, and the rest of his army pitched around him.

(6) Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, "Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will go down with you."

David spoke to two men with him, Ahimelech, probably a Hittite at birth who had converted, and Abishai, who was the son of David's sister, Zeruiah, as was Joab.  He asked which one of them would go with him down to Saul's camp, and his nephew, Abishai, said he would go with him.

(7) So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster, and Abner and the people lay round about him.

David and Abishai went to Saul's camp at night.  Saul was sleeping in the trench with his spear stuck in the ground at his pillow, or whatever he was using as a headrest.  Abner and the rest of his army lay all around him.

(8) Then Abishai said to David, "God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day; now therefore, let me strike him, I pray you, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not strike him the second time."

I believe the sense of what Abishai said to David was that the Lord had delivered Saul to him, and he asked that he be allowed to strike Saul with a spear clear to the ground, and he would not have to strike a second time because Saul would surely be dead.

(9) And David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?"

However, David told Abishai not to kill Saul, because he believed no one was able to raise a hand against the Lord's anointed king and not incur guilt for his actions.

(10) David said furthermore, "As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish. (11) The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed, but I pray you, take now the spear that is at his bolster, and the jug of water, and let us go."

David told Abishai the Lord would take his own anointed king in His time in His manner, so he would not dream of doing it himself.  However, he did tell Abishai to take Saul's spear and a jug of water which would be sufficient to let Saul know they had been there and what they could have done if they so desired.

(12) So David took the spear and the jug of water from Saul's bolster, and they got away, and no man saw nor knew, neither awaked, for they were all asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

It was David, in fact, who took the spear and the jug of water.  Perhaps the meaning of verse 11 was more like, "let us take the spear...and go."  Even though Saul was surrounded by his captain and all his army, none of them awakened because the Lord had caused a deep sleep to come over them.  David and Abishai got away unnoticed.

(13) Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great space between them, (14) And David cried to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, "Do you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you who cries to the king?"

David went away from the camp and stood on a hill far away, but close enough, that the people would hear him when he shouted.  It seems David must have been crying out before Abner actually heard him, as he cried out to Abner to answer him as if he had not answered his previous call.  Abner asked who it was who was calling to the king.  Again, it seems evident David had been calling out to Saul before he was heard or was acknowledged.

(15) And David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept your lord, the king? For there came one of the people in to destroy the king your lord. (16) This thing is not good that you have done. As the Lord lives, you are worthy to die because you have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was at his bolster."

David sarcastically asked Abner if he was a man like no other in Israel, and if so, why then had he let someone have access to the king to destroy him?  David told Abner he was worthy of death because he had not protected the king.  He then showed him where the king's spear and jug of water were that had been at the king's headrest while he slept.

(17) And Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And David said, "My voice, my lord, O king."

Saul knew David's voice and called out to ask if it was indeed David's voice he heard.  It's interesting that Saul still called him, "my son," even though he had given David's wife to someone else and pursued him to kill him.  David answered that it was indeed him.

(18) And he said, "Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil in my hand? (19) Now therefore, I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering, but if the children of men, cursed they before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, 'Go serve other gods.'"

David asked Saul why he pursued him and what he had done to stir him up against him.  He said if it was the Lord who had stirred Saul up against him, then let Him receive an offering, probably meaning himself that he would give if it was indeed the Lord's will.  I don't think David would have used such flippant language if he was sincere about an offering to the Lord to appease His anger toward himself or Saul, either one.  His point was that if God had stirred Saul to kill him, then so be it.  However, if it was men by lies and slanders, then let them be cursed before God because they had driven an innocent man away from his inheritance and forced him to dwell among pagan idolaters.

(20) "Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

David asked that Saul not spill his blood before the Lord who knew who was righteous and would surely avenge his death.  And that was because Saul hunted someone as insignificant as a flea, or as one out bird hunting.

(21) Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm because my soul was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly."

Saul once again softened toward David, even acknowledging his sin this time which is more than he did the first time David spared his life (1 Samuel 24:17).  He told David to return to his home for he would do him no harm because he had spared his life that day.  He admitted that he had been foolish and mistaken about David.

(22) And David answered and said, "Behold the king's spear! Let one of the young men come over and fetch it."

David returned Saul's spear to him.  However, he asked that one of Saul's young men go and fetch it from David, as he was not so trusting of Saul's apparent change of heart to go down and deliver it to him himself.

(23) "The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord delivered you into my hand today but I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. (24) And behold, as your life was much set by this day in my eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation."

David went on to suggest that the Lord be the one to render judgment to every man, or perhaps his point was that he had faith that the Lord would render to him according to his faithfulness.  After all, the Lord had delivered Saul into his hand that day, but he would not dare to strike the Lord's anointed.  Then he proposed to Saul that as he had valued Saul's life that day, so let the Lord value his (David's) life and deliver him out of his tribulation.  It's noteworthy that he did not say that Saul should value his life as David had valued his.  He had no confidence in Saul to do the fair thing, but he knew he could depend on his Lord.

(25) Then Saul said to David, "Blessed you, my son David; you shall both do great and also shall still prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Saul offered a blessing to David and called him his son again.  He acknowledged that David would go on to do great things, and he would prevail, which seems to be a realization that David would prevail against Saul himself and all his enemies.  So he returned to his palace, and David went on his way.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, tells us that this was the last time Saul and David saw each other.  It seems Saul may have finally come to the full realization that the Lord was with David, and he would indeed prevail against him and his army of David's enemies.

While the Wicked Love Evil, God's Goodness is Continual and His Judgment Will Follow

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 52:1) ( To the Chief Musician, Maschil, of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, "David is come to the house of Ahimelech") Why boast you yourself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God is continual.

One son of Ahimelech, Abiathar, had escaped the slaughter of the priests in Nob and came to David and told him all about it.  David remembered seeing Doeg in Nob at the same time he was there and knew he must have told Saul he saw David there.  He composed this psalm at that time.  He directed his comments to Doeg, asking him why he boasted of himself as a mighty man to do evil.  While he was continually evil, God on the other hand, was continually good.

(2) Your tongue devises mischiefs, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. (3) You love evil more than good, lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

David accused Doeg of having a tongue that was always devising mischief in one way or another, for Doeg loved evil more than he did righteousness.  His slanders and lies were like a sharp razor working deceitfully and mischievously.  He wasn't lying when he told Saul he had seen David, but he embellished the story (1 Samuel 22:10), and it was because of the deceit of Saul that he did what he did.  Knowing that Saul was lying about David, he could have kept silent if he loved righteousness more than evil, but he was happy to do the evil that Saul commanded.  Selah meant to pause and reflect.

(4) You love all devouring words, deceitful tongue. (5) God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.

David accused Doeg of having a tongue that loved to destroy.  However, in the end, God would destroy him.  He would take him away, not only his body from the land of the living, but also his soul from eternal life.

(6) The righteous shall also see, and fear, and shall laugh at him; (7) Lo, the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

The righteous would see the just punishment of God upon the wicked, specifically Doeg in this case, and they would reverence the Lord in fear of so holy and powerful a God.  I believe the laughter here is not derision and ridicule but rather rejoicing in the fact that wickedness does not triumph.  Doeg was a man who did not trust in the Lord to be his strength, but rather trusted in the abundance of his strong and powerful physical qualities, and he made himself more powerful through his wicked actions.

(8) But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

David had confidence he would flourish in the house of God as a green olive tree would in the olive yard.  He trusted in his merciful God and would forever trust Him.

(9) I will praise you forever because of what You have done, and I will wait on Your name for it is good before Your saints.

David would forever praise the Lord for all the good He had done.  He would wait on the Lord with the expectation of only good as the Lord was always good to His saints who always looked to Him.

Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this psalm was quite different than most others and that it would probably never be the subject of any sermons as there may be questions as to the morality of it.  However, as the Bible is revelation from God, and always truthful and sometimes raw, we may look upon this, too, as a lesson for us.  The psalm refers to the character and conduct of an informer.  Quoting Mr. Barnes, "...in a world where such people would be found in all lands and times, it was proper that the character of such should be at least once held up in its true light, that men may see what it really is. Any bad man may make himself more odious by becoming an informer; any good man may suffer, as David did, from the acts of such a one; and hence, the case in the psalm may suggest useful lessons in every age of the world."  I would just add to that that the priests at Nob suffered even more from the actions of such an informer.

David Delivers Keilah and Abiathar Escapes to Tell David About the Slaughter of the Priests at Nob

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:1) Then they told David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors."

Before an interlude of psalms, Saul had Ahimelech and all the priests at Nob killed because he thought Ahimelech had conspired with David against him.  In fact, he had his servant Doeg kill all the people in Nob, even women, children, babies, and animals.  David had returned to Judah, and now he heard that the Philistines were fighting against Keilah, a city in Judah.  They were robbing the corn or grain that had been collected to thresh and winnow.

(2) Therefore David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and strike the Philistines and save Keilah."

When David heard the news, he asked the Lord if he should go strike the Philistines.  Normally, David would not have hesitated to help his countrymen, but he was no longer under commission from King Saul and did not have a large army, besides the fact that it might be foolish for him to come out of hiding when Saul was looking to kill him.  However, the Lord told him to go and save Keilah from the Philistines.

(3) And David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" (4) Then David enquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."

There were just four hundred men with David (1 Samuel 22:2), and they were afraid of Saul there in Judah because they had joined David.  They were even much more afraid of going out to fight the Philistines with so few men.  For the sake of his men, David again asked the Lord if they should all go against the Philistines in Keilah, and the Lord told him to go, and He would deliver the Philistines into his hand.  That was encouragement to the men.

(5) So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle, and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

So David and his army of four hundred men went to Keilah where they defeated the Philistines and brought away their cattle, which probably meant they were theirs to begin with, and the Philistines had taken them, and now they brought them back.  Thus David had saved Keilah, or more precisely, the Lord had saved Keilah by delivering the Philistines into David's hand.

(1 Samuel 22:20) And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 

Meanwhile, one of the sons of Ahimelech the priest at Nob, escaped the slaughter and came to David.

(1 Samuel 23:6) And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

Abiathar came to David in Keilah carrying an ephod in his hand, the garment that the high priest wore.

(1 Samuel 22:21) And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests. 

Abiathar told David about how Saul had killed the Lord's priests at Nob.

(22) And David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house."

David told Abiathar that when he had seen Doeg there in Nob, he knew he would tell Saul.  Although it was never his intention, he told Abiathar that he was the cause of his family's deaths.

(23) "Abide with me; fear not, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you are in safeguard."

David told Abiathar to remain with him because he, too, was in danger of being killed by Saul.  Actually, he realized that Saul's enmity against Abiathar was because of his hatred against himself, so David would defend the life of Abiathar as he defended his own life.

Saul Kills the Priests at Nob

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

David had returned to the land of Judah, his own tribe, upon the counsel of the prophet Gad.

(1 Samuel 22:6) When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men with him (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him), 

Saul's residence was in Ramah.  He was there, with a spear forever in his hand, it seems, and all his servants were around him.  He heard that David's whereabouts had been discovered.

(7) Then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, "Hear now, you 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? (8) That all of you have conspired against me and none who shows me that my son has made a league with the son of Jesse, and none of you is sorry for me, or shows to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?"

Upon hearing the whereabouts of David, Saul asked his servants if David would give them fields and vineyards and make them captains so that they would betray Saul and conspire against him.  He suspected that his son Jonathan was in league with David, yet none of his servants would tell him what they knew.  Were they at all concerned for him that they wouldn't tell him what they knew about Jonathan stirring up David against him, as he assumed was the case.

(9) Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. (10) And he enquired of the Lord for him and gave him victuals and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

Doeg, Saul's chief herdsman (1 Samuel 21:7), had seen David when he was with Ahimelech.  He now spoke up and told Saul about it.  He told him that the priest had given David food and the sword of Goliath, but he also added that Ahimelech had inquired of the Lord for David, but we were not told that that had happened.

(11) Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests in Nob, and they came all of them to the king.

Saul then sent for Ahimelech the priest and all his family who were also priests in Nob, and they all came to him.  It is important to note that these priests were the descendants of Eli, the priest to whom Hannah had dedicated her son Samuel so that he might minister to the Lord all his life.

(12) And Saul said, "Hear now, you son of Ahitub." And he answered, "Here I am, my lord." (13) And Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?"

Saul asked Ahimelech why he had conspired against him to help David to give him bread, a sword, and had inquired of the Lord for him, so that he could rise up in rebellion against him, and to lie in wait, waiting for an opportunity to seize his crown and kingdom, as Saul supposed were David's intentions.

(14) Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, "And who is so faithful among all the servants as David who is the king's son-in-law and goes at your bidding and is honorable in your house? (15) Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? Be it far from me; let not the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father, for your servant knew nothing of all this, less or more."

Ahimelech answered the king, first telling him that he knew David to be the honorable son-in-law of the king, faithful to do whatever the king asked of him.  However, he said that it was far from him to have inquired of the Lord for him, which I suppose must have been a duty which he owed to Saul alone as king of Israel.  He then asked Saul not to charge him or his family with any treason against the king, as he knew nothing about ill feelings between Saul and his son-in-law.

(16) And the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house." (17) And the king said to the footmen who 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.

Saul told Ahimelech that he and his family would die because of what he considered treason against the king.  He told his footmen who were standing around him to kill all the priests of the Lord who were before him because he considered them conspirators with David against him.  He accused them of knowing where David had fled and not telling him where.  However, the footmen would not kill the priests of the Lord.

(18) And the king said to Doeg, "You turn and fall upon the priests!" And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.

Saul then told Doeg to kill the priests, which he did, eighty-five of them.  This fulfilled a promise of God that He would end Eli's descendants' reign as priests because of the iniquity of his sons, and Eli had done nothing to restrain them (1 Samuel 3:12-14).  The Biblical commentators I study pointed out that Doeg was again called the Edomite to separate him from the nation of Israel.  The Edomites were a brutal and violent people who hated Israel.  They descended from Esau, Jacob's brother, who traded his birthright for red stew.  He was called Edom after that which meant "red."  Doeg had no problem killing any Israelites even if they were priests.

(19) And Nob, the city of priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants, and oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

So ruthless was Doeg that he killed all the inhabitants of Nob, even women, children, and even babies, and all animals.  However, the order surely came from Saul which made this the most wicked and cruel act of his, showing he was totally under the influence of the evil spirit that plagued him.

David Takes Consecrated Bread

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 21:1) Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said to him, "Why are you alone and no man with you?"

Jonathan had warned David that Saul intended to kill him, and David had run away.  He came to Nob, a city of priests, where the tabernacle was at that time.  I imagine David felt safe in the tabernacle of the Lord where he might receive counsel of the Lord.  The high priest Ahimelech was afraid when he saw David alone.  He may have heard of the king's displeasure with him, but also as the king's son-in-law, he should have had attendants with him.  David coming alone did not seem right, and he sensed trouble.  He asked David why he had come alone.

(2) And David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commanded me some business and has said to me, 'Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send you and what I have commanded you,' and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place."

David then told the high priest a lie, telling him that the king had sent him on some business and had sworn him to secrecy, so he had sent his servants away.  As good a man as David was, living a life of integrity as he had proclaimed in the last post in Psalm 26, this is the second time that we read of David lying (1 Samuel 20:6).

(3) "Now therefore, what is under your hand? Give five loaves of bread in my hand or what there is present."

David asked the priest what he had on hand, with regard to bread or something to eat, as we may assume he had had nothing to eat on his journey.  He asked the priest to give him five loaves of bread or whatever he had on hand.

(4) And the priest answered David, and said, "No common bread under my hand, but there is hallowed bread, if the young men have kept themselves at least from women."

The priest told David that he had no common bread on hand, but there was hallowed bread that had been devoted for sacred use.  However, he seemed willing to give it to David and any of his men if they had abstained from women and were considered clean.

(5) And David answered the priest and said to him, "Of a truth, women kept from us about these three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel."

It seems as if David may have had some men with him that he had sent away when he came to Ahimelech, unless he was still lying.  He told the priest that they had not been with women for three days since he had left and been on this journey.  Whether or not it was true, that was the length of time the law required for sanctifying themselves after being with women.  David added that the vessels of his young men were holy, not having been defiled with any ceremonial uncleanness.  He also suggested that the bread was common at that time anyway as it had been removed from the showbread table, as may be assumed because the priest said he had it on hand, as bread taken off the showbread table was then lawful to be eaten by the priest and his family.  Supposedly, in case of necessity through hunger, the bread might be lawfully allowed to strangers.

(6) So the priest gave him hallowed bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that was taken from before the Lord to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

The priest gave David the hallowed bread, that which had been taken off the showbread table before the Lord, in order to place fresh bread there.  It was lawful for the priests only to eat the showbread; but David and his companions were starving and no other bread could be had at the time.  Therefore he and his companions ate of it without sin, and this we know because Jesus referred to this incident in Mark 2:25-26, implying that because he had need and was hungry, his actions were not sinful, because strict legalistic adherence to laws to the detriment of people was not aligned with the spirit of the law.  "I desire mercy and not sacrifice," said the Lord (Hosea 6:6), and it was repeated by Jesus (Matthew 12:7).  Jesus also spoke of the law of the Sabbath, saying it was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, once again meaning it should not be so legalistically adhered to so as to cause detriment to people.

(7) Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord, and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen of Saul.

There was a servant of Saul's named Doeg who was either at the tabernacle or in close proximity to it.  He was the chief of the herdsmen of Saul and so might be considered more loyal to Saul than just any herdsman.  He was detained before the Lord, probably just meaning he himself chose to stay, tarrying to worship the Lord.

(8) And David said to Ahimelech, "And is there not here under your hand spear or sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's business required haste."

David asked the priest if he had any weapons on hand because he had not brought any weapons with him because the king's business had required haste.  I suppose you could say that part of what David told the priest was true.  It was the king's business to kill him, and he indeed had to leave in haste.

(9) And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold it wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is no other save that here." And David said, "None like that; give it to me."

The priest told David that the sword of Goliath, the giant David had killed, was there wrapped in a cloth behind the place where the priestly garment lay.  He told him he could take that if he wanted it, for there was nothing else there.  David said there was nothing like it, definitely because of its size, but David had been well able to use it to cut off Goliath's head (1 Samuel 17:51), and also because it would serve as a symbol of God's faithfulness in delivering him as He had previously done.

(10) And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.

David fled from there to Gath, to Achish, the king of Gath.  It seems strange that David would flee to an enemy king, but Saul's rage was so great and David's life in such danger, that perhaps he felt a little safety in the presence of a rival king to Saul.  "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," as the proverb goes.

(11) And the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'? (12) And David laid up these words in his heart and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

However, the servants of Achish considered David to be the king or at least recognized him as the king elect of Israel as they remembered the women dancing and singing that while Saul had killed his thousands, David had killed his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7).  Perhaps they even meant that David was the king of their land, as Goliath had proposed that if any man were to kill him, the Philistines would become subjects of Israel (1 Samuel 17:9), and maybe they thought David had come to overthrow Achish and take the crown.  Either way, David became afraid of what Achish might do to him when he knew that. 

(13) And he changed his behavior toward them and feigned himself mad in their hands and scrabbled on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down on his beard.

David changed his behavior toward the servants of Achish and pretended to be mad "in their hands," which sounds as if they may have taken hold of David.  He scratched on the doors of the gate and drooled down his beard.

(14) Then Achish said to his servants, "Lo, you see the man is mad. Why have you brought him to me? (15) Have I need of mad men that you have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? Shall he come into my house?"

Achish's servants brought David to him, but because he saw him as mad, he demanded to know why his servants brought a mad man to him as if he needed a mad man in his house.  Although this psalm ends right here, we can assume that the king sent him away, as 1 Samuel 22 begins with the fact that David left.  However, my chronological study takes me to Psalms next.

David pretending to be mad when he wasn't is yet another example of his dishonesty.  I have often pondered whether or not every lie is a sin against God.  What makes me wonder that is that the commandment against lying actually says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."  Do not tell a lie about your neighbor.  Is that the same as telling a lie to an enemy of God to save one's life?  I suppose it could represent a lack of faith in God to deliver one out of danger when he believes he must do something to deliver himself.  Quoting Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "Justly are troubles called temptations, for many are by them drawn into sin."  By this, he suggests that because of his troubles, David was drawn into the sin of lying.  And surely, even if it was not an actual sin against God, everything we do has a chain reaction, whether good or bad.  And there is a slippery slope we find ourselves on when we start with little white lies as they make it easier to tell bigger lies.