1 samuel 22 commentary

1 SAMUEL 22 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
David at Adullam and Mizpah
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of
Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s
household heard about it, they went down to him
there.
BARNES, "To the cave Adullam - Or rather “of Adullam.” Adullam was the
name of a town of Judah in the “Shephelah,” not far from Bethlehem, and
below it. Innumerable caverns, one nearly 100 feet long, are excavated in
the soft limestone hills in the neighborhood of Beit-Jibrin. (The cave is
placed by Ganneau and Conder on the hill (500 feet high) over ‘Aid el Ma or
Miyeh.) David’s brethren and kinsmen joined him partly from sympathy
with him, and partly because their own lives were in jeopardy front Saul’s
furious enmity.
CLARKE, "The cave Adullam - This was in the tribe of Judah, and,
according to Eusebius and Jerome, ten miles eastward of what they call
Eleutheropolis.
GILL, "David therefore departed from thence,.... From Gath, being driven
by Achish from his court, and let go by his servants, and glad he was of the
deliverance:
and escaped to the cave Adullam; which was no doubt near to a city of the
same name in the tribe of Judah, of which See Gill on Jos_15:35; this being a
strong place, and in his own tribe, he might hope to be in greater safety;
here he penned his hundred forty second psalm, see Psa_142:1,
and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it; that he was come
thither:
they went down thither to him; to visit and comfort him, counsel and assist
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him all they could; and chiefly to secure themselves from the rage and
malice of Saul, who they might fear would fall upon them, and avenge
himself on them for David's sake.
GUZIK, "DAVID AT ADULLAM CAVE, SAUL MURDERS THE PRIESTS
A. David at Adullam cave.
1. (1Sa_22:1 a) David’s distress at Adullam.
David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
a. David therefore departed from there: David has been through a lot.
He had the high of immediate fame, a recent marriage, dangers from
the Philistines, repeated attempts on his life, and a heartbreaking
farewell from everyday life to live as a fugitive for who knows how
long. Then, David had a brief but intense period of backsliding, a
dramatic turn to the LORD and deliverance from a life-threatening
situation.
i. As David left Gath, he praised God with the exaltation we read in
Psa_34:1-22. David was pumped! But after that exhilaration wore
off, he had a serious problem to consider: what do I do now?
b. Escaped to the cave of Adullam: This was David’s place of refuge.
He couldn’t go to his house, he couldn’t go to the palace, he couldn’t
go to Samuel, he couldn’t go to Jonathan, he couldn’t go to the house
of the LORD, and he couldn’t go to the ungodly. But he could go to a
humble cave and find refuge.
i. The name Adullam means refuge, but the cave wasn’t to be
David’s refuge. The LORD wanted to be David’s refuge in this time
of discouragement.
ii. Most archaeologists believe that the Cave of Adullam was not
too far from the place where David defeated Goliath, in the hills of
Judah. David couldn’t help but think, “Boy, I’ve come a long way
from the Valley of Elah! From a great victory to running around
like a criminal, hiding in a cave.”
c. The title of Psa_142:1-7 reads A Contemplation of David. A prayer
when he was in the cave. So, Psa_142:1-7 describes David’s
discouraged heart: I cry out to the LORD with my voice; with my
voice to the LORD I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint
before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was
overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in
which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right
hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has
failed me; no one cares for my soul. (Psa_142:1-4)
d. The title of Psa_57:1-11 reads A Michtam of David when he fled
from Saul into the cave. Psa_57:1-11 describes David as the LORD
strengthened him in the cave and prepared him for what was next.
i. Psa_57:1-11 shows David with a humble heart: Be merciful to me,
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O God, be merciful to me! (Psa_57:1)
ii. Psa_57:1-11 shows David with a prayerful heart: I will cry out to
God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. (Psa_
57:2)
iii. Psa_57:1-11 shows David with a realistic heart: My soul is
among lions . . . they have prepared a net for my steps. (Psa_57:4;
Psa_57:6)
iv. Psa_57:1-11 shows a heart of trusting praise to the LORD: I will
praise You, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing to You among
the nations . . . Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your
glory be above all the earth. (Psa_57:9; Psa_57:5; Psa_57:11)
e. The LORD brought David into this place while He was still in
Adullam cave. Many times we think we have to get out of the cave
until we can have the heart David had in Psa_57:1-11. But we can have
it now, no matter what our circumstances.
2. (1Sa_22:1-2) Others come to David at Adullam cave.
And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went
down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who
was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he
became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with
him.
a. First, David’s family came to him. So when his brothers and all his
father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. This is a
precious gift from God, because previously all David had was trouble
and persecution from his father and his brothers. Now, they join him
at Adullam cave.
i. In 1Sa_16:11, David’s father thought so little of him that he was
not even invited to the family dinner with the prophet Samuel. In
1Sa_17:28, David’s brother unjustly accused and criticized David.
So David’s family had seemed to mostly be against them, but now
they are for him. What a blessing to David!
b. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and
everyone who was discontented gathered to him: What a group! God
called an unlikely and unique group to David in Adullam cave. These
were not the men that David would have chosen for himself, but they
were the ones called to him.
i. These men were in distress. Their own lives weren’t easy or
together. They had problems of their own, yet God called them to
David at Adullam cave.
ii. These men were in debt. They hadn’t seen a lot of success in the
past, and smarted from their past failures. They had problems of
their own, yet God called them to David at Adullam cave.
iii. These men were discontented. The Hebrew for discontented is
bitter of soul. They knew the bitterness of life, and they were not
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satisfied with their lives or with King Saul. They wanted
something different, and something better, and God called them to
David at Adullam cave.
iv. It was only those who were sick of the reign of Saul who came to
David. Those who prospered under the wicked king were
comfortable with him. These men had to make conscious choice:
who will lead me? Will I be a man of Saul or a man of David? Who
will be my king? These 400 men sensed that David was the rightful
king, and that Saul was just a pretender to the throne.
v. These all came to David when he was down and out, hunted and
despised. Once David came to the throne, there were a lot of
people who wanted to be around him. But the glory of these 400 is
that they came to David in the cave.
vi. “Herein David became a type of Christ, the Captain of our
salvation, who cried, ‘Come unto me, all ye that are
weary.’“ (Trapp)
c. So he became captain over them: This was not a mob. This was a
team that needed a leader, and David became captain over them. God
doesn’t work through mobs. He works through called men and
women, but He also calls others to stand with and support those men
and women.
i. These men came to David in distress, in debt, and discontented,
but they didn’t stay that way. “It is very possible that these several
disaffected and exceptionable characters might at first have
supposed that David, unjustly persecuted, would be glad to avail
himself of their assistance that he might revenge himself upon
Saul, and so they in the mean time might profit by plunder, [and
so forth]. But if this were their design they were greatly
disappointed, for David never made any improper use of them.”
(Clarke)
ii. David made them into the kind of men described in 1Ch_12:8:
Mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle
the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and
were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.
d. And there were about four hundred men with him: When David
was down and discouraged in Adullam Cave, God brought people
around him to strengthen him in the work. David was the one
anointed by God to be the next king over Israel, and Israel’s greatest
earthly king; but just as much as God called David, God called these
four hundred to come beside David.
i. Each principle is important. The principle that God leads
through a called and anointed man is important. When an ark
had to be built, God didn’t call 400 men. When Israel needed
deliverance from Egypt, God didn’t call a committee. Over and
over again in the Scriptures, God’s work is led by a called and
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anointed man.
ii. At the same time, the principle that God rarely calls that man
to work alone is important. David needed these 400 men, even if
he never thought he did before. They are just as called and
anointed as David is, but they are called and anointed to follow
and support David, and he is called and anointed to lead them.
iii. Four hundred men, and desperate men at that. This was a solid
beginning to a rebel army, if David wanted it to be that. An
unprincipled leader might make these 400 men into a gang of
rebels or cutthroats, but David would never allow this to become a
rebel army against King Saul.
e. David had his followers, and so does the Son of David, Jesus Christ.
i. “Do you see the truth of which this Old Testament story is so
graphic a picture? Just as in David’s day, there is a King in exile
who is gathering around Him a company of people who are in
distress, in debt, and discontented. He is training and preparing
them for the day when He shall come to reign.” (Redpath)
ii. “These are the kind of men who came to David: distressed,
bankrupt, dissatisfied. These are the kind of people who come to
Christ, and they are the only people who come to Him, for they
have recognized their distress, their debt, and bankruptcy, and are
conscious that they are utterly discontented. The sheer pressures
of these frustrations drives them to the refuge of the blood of
Christ that was shed for them.” (Redpath)
HENRY, "Here, I. David shelters himself in the cave of Adullam, 1Sa_22:1.
Whether it was a natural or artificial fastness does not appear; it is probable
that the access to it was so difficult that David thought himself able, with
Goliath's sword, to keep it against all the forces of Saul, and therefore
buried himself alive in it, while he was waiting to see (and he says here,
1Sa_22:3) what God would do with him. The promise of the kingdom
implied a promise of preservation to it, and yet David used proper means
for his own safety, otherwise he would have tempted God. He did not do any
thing that aimed to destroy Saul, but only to secure himself. He that might
have done great service to his country as a judge or general is here shut up
in a cave, and thrown by as a vessel in which there was no pleasure. We
must not think it strange if sometimes shining lights be thus eclipsed and
hidden under a bushel. Perhaps the apostle refers to this instance of David,
among others, when he speaks of some of the Old Testament worthies that
wandered in deserts, in dens and caves of the earth, Heb_11:38. It was at
this time that David penned Psa_142:1-7, which is entitled, A prayer when
David was in the cave; and there he complains that no man would know
him and that refuge failed him, but hopes that shortly the righteous would
compass him about.
JAMISON, "1Sa_22:1-8. David’s kindred and others resort to him at
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Adullam.
David ... escaped to the cave Adullam — supposed to be that now called
Deir-Dubban, a number of pits or underground vaults, some nearly square,
and all about fifteen or twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, in the
soft limestone or chalky rocks. They are on the borders of the Philistine
plain at the base of the Judea mountains, six miles southwest from Beth-
lehem, and well adapted for concealing a number of refugees.
his brethren and all his father’s house ... went down — to escape the
effects of Saul’s rage, which seems to have extended to all David’s family.
From Beth-lehem to Deir-Dubban it is, indeed, a descent all the way.
K&D, "Having been driven away by Achish, the Philistian king at Gath,
David took refuge in the cave Adullam, where his family joined him. The
cave Adullam is not to be sought for in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, as
some have inferred from 2Sa_23:13-14, but near the town Adullam, which is
classed in Jos_15:35 among the towns in the lowlands of Judah, and at the
foot of the mountains; though it has not yet been traced with any certainty,
as the caves of Deir Dubban, of which Van de Velde speaks, are not the only
large caves on the western slope of the mountains of Judah. When his
brethren and his father's house, i.e., the rest of his family, heard of his
being there, they came down to him, evidently because they no longer felt
themselves safe in Bethlehem from Saul's revenge. The cave Adullam
cannot have been more than three hours from Bethlehem, as Socoh and
Jarmuth, which were near to Adullam, were only three hours and a half
from Jerusalem (see at Jos_12:15).
BENSON. "1 Samuel 22:1. To the cave of Adullam — Which was a strong hold
in the tribe of Judah, 1 Chronicles 11:15; Joshua 15:35. This place, fortified
by nature, is so fitted for the security of persons in distress, according to Dr.
Delaney, that it hath frequently given a refuge from the Turks to the
Christians, who fled thither with their families, flocks, and herds. As it was
in the tribe of Judah, and David belonged to that tribe, he might, perhaps,
flee to it in hopes of finding some friends in those parts. And his brethren,
&c., went down thither to him — Either to comfort him, or to secure
themselves from the fury of Saul, who, they thought, might probably wreak
upon them his hatred to David.
PULPIT, "1Sa_22:1
The cave Adullam. According to Josephus this was situated near a city of the
same name (’Ant.,’ 1Sa_6:12, 1Sa_6:3), which formed one of a group of
fifteen in the Shephelah (see on 1Sa_17:1), and its site has now been
recovered by Mr. Conder (see ’Tent Work,’ 2:156-160). "The great valley," he
says, "of Elah, which forms the highway from Philistia to Hebron, runs
down northwards past Keilah and Hareth, dividing the low hills of the
Shephelah from the rocky mountains of Judah. Eight miles from the valley
head stands Shochoh,… and two and a half miles south of this is a very large
and ancient terebinth." This stands on "the west side of the vale, just where
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a small tributary ravine joins the main valley; and on the south of this
ravine is a high rounded hill, almost isolated by valleys, and covered with
ruins, a natural fortress," the site of the city Adullam. David’s cave, he
considers, would not be one of the larger caverns, as these are seldom used
for habitations; but "the sides of the tributary valley are lined with rows of
caves, and these we found inhabited, and full of flocks and herds; but still
more interesting was the discovery of a separate cave on the hill itself, a
low, smoke-blackened burrow, which was the home of a single family. We
could not but suppose, as we entered this gloomy abode, that our feet were
standing in the very footprints of the shepherd king, who here, encamped
between the Philistines and the Jews, covered the line of advance on the
cornfields of Keilah, and was but three miles distant from the thickets of
Hareth." After describing the fine view from this hill, which is about 500
feet high, he adds, "There is ample room to have accommodated David’s
400 men in the caves, and they are, as we have seen, still inhabited." Thus
then David’s cave was one of many in the Terebinth valley and the ravine
opening into it, and was not far from Gath, though over the border. Here his
brethren and all his father’s house joined him through fear of Saul. Among
these would be Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, his cousins; and we learn how
great was the love and enthusiasm which David was able to inspire among
them from the feat of the three heroes, of whom Abishai was one, who,
while he was in the cave of Adullam, and a garrison of the Philistines at
Bethlehem, broke through them to bring David water from the well there
(2Sa_23:13-17). As Bethlehem was thus held by the Philistines, there was
double reason for the flight of Jesse’s family; and it is a proof how
thoroughly Saul’s government had broken down that, while Samuel could
maintain a son at Beersheba as judge (1Sa_8:1-22:24 Saul was unable to
defend places so much more distant from the Philistine border.
SBC, "Notice:—
I. David’s escape to the cave of Adullam. Sudden preferment is often
followed by unexpected reverses. (1) It was a place of safety. (2) It was a
place of comparative seclusion. (3) It was a place of earnest supplication. In
that cave David sought forgiveness, protection, deliverance. There is a cave
of Adullam in every life. Doubt, persecution, sickness, bereavement, any of
these may be our cave.
II. David’s associates in the cave of Adullam. (1) It was an affectionate
association. (2) It was a mixed association. (3) It was a faithful association.
III. David’s thoughtfulness in the cave of Adullam. He proved his ardent
attachment to his parents. (1) By his dangerous journey to promote their
comfort. "David went thence to Moab." (2) By his earnest intercession to
obtain protection for his parents. "Let my father and mother, I pray thee,
come forth to be with you." (3) By his special endeavour to secure respect
for his parents, "He brought them before the king."
IV. David’s departure from the cave of Adullam. (1) Good men receive timely
direction from God. "Abide not in the hold." (2) Good men receive minute
direction from God. "Get thee into the land of Judah." (3) Good men
promptly obey the direction of God. "Then David departed." We dare not
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resist the leadings of Divine Providence. There is a time coming when we
must all depart. We must depart from our work, and wealth, and friends,
and home, and life.
Parker, The City Temple, vol. i., p. 341.
BI, "David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
David at the cave of Adullam
David had strangled a lion, slain a giant, and overcome two hundred
Philistines; but he is himself overcome by his needless fear. The fear that
terrified David arose as much from his own sin as from Saul’s fury. Had
David been truthful to the priest at Nob he would not have had to dissemble
before the king of Gath, and hide like a traitor in the cave of Adullam. One
misstep leads to another. The troubles of life frequently spring from our
own folly.
I. David’s escape to the cave of Adullam.
1. It was a place of perfect safety.
2. It was a place of comparative seclusion. David needed rest and quiet.
The tremendous excitement through which he had passed had exhausted
both body and mind.
3. It was a place of earnest supplication. If David sinned at Nob, he
sincerely repented at Adullam. David sought for forgiveness for his sin.
David sought protection from his enemies. David sought deliverance
from his prison. There is a cave of Adullam in every life. Doubt may be
such a cave. Persecution may be such a cave. Sickness may be such a
cave. Bereavement may be such a cave. There is no cave deep and dark
enough to shut out God.
II. David’s associates in the cave of Adullam. Notice three things respecting
David’s followers:
1. It was an affectionate association. In time of trouble God will raise up
friends to comfort His believing children.
2. It was a mixed association.
3. It was a faithful association. These men proved both their courage and
constancy. When David longed for water from Bethlehem they
imperilled their lives to gratify his desire. David’s experience agrees in
some points with Christ’s. David was concealed in a cave, Christ was laid
in a manger. David was an outlaw, Christ was despised and rejected of
men. David was sustained by men in distress, Christ selected for His
disciples men who were poor and unknown. David was made a captain
over four hundred, Christ is the Captain and Saviour of all who are in
distress. If any man is weary of Satan’s service, he may become a soldier
of the cross.
III. David’s thoughtfulness in the cave of Adullam. David was therefore
deeply concerned for their safety, and his ardent attachment manifested
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itself in three ways:
1. By his dangerous journey to promote the comfort of his parents.
“David went thence to Moab.” This was not a long journey, but it was
difficult, to accomplish.
2. By his earnest intercession to obtain protection for his parents.
3. By his special endeavour to secure respect for his parents. “He
brought them before the king:” This was a prudent introduction. “And
they dwelt with him”: This was gracious reception. “All the while that
David was in the hold:” This was generous hospitality. We cannot too
highly commend David’s devotion to his parents. He was willing to
sacrifice his life and liberty for their safety.
IV. David’s departure from the cave of Adullam. We may learn three things
from David’s departure from the cave of Adullam.
1. Good men receive timely direction from God. “Abide not in the hold.”
God will not disappoint those who wait for his guidance. The steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord.
2. Good men receive minute direction from God. “Get thee into the land
of Judah.” All the agencies of life—seen and unseen—known and
unknown—are regulated by God.
3. Good men promptly obey the direction of God. “Then David departed.”
Whether God call us to serve or suffer, we must cheerfully obey. We dare
not resist, the leadings of Divine providence. There is a time coming
when we must all depart. (J. T. Woodhouse.)
ELLICOTT, " XXII.
(1 Samuel 22:1-23) David’s Life when Bearing Arms against the King at
Adullam and Hareth—Saul is informed by Doeg of the Visit of David to
the High Priest at Nob—Massacre of all the Priests, and Destruction of
the Sanctuary of Nob by Saul—Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, escapes to
David.
EXCURSUS I: ON THE SO-CALLED OUTLAW LIFE OF DAVID (chap 22).
From the scattered notices we possess in this book, in 2 Sam., and in 1
Chron., it is clear that the career of David during the period of his life
when he was declared by the reigning sovereign, Saul, to be a public
enemy, was not the career of a vulgar freebooter, to whom he has been
often wrongly likened. To his standard, as we shall see, quickly gathered
a number of illustrious men, among whom were found many of high
lineage, as well as men famous for their military achievements;
distinguished representatives, too, of the priestly and prophetic orders
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were also to be found at this wandering Court of the future illustrious
king. Among the principal reasons which induced so many and such
distinguished persons to associate themselves with David may be
enumerated growing discontent with Saul’s rule; his frequent inability,
owing to the recurring paroxysms of his distressing mental malady, to
conduct the affairs of the kingdom; his growing distrust of his friends,
especially of his gallant son; the unfortunate favouritism he displayed
towards the tribe of Benjamin—his own tribe; his relentless and, at the
same time, groundless animosity against his bravest and most successful
captain, David. There were not wanting evidently in the border warfare—
a warfare which greatly contributed to his popularity among the people,
which David almost ceaselessly carried on with Philistia during this
period—romantic incidents which show us the character of David’s
soldiers, and which well illustrate the spirit of devotion to his person
with which this great man was able to inspire his followers. On one
occasion, for instance, in the course of a border foray, the son of Jesse,
exhausted and wearied, was heard to express a longing for a drink of
water from his own home spring at Bethlehem, then occupied by a
Philistine garrison. Three of his generous and devoted followers,
determined to gratify the longing of their loved chief, with a reckless
bravery broke through the enemy’s line, and fetched the coveted water.
But David, we read, touched to the heart by such reckless gallantry and
love, refused to drink it, but poured it out—that water, won at such risk—
as an offering to the Lord. (See 1 Chronicles 11:16-19.)
In this little army of heroes eleven men of great renown are in one
passage positively mentioned by name, so distinguished were they—men
of great military experience, from the distant tribe of Gad—in the
graphic words of the writer of the Chronicles, “warriors equipped with
shield and spear, like lions in aspect, and yet speeding over the
mountains with the swift foot of the gazelle.” Four hundred men-at-
arms—of course this does not include the younger armour-bearers and
the like accompanying these veteran soldiers—are mentioned as joining
the armed camp of David. These four hundred seem soon to have
increased to six hundred. Extraordinary weight and dignity were added
to his counsels by the presence of men like Gad, the prophet of the Lord,
trained in the school of Samuel, and endowed with the rare gifts of a seer
of the living God; and Abiathar, the son and successor by direct descent
of the murdered high priest Ahimelech, who brought with him to the
exile’s camp the precious Urim and Thummim, the greatest treasures of
the sacred Tabernacle, by means of which the “outlaw” David was placed
in direct communication with Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel.
In this school of fighting men were trained those generals and wise
strategists who in the golden days of David’s rule commanded his
armies, and raised Israel from the obscurity of an “Arab” tribe, who with
difficulty held their own among the ancient Canaanites, to the position of
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one of the great nations of the old Eastern world.
I cannot forbear transcribing from the Talmud a curious note on “the
four hundred warriors of David.” This ancient tradition evidently
bestows on these “fighting men-at-arms” who rallied round David in his
days of exile and poverty, the splendour which perhaps subsequently
surrounded the great king’s body-guard when he reigned as a mighty
prince in Jerusalem over Canaan and the surrounding nations. “David
had four hundred young men, handsome in appearance, and with their
hair cut close upon their foreheads, but with long flowing curls behind,
who used to ride in chariots of gold at the head of the army. These were
men of power, the mighty men of the house of David, who went about to
strike terror into the world.”—Babylonian Talmud, Treatise Kiddushin,
fol. 76, Colossians 2.
It is most probable that a corps of êlite, in memory of the original “four
hundred” of the days of the king’s wanderings, was established when
David possessed a powerful standing army.
Verse 1
(1) The cave Adullam.—The great valley of Elah forms the highway from
Philistia to Hebron. In one especially of the tributary vales or ravines of
the Elah valley are many natural caves, some of great extent, roomy and
dry, which are still used by the shepherds as dwelling-places, and as
refuges for their flocks and herds. David chose one of these natural
fastnesses as the temporary home for himself and his followers. The
traveller sees that there was ample room for the 400 refugees who
gathered under David’s skilled leadership. Stanley even speaks of this
Adullam Cavern as “a subterranean palace, with vast columnar halls and
arched chambers.”
The name Adullam was probably given to the largest of these great
caverns from its proximity to the old royal Canaanitish city of Adullam
(Joshua 15:35), ruins of which on a rounded hill to the south of the cave
are still visible.
His brethren and all his father’s house.—They of course soon felt the
weight of Saul’s anger against the prominent hero of their race, and
dreading the fate which often overwhelms whole families for the faults
of one of the more distinguished members, fled from their homes, and
joined David and his armed force of outlaws.
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PETER PETT, "Introduction
SECTION 4. The Years of Preparation In The Wilderness (21:1-26:25).
A). David Becomes An Outlaw And Forms A Private Army (21:1-22:23).
In this subsection David, having become a refugee and not daring to
return home for provisions or weapons, obtains both provisions and
weapons from Ahimelech the Priest on false pretences, followed by
resulting humiliation in Gath. Eventually he takes shelter in the Cave of
Adullam, where his brothers, together with many discontented men,
gather to join him with the result that he is able to establish the private
army which will be the basis of his future success. Unfortunately
Ahimelech is meanwhile falsely accused before Saul and as a result,
(such is Saul’s state of mind), he and his fellow-priests are put to death.
Subsection Analysis.
a The Refugee David Visits Ahimelech The Priest And Obtains Provisions
(1 Samuel 21:1-7).
b David Obtains The Sword Of Goliath And Goes To Gath, Only To Have
To Feign Madness And Return To Judah (1 Samuel 21:8-15).
c David Goes To The Cave Of Adullam And Gathers A Private Army (1
Samuel 22:1-2).
b David Goes To Moab And Seeks Refuge For His Parents, Remaining In
A ‘Stronghold’ There Until He Is Told To Return To Judah (1 Samuel
22:3-4).
a Ahimelech Is Called To Account For Provisioning David And As A
Result He And The Priests Of Nob Are Slaughtered (1 Samuel 22:5-19).
Note that in ‘a’ David seeks help from Ahimelech which is gladly given
and in the parallel Ahimelech is executed for his pains. In ‘b’ David goes
to a foreign country, but soon returns, and in the parallel does the same.
In both cases he immediately returns to Israel. Centrally he goes to the
Cave of Adullam where he gathers the basis of the private army which
12

will stand him in such good stead in the future.
Verse 1-2
The Glory of God Is Revealed In The Cave of Adullam: David Establishes
The Beginnings of His Private Army And Re-establishes The Future (1
Samuel 22:1-2).
Having barely escaped from Gath with his life David returned to Israel
and made for the cave of Adullam. Adullam was an ancient royal city of
the Canaanites, twelve miles east of Gath and in the Judean foothills
near the valley of Elah (Joshua 15:35). Nearby were a series of large
caves. And it was to one of these caves that David made his way. It must
have seemed like the end of the road. He had been rejected by Saul, had
perjured his soul to Ahimelech, and had played the madman in Gath.
Now he was to become a trogladyte. Though he did not realise it he was
being faced up with the fact of the truth about himself, and was learning
that the way to Up is Down.
Imagine now the scene as the Reject of Saul, the Liar of Nob and the
Goon of Gath makes his tired way towards the cave of Adullam. His
exultation at escaping from Gath (Psalms 34) must now have been
replaced by a sense of despair. For as he entered its gloomy portal, and
was no doubt met by a motley and suspicious group of ragged and dirty
refugees, he must have asked, ‘has it all come to this?’ Little did he
realise at that moment that in that cave he was about to experience the
Grace of God. It did not come immediately, nor did it come in any
moment of high exaltation but it came in dribs and drabs, as God drew to
that cave the beginnings of a unique fighting force..
From that cave he appears first to have got a message through to his
family, who were possibly not yet aware of the disaster that might face
them. For the one who would slaughter the innocent priests of Nob
would have had no qualms about the destruction of the family of the
traitor David. And the result was that he was soon joined by his brothers
and parents, and their household. But it was not only they who gathered
to David. When news got around in whispers that David, the hero of
Israel, was sheltering in the caves of Adullam, (and presumably
venturing out on raiding trips, for they would need to survive somehow),
many who had grievances or were in debt gathered to him, until at length
he had about four hundred men at his command, a considerable force in
those days (compare Esau in Genesis 32:6 and Abraham in Genesis
14:14), especially when they were well trained.
13

Indeed one thing that will stand out in the future narratives is the fact
that David had ‘his men’. It was they who would be the foundation of his
future greatness, and it was here that they had their beginnings. We have
already noted the military successes of David. He was a brilliant
campaigner, and a popular hero. But shaping the motley group that he
would now gather into an effective and powerful fighting force was
undoubtedly one of his greatest achievements. They came together as a
group of malcontents, and we are left to imagine his tight control over
them, the requirement for worship and the daily training that gradually
honed them into a powerful instrument of war. But we can be sure that
all were prominent features of life in the cave.
Analysis.
a David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave of
Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1 a).
b And when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went
down there to him (1 Samuel 22:1 b).
c And every one who was in distress, and every one who was in debt, and
every one who was discontented, gathered themselves to him (1 Samuel
22:2 a).
b And he became commander over them (1 Samuel 22:2 b).
a And there were with him about four hundred men (1 Samuel 22:2 c).
Note that in ‘a’ David goes to the large cave at Adullam and in the parallel
he soon has four hundred men living with him there. In ‘b’ his family
come to join him, and in the parallel he has command over them. Central
in ‘c’ are the threefold types who join up with him. It was an army of the
needy and the discontented
1 Samuel 22:1 a
‘David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave of
Adullam.’
There were a number of caves at Adullam, and this was presumably the
14

largest of them. Adullam itself was an ancient royal city of the
Canaanites, twelve miles east of Gath (midway between Jerusalem and
Lachish) and in the Judean foothills near the valley of Elah (Joshua
15:35). It would not have been very welcoming, but it was all he had.
1 Samuel 22:1 b
‘And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went
down there to him.’
It would appear that David contacted his family at this time and warned
them of what Saul might do to them, with the result that they joined him
in the Cave of Adullam. For as his behaviour towards the priests of Nob
would demonstrate Saul was both bloodthirsty and unreliable, and
David’s family were no doubt near the top of his list. There can be little
doubt that David urged them to join him there.
1 Samuel 22:2
‘And every one who was in distress, and every one who was in debt, and
every one who was discontented, gathered themselves to him, and he
became commander over them. And there were with him about four
hundred men.’
But not only his family came. For as news spread around Israel about
how David had escaped from Saul, his name became a magnet that drew
men to the cave at Adullam. All who were distressed or in debt, and all
who were not content to have Saul as king, gathered to David at Adullam.
And they all looked to him as their natural leader with the result that he
became commander over them. The consequence was that soon he had
four hundred trained and disciplined men under his command, to say
nothing of their wives and children. And we can be sure that David
ensured that they were well trained. He would know that their future
depended on it.
CONSTABLE, "Verse 1-2
David"s flight to Adullam
The town of Adullam (lit. refuge) stood a mile or two south of the Elah
Valley, where David had slain Goliath, and about10 miles east-southeast
15

of Gath. There are many huge caves in the limestone hills in that area,
several of which can accommodate over400 people. Evidently David"s
family was no longer safe from Saul in Bethlehem, which was10 miles
east-northeast of Adullam.
"If Saul would attack his own family ( 1 Samuel 20:33), there was no
telling what he might do to David"s." [Note: Gordon, I & II Samuel . . .,
p172.]
David now became the leader of a group of people who, for various
reasons, had become discontented with Saul"s government. One cannot
read 1 Samuel 22:2 without reflecting on how needy people later sought
and now seek refuge in David"s greatest Song of Solomon , Jesus Christ.
This growing movement of support behind David led eventually to his
crowning as king of all Israel.
WHEDON, "Verse 1
1. Departed thence, and escaped — Whether he was thrust out of the land
or escaped by stealth we are not here told, but from the title of Psalms 34
we infer that he was driven away. Having thus effected his escape, his
joyful heart gives vent to its feelings in that inimitable psalm.
The cave Adullam — A city Adullam was situate in or near the plain of
Philistia, (Joshua 15:35;) but there is no passage of Scripture that
necessarily connects the cave of Adullam with the city of that name.
There appears, therefore, no sufficient reason to disturb the tradition of
seven hundred years, which fixes this cave about six miles southeast of
Bethlehem, in the side of the wild gorge el-Kureitun. It has been visited
by many travellers, who all describe it as an immense natural cavern in
the side of the cliff, and very difficult of access. Dr. J.P. Newman, who
explored it in 1861, thus writes: “Entering the cave through a passage
way six feet high, four wide, and thirty long, but which soon contracted
to such dimensions as to compel us first to stoop and then to creep, we at
length found ourselves in the hiding place of David. Owing to the curve in
the entrance, no sunlight ever penetrates this dismal abode. Lighting our
candles, we began to explore.
We found the interior divided into chambers, halls, galleries, and
dungeons, connected by intricate passageways. The chief hall is one
hundred and twenty feet long, and fifty wide; the ceiling is high and
arched, ornamented with pendants resembling stalactites; and from the
walls extend sharp projections, on which the ancient warriors hung their
arms. The effect was grand as our tapers revealed each irregular arch,
16

graceful pendant, and sharp projection, giving the whole the appearance
of a grand Gothic hall. Lateral passages radiate in every direction from
this chamber, but ultimately converge in a central room. The darkness
and silence were oppressive, and the seclusion and intricacies of the cave
would have baffled any attempt of Saul to capture the object of his
pursuit. From the side of the first chamber we reached a pit ten feet
deep, and from it a low, narrow alley, two hundred and ten feet long,
leads to another hall, the inner sanctum, where David held his secret
counsels.” David probably became familiar with this cave in his
childhood, when he kept his father’s flocks near Beth-lehem.
His brethren and all his father’s house… went down thither — Because,
on account of Saul’s rage, their lives were no longer safe at Bethlehem.
HAWKER, "Verses 6-23
Saul"s slaughter of the priests
The writer"s attention focused next on Saul"s activities. He used the
literary device of focusing on David, then on Saul, then on David, etc. He
used the same technique in chapters1-3with Samuel and Eli"s sons to
contrast Samuel"s goodness with the wickedness of Hophni and
Phinehas. The same purpose is in view in chapters21-31with David and
Saul.
Saul was aware that some in his army, apparently even some of his tribal
kinsmen from Benjamin, had deserted to David ( 1 Samuel 22:7). He
showed signs of paranoia when he claimed that Jonathan had
encouraged David to ambush him ( 1 Samuel 22:8; 1 Samuel 22:13).
There is no indication that Jonathan had done this. Doeg was obviously
loyal to Saul ( 1 Samuel 22:9-10), but he proved disloyal to Yahweh ( 1
Samuel 22:18-19).
Ahimelech appealed to Saul on David"s behalf much as Jonathan had
done earlier ( 1 Samuel 22:14-15; cf. 1 Samuel 17:4-5). Nevertheless this
time Saul did not respond to reasonable persuasion ( 1 Samuel 22:16).
Saul"s disregard for Yahweh"s will is obvious in his command to kill the
priests-whom God had appointed to serve Him. This punishment was
entirely too severe, since the crime Saul charged them with was simply
failing to tell Saul where David was.
Saul"s soldiers had too much respect for the priesthood to slay the
anointed servants of the Lord ( 1 Samuel 22:17). Moreover they probably
17

realized that Saul"s order was irrational. Doeg was an Edomite, a
foreigner who had less respect for the Mosaic Law (cf. 1 Samuel 21:7). He
not only obeyed the king but went beyond Saul"s command and
slaughtered all the men, women, children, and animals in Nob ( 1 Samuel
22:19). Nonetheless Saul was also responsible ( 1 Samuel 22:21). Earlier
Saul had failed to slay all the Amalekites at the Lord"s command ( 1
Samuel 15:9). Now he was slaying all the Nobites without divine
authorization.
"Through the hand of a foreigner, Saul perpetrates upon Israelites,
priests of the Lord, what he himself did not perpetrate upon foreigners,
the Amalekites." [Note: Miscall, p136.]
God preserved one of Eli"s descendants even though85 other priests
died. This man fled to David, so from then on the priesthood was with
David rather than Saul. David acknowledged that his deception of
Ahimelech was responsible for the slaughter of the priests ( 1 Samuel
22:22; cf. 1 Samuel 21:2). David became the protector of the priesthood.
The king-elect and the priest-elect now became fellow fugitives from
Saul. Psalm 52provides insight into how David felt during this incident.
When people refuse to submit to God"s authority over them, they begin
to die: spiritually, socially, psychologically, and physically ( Romans
6:23). Eli and Saul had both refused to submit to God"s authority. Eli,
the priest, put his family before God. Consequently God cut off his
family. Even though David was the cause of85 priests" deaths, this was
one way God partially fulfilled the prophecy concerning Eli"s
descendants ( 1 Samuel 2:27-36). God used David"s folly to accomplish
His will. So even in this David became a blessing. This in no way justifies
David"s lie ( 1 Samuel 21:2), but it does show how even in his sinning,
David was used by God for blessing (cf. Psalm 76:10; Romans 6:1-2).
Saul, the king, put himself before God. Therefore God cut off his life.
Saul became increasingly paranoid, isolated from others, hateful toward
his supporters as well as his enemies, and guilty of shedding innocent
blood.
Conversely, when people submit to God"s authority over them, they
really begin to live ( John 10:10). David submitted to God"s authority
over him. His sins, including deceiving Ahimelech, bore bad
consequences for himself and others. Nevertheless God continued to
bless and use David. He blessed him personally: David continued to rise
to the throne. God also blessed him by using him to accomplish God"s
will, here the pruning of Eli"s descendants.
Therefore we conclude that the most important issue is one of long-term
18

authority, not incidental acts. Acts are important, but who is in control-
God or self-is even more important. For a believer the most important
issue is authority. Believers can determine who is in control of our lives
fairly easily by asking ourselves two test questions. Do I ask God for
guidance, or do I ignore Him and make my own plans and decisions
without praying? And, do I submit to His word, or do I disobey it, having
ignored it or disregarded it?
COFFMAN, "Verse 1
SAUL ALIENATES GOD'S PEOPLE THROUGHOUT ISRAEL BY HIS
RUTHLESS MURDER OF THE PRIESTS
God's providence was working inexorably toward the removal of Saul
and the elevation of David to the throne. Key events in this chapter
moved relentlessly toward that achievement. By Saul's savage murder of
the priests of Nob, "He alienated the entire religious community; and
conversely David gained the friendship of many."[1] After Saul's
heartless butchering of the priests and his execution of the "ban"
([~cherem]) against a village within his own tribe, there could hardly
have been left in all Israel a single God-fearing person who, in his heart,
honored the mad, incompetent king.
DAVID ESCAPES FROM GATH TO THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
"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. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was
in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered to him; and he
became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred
men."
"The cave of Adullam" (1 Samuel 22:1). This place was near the border
between Philistia and Judah where the Shephelah meets the rugged
mountainous terrain of Judah, an area where there are literally
hundreds of caves. "Adullam is in the valley Elah on the way down to
Philistia from Hebron."[2] Some scholars dispute this; but if this
location is correct, "It was about twelve and one half miles south
southwest of Bethlehem."[3]
"Everyone ... in distress ... in debt ... discontented" (1 Samuel 22:2).
Along with members of his family, David's supporters at this time were,
in a word, every outlaw in the kingdom. And yet, it was during this
19

period that some of his Mighty Men adhered to his cause. "These were
brave and reckless persons who ripened into heroic men under the
command of David during the long years of his struggle."[4]
Although there were only four hundred of these men at first, the number
soon increased to six hundred (1 Samuel 23:13). A list of the names of
some of David's men is given in 1 Chronicles 12.
THE CAVE OF ADULLAM.
I Samuel xxii. 2.
FOR fear of Saul, fled David to Achish, king of Gath ; and
for fear of Achish he hied him to the cave of Adullam.
In the cave he found a refuge, and to the cave there came other
refugees, — a mixed multitude, more imposing in numbers than
credit. For, '' every one that was in distress, and every one
that was in debt, and every one that was discontented [or bitter
of soul], gathered themselves unto him; and he became a
captain over them : and there were with him about four hundred
men." The character of the confederates would scarcely seem
to have ranked much above that of the adventurers who, in
like manner, once associated themselves to Jephthah, when
that mighty man of valour, the outcast Gileadite, fled from
his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob ; and there were
gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
Once accepted as authentic history was the record of
Romulus issuing a proclamation with a view to the peopling of
his new city, — declaring it to be an " asylum," a sanctuary and
place of safety, for such as were banished from the other cities
of Italy ; a device which brought to him many who had quitted
their respective towns, whether for debt, or on account of
crimes by them committed.* And Chesterfield, in one of his
* Spartacus in revolt was presently joined by slaves and outlaws of all
20

descriptions : he has the credit, however, of having enforced strict
discipline,
and so long as he was able, obliged his lawless followers to abstain from
acts of violence and rapine. But discipline failed anon ; and as incidental
evidence of the extent of the ravages committed in central and southern
Italy by the rude bands under his command, historians refer to the well-
known line of Horace, in which the poet promised his friend a jar of wine
made during the Social War, if he could find one that had '' escaped the
clutches of roaming Spartacus."
On Caesar's side, against Pompey, were ranged '• all the criminal and
obnoxious," as the most elaborate and old-fashioned of our biographers
of
Cicero words it, following the wording of Cicero himself ; '" all who had
French letters, pauses to moralize on the surprising fact that
the " wisest and most virtuous nation the world ever saw "
should deduce its origin from cet amas de vauriens ei de coquins
— this seething mass of rascality and scoundrelism.
Gulliver was asked by his master the Houyhnhmm, how he
could persuade strangers out of different countries to venture
with him, after the losses he had sustained and the hazards he
had run ? And Captain Lemuel replied, in regard of his fifty
Yahoos, that they were " fellows of desperate fortunes, forced
to fly from the places of their birth on account of their poverty
or their crimes." Some were undone by lawsuits ; others spent
all they had in debauchery and gaming; others fled for treason;
many for homicide, theft, perjury, forgery, coining false money,
or for flying from their colours and deserting to the enemy :
most of them had broken prison ; and none of them durst
suffered punishment, or deserved it ; the greatest part of the youth, and
the
city mob ; some of the popular tribunes, and all who were oppressed
21

with
debts." Caesar in Gaul was thus a loadstone to Mark Antony when he left
Egypt, but was too deeply in debt to show himself in Rome ; for Caesar's
camp was the " sure refuge of all the needy, the desperate, and the auda-
cious." In his letters to Atticus, Cicero inveighs against that "needy, pro-
fligate, audacious crew, prepared for everything that was desperate. "
Then
again, after his personal interview with Cassar : '' Good gods ! what a
crew
he has with him ! What a hellish band, as you call them — what a troop of
desperadoes ! " Catiline, in Ben Jonson, bids Cethegus
" draw to you any aids
That you think fit, of men of all conditions.
Of any fortunes, that may help a war."
The commander of the opposing host describes the Catiline crew as com"
prising ' ' all sorts of furies,
" Adulterers, dicers, fencers, outlaws, thieves.
The murderers of their parents, all the sink
And plague of Italy met in one torrent."
During Caligula's time the history of the Babylonian Jews makes pro-
minent mention of the brothers Asinai and Anilai, around whom
gathered
a number of indigent and discontented youths, and who thus became the
captains of a formidable band of robbers. They built a strong fortress,
secured by the marshes around, and levied tribute on the shepherds,
whom,
however, they defended from all other assailants — on something of the
black-mail system of the Scottish Highlands. Artabanus, king of Parthia,
was sufficiently impressed by their valour in the field to send an embassy
offering terms of accommodation.
22

return to their native countries, for fear of being hanged or of
starving in a jail : hence their recourse to a service such as his.
The classical advocates for that ambassadorial right of asylum
in Rome which Innocent XL determined to do away Avith, and
the abuse of which in favour of malefactors and mauvais siijets
all and sundry had become contagious, took good care to quote
the example of Romulus. But the Pope was not pagan enough,
though full of pride, to accept the precedent. The Sanctuary
of Whitefriars is best known to us in the Alsatia of Scott,
as a place abounding with desperadoes of every description, —
bankrupt citizens, ruined gamesters, irreclaimable prodigals, des-
perate duellists, bravoes, homicides, and debauched profligates
of every degree, all leagued together to maintain the immunities
of their asylum, — so that it was both difficult and unsafe for the
officers of the law to execute warrants, emanating even from the
highest authority, amongst men whose safety was inconsistent
with warrants or authority of any kind.
While in a critical position as to his relation with the Liegers
and with Charles of Burgundy, it suited the policy of Lewis
the Eleventh to become a seemingly warm friend of the city
of Paris : great as it was, he desired to have it greater still,
fuller of populous life and popular spirit ; and he had procla-
mation made, accordingly, by sound of trumpet, that men of
all nations, who might have fled for theft or for murder, would
find shelter here. Michelet assures us of Warwick the King-
maker, that the city of London was what he most loved and
honoured in this world ; and of Warwick he tells us how safe
were all who were under the ban of the law whilst that great
earl was lord of the marches of Calais and Scotland ; and how,
if there were a " tall man " on the border, who resorted in
23

trouble to Warwick, he was at once set down to dinner, instead
of being strapped up to the next tree. Geraint, in the Idylls
of the King, sets forth before his liege lord the very practical
grievance that his princedom lay
'* Close on the borders of a territory
"Wherein were bandit earls, and caitiff knights,
Assassins, and all flyers from the hand
Of Justice, and whatever loathes a law."
The peopling of New Orleans is likened by Yankee vivacity
to the place itself, as built on a bar in the harbour, made of
snags, driftwood, and chokes, heaped up by the river, and then
filled and covered with the sediment brought down by the
freshets. " The froth and scum are washed up and settle at
New Orleans. It's filled with all sorts of people, . . . mottled
with black and all its shades. It is a great caravansary filled
with strangers, dissolute enough to make your hair stand on
end, drinking all day, gambUng all night, and fighting all the
time." But it is the same graphic humorist who, not less proudly
than pungently, compares his country to the Thames as it was
when sewers and drains, and dye-stuffs and factory-wash, and
unmentionables without stint (not without stink), were poured
into it. " Our great country is like that are Thames water, —
it does receive the outpourins of the world, — homicides and
regicides, — ^jail-birds and galley-birds, poorhouse chaps and
workhouse chaps, — rebels, infidels, and forgers, — rogues of all
sorts, sizes, and degrees, — but it farments, you see, and works
clear." History traces the Cossack nation to a mixed multi-
tude composed of those who took refuge beyond the islands of
the Dnieper, from the first general invasion of the Tartars, and
of those again who fled thither during the Lithuanian wars,
whose number was afterwards swelled by adventurers and
24

outcasts, lovers of a free life, and fugitives from the law of
arrest, deserters from various armies, and serfs who had broken
their bonds and renounced the yoke. Here too the fermenting
process has, in its way, worked clear. A cave of Adullam may
be the cradle of a compact, imposing, and influential race.
From various parts of Shakspeare we might gather lines
more or less applicable to the Adullamite adventurers. The
adversaries too contemptuously described by Richard of Gloster,
for instance, as
' ' A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and runaways,
Whom their o'er-cloyed country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assured destruction.
. . . [Mere] famish'd beggars, weary of their lives ;
Who but for dreaming on this foul exploit,
For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd themselves."
Or again those scouted by Chatillon, in King yohn, as embody-
ing "all the unsettled humours of the land." Or those so
bitterly invoked by dying Bolingbroke, in prospect of a reign of
license under his presumably still dissolute son :
'• Now, neighbour confines, purge you of your scum :
Have you a ruffian that will swear, drink, dance.
Revel the night, rob, murder, and commit
The oldest sins the newest kind of ways ?
Be happy, he will trouble you no more . . .
25

For the fifth Harry from curb'd license plucks
The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog
Shall flesh his tooth in every innocent.
O my poor kingdom ! . . .
Oh, thou wilt be a wilderness again, "—
or a cave of Adullam, without a David in it.
jacox, francis
2 All those who were in distress or in debt or
discontented gathered around him, and he
became their commander. About four hundred
men were with him.
BARNES, "Discontented - See the margin. (Compare 1Sa_30:6; 2Sa_17:8.) The
phrase here denotes those who were exasperated by Saul’s tyranny.
CLARKE, "And every one that was in distress - debt - discontented - It is very
possible that these several disaffected and exceptionable characters might at first
have supposed that David, unjustly persecuted, would be glad to avail himself of
their assistance that he might revenge himself upon Saul, and so they in the mean
time might profit by plunder, etc. But if this were their design they were greatly
disappointed, for David never made any improper use of them. They are never
found plundering or murdering; on the contrary, they always appear under good
discipline, and are only employed in services of a beneficent nature, and in defense
26

of their country. Whatever they were before they came to David, we find that he
succeeded in civilizing them, and making profitable to the state those who were
before unprofitable. It is not necessary to strain the words of the original in order to
prove that these were oppressed people, and not exceptionable characters, as some
have done,
GILL, "And everyone that was in distress,.... In straitened circumstances, through
the oppression of men, through poverty, and afflictive providences in their families:
and everyone that was in debt; and not able to pay their debts, and whose creditors
were pressing upon them:
and everyone that was discontented; with Saul's government and conduct: or "bitter
in soul" (x); distressed and uneasy in their minds, being pinched with want, or
pressed with sore afflictions, which made them very disconsolate: these
gathered themselves unto him; to help him, or rather to be helped by him; hoping in
time things would take a favourable turn with him, and he should be advanced to
the throne, and so their circumstances would be mended thereby:
and he became a captain over them; they enlisted themselves in his service, and he
took the command of them; he might not know the circumstances of those in debt,
nor of any of them thoroughly, nor their views in joining him; however he meant not
to shelter them from paying their just debts if able, nor to encourage them in
disloyalty to their king, only to make use of them for his own preservation for the
present. In this he was a type of Christ, who receives sinners distressed with a sense
of sin, discontented in their present state, and in debt, and, unable to pay their
debts; see Mat_11:28,
and there were with him about four hundred men; among whom some think were
the three mighty men spoken of in 2Sa_23:13.
HENRY, "Here he began to raise forces in his own defence, 1Sa_22:2. He found
by the late experiments he had made that he could not save himself by flight, and
therefore was necessitated to do it by force, wherein he never acted offensively,
never offered any violence to his prince nor gave any disturbance to the peace of the
kingdom, but only used his forces as a guard to his own person. But, whatever
defence his soldiers were to him, they did him no great credit, for the regiment he
had was made up not of great men, nor rich men, nor stout men, no, nor good men,
but men in distress, in debt, and discontented, men of broken fortunes and restless
spirits, that were put to their shifts, and knew not well what to do with themselves.
When David had fixed his headquarters in the cave of Adullam, they came and
enlisted themselves under him to the number of about 400. See what weak
instruments God sometimes makes use of, by which to bring about his own
purposes. The Son of David is ready to receive distressed souls, that will appoint
27

him their captain and be commanded by him.
K&D, "1Sa_22:2
There a large number of malcontents gathered together round David, viz., all who
were in distress, and all who had creditors, and all who were embittered in spirit
(bitter of soul), i.e., people who were dissatisfied with the general state of affairs or
with the government of Saul, - about four hundred men, whose leader he became.
David must in all probability have stayed there a considerable time. The number of
those who went over to him soon amounted to six hundred men (1Sa_23:13), who
were for the most part brave and reckless, and who ripened into heroic men under
the command of David during his long flight. A list of the bravest of them is given in
1 Chron 12, with which compare 2Sa_23:13. and 1Ch_11:15.
ELLICOTT, " (2) Every one that was in distress.—Ewald writes on this
statement:—“The situation of the country, which was becoming more and more
melancholy under Saul, . . . drove men to seek a leader from whom they might hope
for better things for the future . . . David did not send away these refugees, many of
them distinguished and prominent Israelites, but organised them into a military
force. He foresaw that while commanding such a company as this, he might, without
injuring his king and former benefactor, be of the very greatest use to the people,
and protect the southern frontiers of the kingdom—sadly exposed in these later
years of King Saul—from the plundering incursions of the neighbouring nomadic
tribes. This state of things, with a few interruptions, really came to pass, and David
won great repute and popularity among the protected districts during these years
when he was a wanderer and an outlaw—a popularity which in after years stood
him in good stead.”
These persons “in distress” were especially those who were persecuted by Saul and
his men for their attachment to David. The several statements of the refugees who
took shelter in David’s armed camp, of course go over a considerable time. They did
not all flock to his standard at once. Some went to him in the first days of his exile,
others after the massacre at the sanctuary at Nob, others later, and thus gradually
400 gathered round him. Soon after, these numbers were swelled to 600, and these
probably only were the chosen men-at-arms of the little force, which, no doubt, was
numerically far greater.
And every one that was in debt.—Throughout the whole long story of Israel this
unhappy love of greed and gain has been a characteristic feature of the chosen race,
ever a prominent and ugly sin. In the Mosaic Law, most stringent regulations were
laid down to correct and mitigate this ruling passion of avarice among the Jews.
(See such passages as Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19.) The
poor, improvident, or perhaps unfortunate, debtor was protected by wise laws
against the greedy avaricious spirit of his merciless creditor. These beneficent
regulations of the great lawgiver had, under the capricious, faulty rule of King Saul,
28

of course fallen into abeyance, and a terrible amount of misery, no doubt, was the
consequence. In the Divine record sad scenes (see 2 Kings 4:1-7), exemplifying this
pitiless spirit, are casually related, but they are so woven into the mosaic of the
history, as to show us they were, alas! no uncommon occurrence in the daily life of
the people. In Proverbs, for instance, we have some conspicuous instances. The
chronicles of the Middle Ages in all countries teem with similar stories about the
chosen people. Our own great dramatist, some three centuries ago, evidently
without attempt at exaggeration, selects the avaricious, grasping Jew as the central
figure of one of his most famous dramas. In our own time the same spirit, as is too
well known, is still abroad, and constitutes the bitterest reproach which the many
enemies of the strange, deathless race can promulgate against a people evidently
walled in by a Divine protection and a changeless eternal love.
And he became a captain over them.—It was evidently no undisciplined band, these
outlaws of Adullam and the hold of Moab, of Hareth and Keilah, of Ziph and
Engedi. David quickly organised the refugees, among whom, by degrees, many a
man of mark and approved valour and ability were numbered.
To complete the picture of this First Book of Samuel, we must unite in one the
scattered notices of this same period which occur in the Second Book of Samuel and
in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. (See Excursus I. at the end of this Book.)
BENSON "1 Samuel 22:2. Every one that was in distress — ‫מצוק‬ ‫,אישׁ‬ ish matsok,
the man straitened or oppressed. And every one that was in debt — ‫נשׁא‬ ‫לו‬ ‫אשׁר‬ asher
lo noshee, the man that had a creditor. Probably poor debtors, whom their creditors
were obliged to spare, Exodus 22:25. And others, whose lands and goods their
creditors might seize when their persons were with David. It must be observed that
the Jews frequently used their debtors with great severity, (see Nehemiah 5:5,)
taking forcible possession of their lands and vineyards, and bringing their children
into bondage. Every one that was discontented — Hebrew, ‫נפשׁ‬ ‫מר‬ mar nephesh, the
man bitter of soul, aggrieved in his mind, made uneasy and discontented,
“probably,” says Dr. Dodd, “with Saul’s tyrannical government, and his implacable
persecution of David, who, by this time, must have been well known to have been
the intended successor of Saul.” It does not appear, from this description, that these
were men of abandoned characters and profligate principles, as some have thought,
who joined themselves to David purposely to cheat their creditors, and for the sake
of the plunder they were in hopes of getting under him. Indeed, had this been the
case, David would not have been able to have kept them under that strict order and
discipline under which we find he did keep them, but we should have read of their
plundering, and murdering, and committing other outrages. Nor would they have
continued with him so long, and abode with him in dreary forests, destitute of most
of the conveniences and comforts of life; or have followed him whithersoever he was
disposed to lead them. This is not the temper or behaviour of men of profligate
principles. And, therefore, there is reason to conclude, that they were persons who
29

were brought into distress and poverty by other causes, such as, in the course of
divine providence, are frequently permitted to afflict the best of men, for their trial,
humiliation, or correction. But if they were not virtuous when they resorted to
David, that they became so by his discipline, influence, and example, is sufficiently
evident from their subsequent behaviour. And he became a captain over them —
Being forced to take this course in his own defence, that he might not be suddenly
surprised. But David did not take these men into his service, till by information
from Jonathan, and by many other certain proofs, it evidently appeared that his life
was in imminent danger. And then he neither assaulted any place with them, nor
sought for an occasion to fight, but avoided it by seeking for secret and secure places
of retreat, sometimes in the deserts, sometimes, in foreign nations, always taking
care not to hurt his countrymen, and never allowing his men to make incursions
upon any but the enemies of Israel.
PULPIT, "1Sa_22:2
Everyone that was in distress,… in debt, or discontented (Hebrew, bitter of soul),
gathered themselves unto him. Had Saul’s government been just and upright David
would have had no followers; but he never rose above the level of a soldier, had
developed all that arbitrariness which military command fosters in self-willed
minds, and seems entirely unaware of its being his duty to attend to the righteous
administration of the law. The Israelites had in him the very king they had desired,
but they found that a brave general might at home be a ruthless tyrant. Debt was
one of the worst evils of ancient times. The rate of usury was so exorbitant that a
loan was sure to end in utter ruin, and not only the debtor, but his children might be
made slaves to repay the debt (2Ki_4:1). It was one of the first duties of an upright
governor to enforce the Mosaic law against usury (Le 1Sa_25:36); but all such cares
Saul despised, and there were probably many in the land impoverished by Saul’s
own exactions and favouritism (1Sa_22:7), and made bitter of soul by his cruelty
and injustice. All such were glad to join in what seemed to them the banner of
revolt. Afterwards at Ziklag David was joined by nobler followers (see on 1Sa_27:6).
With David we may compare Jephthah’s case in the old days of anarchy (Jdg_
11:3-6), and note that bad government leads to lawlessness just as surely as no
government.
COKE, "1 Samuel 22:2. And every one that was in distress, &c.— See 1 Chronicles
12:8. This has been represented as a gang of ruffians, a parcel of banditti, who
united themselves to David with the worst designs. But the original words by no
means convey any such meaning as this. The ‫אישׁ‬ ‫מצוק‬ ish matzok, is the man
straitened or oppressed; the ‫אישׁ‬ ‫אשׁר‬ ‫לו‬ ‫נשׁא‬ ish asher lo noshe, is the man that hath a
creditor, an exacting, cruel creditor; the Jews frequently using their debtors with
great severity, Nehemiah 5:5 taking away their lands and vineyards, and bringing
into bondage their sons and daughters: and finally, the ‫אישׁ‬ ‫מר‬ ‫נפשׁ‬ ish mar nepesh, is
the man bitter of soul, one aggrieved in his mind, or uneasy and discontented;
30

probably, with Saul's tyrannical government, and his implacable persecution of
David, who, by this time, must have been well known to have been the intended
successor of Saul. Thus all David's people were men of bitter spirit, extremely
distressed and grieved for the loss of their wives and children, chap. 1 Samuel 30:6.;
and their conduct shews them to have been of a very contrary character from
desperadoes and banditti: for we read nothing of their plundering and murdering;
on the contrary, we find them always kept in good discipline and order, frequently
employed in services of a very beneficent nature, ready to do every friendly office,
and often employed in defence of their country against the enemies of it. The
judgment that Grotius passes upon David, when the company gathered to him at
Adullam, deserves to be regarded. David (says he), who was very observant of the
law, had about him at first four hundred armed persons, and afterwards a
somewhat greater number. For what? To repel any force that might be offered him.
But then this is to be remarked, that David did not do this till he found out by
Jonathan's information, and many other most certain proofs, that Saul determined
to have his life. Besides, he invaded no cities, nor took any opportunities for fighting,
but went into lurking holes, and inaccessible places, and to foreign nations,
religiously abstaining from injuring his countrymen, and, let me add, from doing
any hurt to Saul, or disturbing his government. See de Jure B. & P. lib. 1: cap. 4
sect. 7 parag. 4.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and
said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my
father and mother come and stay with you until I
learn what God will do for me?”
BARNES, "Mizpeh of Moab - A good conjecture connects it with “Zophim” (a
word of the same root as Mizpeh) on the top of Pisgah Num_23:14. It is probable
that David’s descent from Ruth the Moabitess may have had something to do with
his seeking an asylum for Jesse, Ruth’s grandson, in the land of her birth. It would
be very easy to get to the Jordan from the neighborhood of Bethlehem, and cross
over near its embouchure into the Dead Sea.
Come forth, and be with you - The construction of the Hebrew is very strange.
The Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic seem to have read “dwell” instead of “come forth."
31

CLARKE, "He said unto the king of Moab - David could not trust his parents
within the reach of Saul, and he found it very inconvenient to them to be obliged to
go through all the fatigues of a military life, and therefore begs the king of Moab to
give them shelter. The king of Moab, being one of Saul’s enemies, would be the more
ready to oblige a person from whom he might at least expect friendship, if not
considerable services.
GILL, "And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab,.... So called to distinguish it
from a place of the same name in the land of Israel; which Junius says is the same
with Malle, and signifies a fortified place, and refers to the Apocrypha:"And how
that many of them were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor, and Alema, Casphor, Maked,
and Carnaim; all these cities are strong and great:'' (1 Maccabees 5:26)here he
might think himself safer, though in an enemy's country, than in the land of Israel:
and he said unto the king of Moab, let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come
forth; out of the land of Israel, or out of the cave of Adullam, whither they were
come to him:
and be with you; if not with the king of Moab at his court, yet in some part or other
of his country, where they might be safe from the rage of Saul:
till I know what God will do for me; on whose power and providence he wholly
relied, and not upon the men that flocked to him, nor upon his own power and
policy, courage and wisdom; he knew the promise of God to him, and he put his
trust in him for the performance of it; but knew not the time, nor way, and manner,
in which it would be performed; and expected in the meanwhile to be obliged to
remove from place to place; and considering that his aged parents were not fit for
such quick and sudden motions, and long flights, he provided as well as he could for
their settlement; which was an instance of his filial affection for them, and piety
towards them. His father's name is well known, Jesse, Rth_4:22, &c. but his
mother's name is nowhere mentioned; the Jews say her name was Natzbet, the
daughter of Adal (y).
GUZIK 3-4, " (1Sa_22:3-4) David cares for his parents.
Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of
Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what
God will do for me.” So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they
dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
a. He said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here
with you.” David took his parents to Moab because his great-grandmother
Ruth was a Moabite (Rth_4:18-22; Rth_1:4). He wanted his parents to be
safe in whatever battles he may face in the future.
i. This shows wonderful love and obedience on the part of David. First, it
shows a wonderful love. He cared for his parents when he had plenty of
32

problems of his own. We sometimes think that when we are going
through trials, we have a license to be unloving and selfish, but David
shows that we can and must care about others instead of becoming self-
focused in times of trial. Secondly, it shows a wonderful obedience. Even
though David did not have a problem-free home life, he knew he was still
obligated to obey the fifth commandment: Honor your father and your
mother (Exo_20:12).
b. Till I know what God will do for me: David doesn’t know the whole story.
He knew he was called and anointed to be the next king of Israel. But he had
no idea how God would get him there. David had to trust and obey when he
didn’t know what God will do for me, and here he is doing it.
HENRY 3-4, " He took care to settle his parents in a place of safety. No such place
could he find in all the land of Israel while Saul was so bitterly enraged against him
and all that belonged to him for his sake; he therefore goes with them to the king of
Moab, and puts them under his protection, 1Sa_22:3, 1Sa_22:4. Observe here, 1.
With what a tender concern he provided for his aged parents. It was not fit they
should be exposed either to the frights or to the fatigues which he must expect
during his struggle with Saul (their age would by no means bear such exposure);
therefore the first thing he does is to find them a quiet habitation, whatever became
of himself. Let children learn from this to show pity at home and requite their parents
(1Ti_5:4), in every thing consulting their ease and satisfaction. Though ever so
highly preferred, and ever so much employed, let them not forget their aged parents.
2. With what a humble faith he expects the issue of his present distresses: Till I know
what God will do for me. He expresses his hopes very modestly, as one that had
entirely cast himself upon God and committed his way to him, expecting a good
issue, not from his own arts, or arms, or merits, but from what the wisdom, power,
and goodness of God would do for him. Now David's father and mother forsook
him, but God did not, Psa_27:10.
JAMISON, "David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab — “Mizpeh” signifies a
watchtower, and it is evident that it must be taken in this sense here, for it is called
“the hold” or fort (1Sa_22:4). The king of Moab was an enemy of Saul (1Sa_14:47),
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
than those of Achish, 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.
COFFMAN, "Verse 3
DAVID ARRANGES FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS PARENTS
33

"And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab.
"Pray let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for
me." And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time
that David was in the stronghold. 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."
"Mizpeh of Moab" (1 Samuel 22:3). The location of this is uncertain; but
apparently Moab, at that time, controlled much of the territory just east of the
Jordan; and the best guess places Mizpeh somewhere in the vicinity of Mount
Pisgah. There seems to be two reasons why David sought refuge for his parents with
the king of Moab and received it. Jesse, David's father, was a grandson of Ruth the
Moabitess; and, since Saul had recently fought the Moabites, the king of that
country was probably very glad to help anyone who would keep Saul busy at home.
"The prophet Gad" (1 Samuel 22:5). This is the first mention of this prophet in the
Bible; and the chronology of his joining David's company is not known. It is
supposed that Samuel may have commanded him to attach to the company of David.
In fact, the whole prophetic community of Israel automatically became allies of
David following the tragic slaughter of the priests by Saul. "He became the king's
seer after David was king (2 Samuel 24:11); he rebuked David for the sin of
numbering Israel; and after David's death, he wrote a history of that monarch's
reign (1 Chronicles 29:29). He also seems to have been concerned with arranging the
temple services (2 Chronicles 29:25)."[5]
"All the time that David was in the stronghold" (1 Samuel 22:5). "This indicates
that David sojourned for some considerable time in Moab."[6]
K&D, "1Sa_22:3-5
David proceeded thence to Mizpeh in Moab, and placed his parents in safety with
the king of the Moabites. His ancestress Ruth was a Moabitess. Mizpeh: literally a
watch-tower or mountain height commanding a very extensive prospect. Here it is
probably a proper name, belonging to a mountain fastness on the high land, which
bounded the Arboth Moab on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, most likely on the
mountains of Abarim or Pisgah (Deu_34:1), and which could easily be reached from
the country round Bethlehem, by crossing the Jordan near the point where it
entered the Dead Sea. As David came to the king of Moab, the Moabites had
probably taken possession of the most southerly portion of the eastern lands of the
Israelites; we may also infer this from the fact that, according to 1Sa_14:47, Saul
had also made war upon Moab, for Mizpeh Moab is hardly to be sought for in the
actual land of the Moabites, on the south side of the Arnon (Mojeb). ‫ֶם‬‫כ‬ ְ‫תּ‬ ִ‫א‬ ... ‫ָא‬‫נ‬‫א־‬ֵ‫ֵצ‬‫י‬,
“May my father and my mother go out with you.” The construction of ‫א‬ָ‫ָצ‬‫י‬ with ‫ת‬ ֵ‫א‬ is a
34

pregnant one: to go out of their home and stay with you (Moabites). “Till I know
what God will do to me.” Being well assured of the justice of his cause, as contrasted
with the insane persecutions of Saul, David confidently hoped that God would bring
his flight to an end. His parents remained with the king of Moab as long as David
was ‫ה‬ ָ‫צוּד‬ ְ‫מּ‬ַ‫,בּ‬ i.e., upon the mount height, or citadel. This can only refer to the place of
refuge which David had found at Mizpeh Moab. For it is perfectly clear from 1Sa_
22:5, where the prophet Gad calls upon David not to remain any longer ‫ה‬ ָ‫צוּד‬ ְ‫מּ‬ַ‫,בּ‬ but
to return to the land of Judah, that the expression cannot refer either to the cave
Adullam, or to any other place of refuge in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. The
prophet Gad had probably come to David from Samuel's school of prophets; but
whether he remained with David from that time forward to assist him with his
counsel in his several undertakings, cannot be determined, on account of our want
of information. In 1Ch_21:9 he is called David's seer. In the last year of David's
reign he announced to him the punishment which would fall upon him from God on
account of his sin in numbering the people (2Sa_24:11.); and according to 1Ch_
29:29 he also wrote the acts of David. In consequence of this admonition, David
returned to Judah, and went into the wood Hareth, a woody region on the
mountains of Judah, which is never mentioned again, and the situation of which is
unknown. According to the counsels of God, David was not to seek for refuge
outside the land; not only that he might not be estranged from his fatherland and
the people of Israel, which would have been opposed to his calling to be the king of
Israel, but also that he might learn to trust entirely in the Lord as his only refuge
and fortress.
ELLICOTT, " (3) Mizpeh.—This particular Mizpeh is mentioned nowhere else. The
word means a watch tower; it was probably some mountain fortress in Moab. It has
been suggested that it was the same as Zophim, a word of the same root as Mizpeh
(see Numbers 23:14). David evidently sought hospitality among his kin in Moab.
Jesse, his father, was the grandson of Ruth the Moabitess. The distance from the
south of Judah Where the fugitives were wandering was not great.
Till I know what God will do for me.—This memory of David’s words to the King of
Moab shows that the old trust and love, which in his first moments of care and
sorrow had failed him, had come back again to the son of Jesse. It is interesting to
note that David when addressing the Moabite sovereign speaks of “God” “Elohim,”
not of Jehovah. This was probably out of deep reverence; an idolator had nothing to
do with the awful name by which the Eternal was known to His covenant people—a
Name which, as originally uttered, has now passed away from the earth. We read
the mystic four letters, but no man, Jew or Gentile, can pronounce the Name of
Names. The “Name,” however, was not unknown in Moab, for the mystic letters
which compose it occur in the inscription of Mesha, dating about 150 years from the
days of David’s exile.
PULPIT, "1Sa_22:3, 1Sa_22:4
35

David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab. The position of this place is unknown, but as
the word means a watch tower, it was no doubt some beacon hill in the highlands of
Moab on the east of the Dead Sea, and probably in the mountains of Abarim or
Pisgah. Here David placed his father and mother under the care of the king of
Moab. They had fled from Bethlehem under the combined fear of Saul and the
Philistines, but were too old to bear the fatigues of David’s life. He therefore asks for
a refuge for them with the king of Moab, probably on the ground that Jesse’s
grandmother, Ruth, was a Moabitess. But as Saul had waged war on Moab (1Sa_
14:47), the king was probably glad to help one who would keep Saul employed at
home. The language of David is remarkable, and is literally, "Let, I pray, my father
and my mother come forth with you" (pl.); but no better interpretation has been
suggested than that in the A.V.: "Let them come forth, i.e. from the hold in Mizpeh,
to be or dwell with you." While David was in the hold. Not merely that in the land of
Moab, but up to the time when David was settled in Hebron. During all this period
David was wandering from one natural fortress to another. Till I know what God
will do for (or to) me. These words show that David had recovered his composure,
and was willing calmly to leave everything to the wise disposal of God.
DEFFINBAUGH, "One thing that is quite apparent in this passage of Scripture is
the truth of the words written by the apostle James in the New Testament:
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might
not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months (James
5:17).
Many like to think of David as a real man. I believe our text portrays him as a real
man. He does not always think or do the spiritual thing. He has a heart for God, but
he also has feet of clay. David seeks refuge from Ahimelech, yet admits that he
knows better. He admits that he is to blame for the deaths of the priests and their
families (22:22). He flees to Philistia, looking to his enemies for sanctuary, rather
than to God. He then flees to Moab, where a prophet must tell him to go home.
David does not do everything right. He is a real man, not a caricature, and not a
mythical creation of some author’s mind. It is often because of David’s failures that
we are encouraged and given hope, for he was a man “with a nature like ours.” God
deals graciously with us as He did with David.
One could quite easily pass over the events of our text without taking a second look.
To the untrained eye, it looks like David has very good luck, at least twice in our
text. First, David manages to escape to Nob where there is no bread except that
reserved for the priests. Ahimelech makes an exception and gives David some of this
bread. Second, David “escapes” to the land of the Philistines, bearing Goliath’s
sword, and finding himself at this giant’s hometown. He seems marked for death,
36

but his feigned insanity gets him an escort out of town. How lucky can a guy get?
David’s Deliverance and David’s Psalms
Other texts of Scripture make it very clear that this is not “good luck,” nor is
David’s deliverance the result of his cunning. This is a divine deliverance. In fact,
we shall soon see (chapter 22) that while David escapes from Nob to Gath, the
priests and their families are not so fortunate. The veil is lifted for us in the Psalms.
The historical backdrop of Psalm 52 is Doeg’s report to Saul that he has seen David
at Nob. Psalms 34 and 56 are written during David’s time at Gath. Psalms 57 and
142 are written while David hides out in the cave. These psalms are David’s
reflections and considered conclusions about what really happened in our text. Let
us pause to briefly reflect on some of the lessons the Psalms point out to us.
(1) Deliverance is Divine. God is the One who saves. Consequently, He is the One to
whom we must cry for deliverance (34:4-7; 57:1-3; 142). He is also the One whom
we must praise for delivering us. It may not always look as though God is the one
doing the delivering, but all deliverance is from Him. On the surface, one would not
see God as David’s Deliverer when He spares him at Gath, but Psalm 34 makes it
very clear that David’s deliverance is from the Lord.
(2) God is our Deliverer from those who seek our destruction (56:1-7; 57:4-6). David
sees his destruction as purposed by wicked men and God as the One who delivers
men from the hands of the wicked.
(3) Divine deliverance is given to those who love and trust God, and who call upon
Him for salvation (56:3-4, 9-11; 57:1-3; 142:1-2). God cares for, and thus protects,
His loved ones, those who seek refuge in Him. He delivers those who fear Him and
who call upon Him for salvation.
(4) God’s deliverance is undeserved; it is a gift of His grace (57:1). Divine
deliverance is not granted because men merit it, but because God is gracious and
merciful. He is moved with compassion by our afflictions (34:17-18; 56:8). His
deliverance often comes from the consequences of our own foolishness and sin.
(5) God delivers men in order to bring about thanksgiving, praise, and glory to
Himself (Psalm 56:12; 57:5, 8, 9, 11; 142:7). When God delivers men from their
afflictions, they are expected to publicly thank and praise Him for His goodness,
37

and thus to publicly glorify Him. In this way, our divinely-wrought deliverance is
not just for our good, but for God’s glory.
(6) God also delivers men so they may learn more of Him, and then instruct others
from what they have learned (34:8-14). I believe David writes about the fear of the
Lord in Psalm 34 because he has learned a great deal about fear. David is first
afraid of men. This appears to be his reason for fleeing to Gath. He fears Saul.
Then, he seems to fear the Philistines. David learns that God casts our fears aside,
and in the process, we learn to fear God rather than men. This fear of God teaches
us to “keep our tongue from evil, and our lips from speaking guile” (34:13). I believe
David recognizes the importance of telling the truth, and when he comes to fear God
more than men, he speaks the truth and urges others to do likewise. David’s
deliverance enables him to instruct others from what he has learned.
(7) God delivers, even when it appears the deliverance is wrought by other means
(34). Who would even think that David’s acting insane and his expulsion from Gath
is from the hand of God? Is it not good luck, or skillful acting, on David’s part? Not
in David’s mind! It is God who delivers David from Gath, even if the means He
employs is David’s feigned insanity. (Was it not God who first planted the idea of
feigning insanity in David’s mind?)
(8) God works though means that appear normal and, perhaps, even disgustingly
human (34). Have you ever watched a movie that sought to portray some spiritual or
religious theme? Even when I am away from the television, listening only to the
sound, I can tell when a “spiritual” scene is taking place. There is almost always a
background of “heavenly music.” I don’t know how to describe it, but it is music
with an auditory halo. It is music we have come to associate as spiritual or heavenly
(usually violins or harps are employed for the desired effect).
Do you remember seeing the sign placed along the highway before you come to a
road repair or construction site? It reads, “Slow, Men Working.” I think this is the
way many Christians expect God to act. When God is delivering someone in the
Bible, we expect to see a sign which reads, in effect: “Slow, God Working.” We want
to hear some form of “heavenly music” playing in the background, or something
which tells us that God is present. But such trappings are not evident at the time
that Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. They are not evident, to Job at least,
when Satan makes his life miserable. Neither are they evident when David is
drooling and doodling in Gath. But God is at work, even when it is not apparent to
our eyes. Later on in the Book of 2 Samuel, we will see that Solomon becomes the
heir to his father’s (David’s) throne, even though he is born to Bathsheba, the
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woman who is Uriah’s wife. The temple will be built on ground that David
purchased because he willfully numbered the people of Israel, knowing it was
wrong. It was at the threshing floor of Arunah, the Jebusite, that David offered a
sacrifice to God when the plague was halted by God (2 Samuel 24). God is at work
where we would never expect to see His hand.
(9) God’s deliverance is often brought about in the midst of circumstances which
make escape seem impossible (142:4). God delights to let us get into impossible
situations, so that when He saves us, it is very clear that it was entirely of Him. In
his psalms, David paints a very bleak picture of his condition, and then goes on to
describe the way God rescues him.
(10) God delivers us in ways that are not flattering, but humbling. Occasionally film
footage on the television news shows the rescue of someone in a most unflattering
way. It may be a woman, whose hair is a mess, whose face is dirty, and whose
clothing is deplorable. No one likes to be rescued in this way, or in this condition,
but when given the choice of being rescued in a humbling way or not being rescued
at all, the decision is rather obvious. God rescues David in a way that humbles him
greatly. God is not out to bolster David’s ego; He is out to save David in a way that
humbles him and causes him to turn to Him for deliverance. It is strange but true
that God often has to humble us first, so that we will see how desperate our
circumstances are, so that we will humbly cry out to Him for deliverance.
As I think through the Bible, I realize how often God “saves” or delivers His own
from destruction, but in very humbling ways. I think of Abram, who fled to Egypt
for “deliverance” during a time of famine. In doing so, he put not only his own life
at risk, but the promise of God that he and Sarai would have a child, through whom
blessings would come on Abram and the whole world (see Genesis 12:1-3 ff.).
Abram lied about Sarai, representing her as his sister rather than his wife, and as a
result, she was taken into Pharaoh’s harem. God delivered Abram and Sarai, but in
a way that was humbling. Pharaoh ran them out of his land, giving them what
appears to be an armed escort out of town (see Genesis 12:17-20).
One of the most humbling deliverances (other than David’s, in our text) is that of
Naaman. You may remember that Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was
also a leper. Through his Israelite slave girl, Naaman learns there is a prophet in
Israel who can heal him. But when he arrives at the prophet’s door, the prophet
does not greet him personally, but sends his servant who instructs Naaman to bathe
himself seven times in the Jordan river. Naaman is furious, because he is not treated
as a dignitary. Finally, after receiving wise counsel from his servant, the Syrian
39

commander obeys and is delivered from his malady. God saves him, but in a way
that humbles him (see 2 Kings 5).
(11) God’s deliverance is more than temporal, more than just physical; God’s
deliverance includes His deliverance from eternal condemnation (34:21-22; 56:13).
It is interesting that in the New Testament the word that is very often rendered
“saved” is used more broadly than just of spiritual salvation. It is used of physical
healing and other acts of deliverance. In our text, God saves David’s life, but in his
psalms David informs the reader that this temporal salvation is a prototype of the
eternal salvation which God also accomplishes. The God who saves us from our
afflictions and from our enemies, is the same God who saves us from His eternal
wrath.
David’s Deliverance and Our Lord Jesus Christ
David’s deliverance has very direct ties to the New Testament, and particularly to
our Lord Jesus Christ. Consider our Lord’s use of our text in Matthew 12:
1 At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples
became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the
Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to
do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when
he became hungry, he and his companions; 4 how he entered the house of God, and
they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those
with him, but for the priests alone? 5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the
Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent? 6 “But I say
to you, that something greater than the temple is here. 7 “But if you had known
what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you
would not have condemned the innocent. 8 “For the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath” (Matthew 12:1-8).
The Pharisees are especially distressed by what they consider violations of the
Sabbath by our Lord and His disciples. When the disciples (not Jesus, you will note)
pluck a few heads of grain and eat them on the Sabbath, the Pharisees see this as a
flagrant violation of the law regarding the Sabbath. After all, this is work, they
reason. And so they make a point of confronting Jesus with this example of His
disregard for the Sabbath.
Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees. In effect, they persist to ask Him, “Just who
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