David and his “man cave”.
1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
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1. Where is the Adullam?
These caves are about halfway between Gath and Bethlehem a couple of miles from the Valley of Elah where David had killed Goliath. This was an area known for having large limestone caves which could accommodate large numbers of men.
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2. The fact that David seeks refuge in a cave tells us what about his state of mind?
David is desperate much like a wild animal being pursued. He must find a place to hide. As a shepherd he would be familiar with the lay of the land and possible places where sheep could wander into. This begins a period of about 10 years in which David is on the run from Saul who is intent on killing him.
We are not exactly sure how long he spends in these caves, but it was here that he wrote two of his Psalms. These Psalms give us insight into how David feels.
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Psalm 57
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! 4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, 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 set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
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Psalms 142
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. 5 I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! 7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
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3. Why would his entire family join David in his “man cave” residence?
It was not uncommon for a king to capture and kill the entire family of a rival. This way there would be no surviving members of the competing bloodline to pop up later making a claim on the throne.
Off With Their Heads
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4. Who were these guys who seem to gravitate to David?
They are described as being “distressed, in debt, and bitter”. Some were probably men who were unhappy with Saul and his poor leadership. It is possible that David was not the only refugee from Saul’s insane arbitrary behavior.
People who could not pay their taxes were sold into slavery or imprisoned along with their families. There were no bankruptcy courts at that time. Those who could not pay a debt were also sold into slavery or put into debtor prisons. These men would naturally flee economic persecution.
Those who were bitter in soul might be those who were looking for a leader and a purpose.
In some ways this group might be very similar to the men who fought against King George III during the Revolutionary War which founded our nation. We view them as patriots while the Crown viewed them as malcontents and trouble makers. Some of these became known as David’s Mighty Men.
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10 Now these are the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. 11 This is an account of David’s mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hachmonite, was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time. 12 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. 14 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the Lordsaved them by a great victory. 15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 16 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 17 And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord 19 and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. 1 Chron. 11:10-19 (ESV)
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The Lord sent an exceptional group of men to support David.
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5. Why did David bring his mother and father to Moab?
Because life in the wilderness would be too difficult for David’s aged parents, he takes them to Moab, where Jesse’s grandmother Ruth had come from. It must have been a very difficult journey, presumably involving a descent of about 3,000 feet to the Dead Sea, followed by a similar ascent back up to the plateau of Moab. ESV
Some have suggested that this was indeed the stronghold of Masada where the Jews later made their last stand against the Romans.
“Mizpeh” signifies a watchtower, and it is evident that it must be taken in this sense here, for it is called “the stronghold”. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The king of Moab was an enemy of Saul , and the great-grandson of Ruth, of course, was related to the family of Jesse. David, therefore, had less anxiety in seeking an asylum within the dominions of this prince, because the Moabites had no grounds for entertaining vindictive feelings against him, and their enmity, to Saul rendered them the more willing to receive so illustrious a refugee from his court.—JFB
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Like Melchizedek in Genesis 14, the prophet Gad appears from out of nowhere and instructs David not to stay in the stronghold but to go into the land of Judah. If I understand him correctly, he tells David to stop hiding outside the land of Israel. David is to find his sanctuary in Israel, specifically in the territory of his own tribe, Judah. It is Judah, after all, who first accepts David as their king (2 Samuel 2:4). David obeys, making his hideout in the forest of Hereth. The exact whereabouts of this forest are not entirely clear, but from reading 2 Samuel 18:8, it is a dangerous place, one which Saul and his men will be reluctant to enter. This forest seems to be to David and his men what Sherwood Forest was to Robin Hood and his men. RD
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Saul Kills the Priests at Nob
6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, 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 inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.”16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord.18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.”And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword. 20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar,“I knew on 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. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”
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7. On what basis is Saul urging his homeboys to stay with him and view David as the enemy?
“Hear now, people of Benjamin “– This was an appeal to stimulate the patriotism or jealousy of his own tribe, from which he insinuated it was the design of David to transfer the kingdom to another. This address seems to have been made on hearing of David’s return with his four hundred men to Judah. A dark suspicion had risen in the jealous mind of the king that Jonathan was aware of this movement, which he dreaded as a conspiracy against the crown.—JFB
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Saul can give his own tribe things that David who is of the tribe of Judah would not.
Saul was aware that some in his army, apparently even some of his tribal kinsmen from Benjamin, had deserted to David . He showed signs of paranoia when he claimed that Jonathan had encouraged David to ambush him. There is no indication that Jonathan had done this. Doeg was obviously loyal to Saul, but he proved disloyal to Yahweh.CN
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8. What defense does the Priest Ahimelech offer for helping David?
Ahimelech responds with remarkable poise. He does not take this opportunity to cast blame on David for deceiving him, which in fact David did. Instead, Ahimelech stands up to Saul, speaking on David’s behalf, and reminding the king that David is not only his most faithful servant but the man whom the people honor, and whom Saul has promoted to positions of power and authority. If all else fails, Saul should at least remember that David is his son-in-law. Ahimelech also speaks in his own defense, and on behalf of all the priests whom Saul has summoned.
Ahimelech did assist David, by inquiring of the Lord for him, by giving him some of the sacred bread, and by giving him the sword of Goliath. He did not knowingly assist David in any act of conspiracy.And the fact that he assisted David is nothing new or novel, let alone inappropriate. It is certainly not the first time David has come to him, asking him to inquire of the Lord. We can infer from this that David frequently sought divine guidance as he commenced a mission for the king. Saul should not see this visit of David, or Ahimelech’s ministry to him, as anything out of the ordinary or out of bounds.
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9. How does Saul respond to the truth and logic of Ahimelech’s argument?
Ahimelech is right, and Saul is furious. The king pronounces the death sentence, not just upon Ahimelech but upon all the priests who have gathered. It seems that this is Saul’s intention from the outset. Saul orders the guards standing by to put the priests to death. As much as these men fear Saul, they are not willing to put the priests to death. This must be a very painful period of silence, when every man freezes in place, unwilling to carry out Saul’s order.
But Saul will not be thwarted. He turns to Doeg the Edomite and orders him to slay the priests, which he does. Saul will now kill the “king of the Jews” (David) and any who support him (like the priests), and he will enlist the help of Gentiles if need be to do so. Doeg kills 85 priests that day, but this is not enough for Saul. He then goes to Nob, the city of the priests, and proceeds to annihilate the families and even the cattle of these priests. How amazing! Saul, the man who was not so zealous in killing the Amalekites, even though ordered to do so by God, is now zealous in killing the priests and their cattle, even though forbidden to do so by God. How low can Saul sink?
Only one priest, Abiathar, survives and he flees to David to tell him what Saul has done to the other priests. David assumes full responsibility, admitting that he had seen Doeg when he was at Nob, and that he knew this man would likely report on David’s visit to Saul. There is nothing that David can do for those who have been slain, but he does offer sanctuary to Abiathar. RD
Abiathar, the one priest who escaped the massacre at Nob, will bring the ephod with him when he comes to David. Thus the true priesthood and priestly counsel move from Saul to David. Abiathar will remain with David as his priest until David’s death
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· ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary
· BBC………..Bridgeway Bible Commentary
· BDB………….. Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
· BKC……….Bible Knowledge Commentary, the
· BN …..Barnes Notes
· CMM………….Commentary on Matthew and Mark
· CN …… Constables Notes
· CSC…….Chuck Smith Commentary
· Darby………..John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT
· ESVN………….ESV Study Bible Notes
· Gill………..John Gill Exposition of the Bible
· IC……….Ironside Commentary
· JFB…………..Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
· Johnson………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament.
· JVM ….J Vernon McGee,
· MH………..Matthew Henry Commentary
· MSBN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
· NET………Net Bible Study Notes.
· NIVSN…..NIV Study Notes
· NTCMM……..The New Testament Commentary Matthew and Mark.
· RD………….Robert Deffinbaugh bible.org
· VWS……………..Vincent Word Studies
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