1 SAMUEL 22
Read 1 Samuel 22:1-23
We see David taking refuge in the Cave of Adullum (still in Philistine territory but not far from Judea). His family joined him there, presumably to escape any vindictiveness that Saul might show against them. But David also attracted a motley crew of vagabonds, ne’er-do-wells and other social outcasts, who sought refuge with him and acknowledged him as their leader. One can’t help thinking that ruling Israel in the future will be a piece of cake after being leader to this lot!
David was mostly concerned about the welfare of his family at this point. And to secure their safety David approached the King of Moab and asked for diplomatic immunity for them. The King of Moab agreed to keep them safe while David was on the run from Saul. Why was the King of Moab so helpful? As a traditional enemy of the King of Israel it may have simply been to irritate Saul, but you might remember the story of Ruth a little while ago. At the end of that little book we saw a family tree showing that Ruth (who was a Moabitess, you will recall) was an ancestor of David – his great-grandmother. Having some Moabite blood would not have hurt David’s cause with the King of Moab.
The rest of the chapter focusses on Saul and his increasingly obsessive pursuit of David and everyone associated with him. He complained to his inner circle that no-one told him about the covenant his son Jonathan made with David. They all seemed to be very wary of Saul in his current state. It took a foreigner who was present when David was helped by the priest, Ahimelech, (21:6 & 7) to give information about David and his movements. As David feared, Saul took retribution on Ahimelech and his fellow priests, but not before Ahimelech openly questioned Saul’s behaviour and bravely spoke in favour of David as the most loyal of King Saul’s servants. Saul was not pacified and ordered his guards to kill Ahimelech and the other priests. But they would not act against the Lord’s priests, showing greater loyalty to God than to their king, who had lost all reason. It was left to the foreigner with no loyalty to God to carry out Saul’s dirty work. Saul was becoming more and more isolated. His son Jonathan had a closer relationship with David than with Saul. He had lost the trust of his associates and had turned against them. And his guards would not carry out his orders to kill the priests of the Lord. He had distanced himself from all his natural allies, but more than that, he had distanced himself from God with his sinful behaviour.
In the midst of Saul’s mayhem and killing, we read that one of the priests that Saul had ordered to be killed, had survived. This was Abiathar, son of the courageous Ahimelech who openly challenged Saul. Abiathar went to David, who felt responsible for the deaths of Ahimelech and his associates, and he protected him. God always preserves a faithful remnant of his people, a great hope for the church in times of trouble.