SERIES J --- THE WARRIOR KING --- LESSON 02

IN THE WILDERNESS

IN THE CAVE OF ADULLAM

From 1 Samuel 22

David had an uneasy feeling about the Philistines at Gath and what they might do to him, so he slipped away, escaping to the Cave of Adullam where his brothers and his father’s family came to live also. Before long there was quite a company who had joined him: those in trouble, in debt and those who were unhappy about the way things were going. David was soon the leader of about four hundred men. It became obvious that his parents were not comfortable living in a cave, so David took them down to Mizpah in Moab and talked with the king of Moab about them. ‘Let my father and mother live with you until I know what YHVH will do for me,’ David requested. During the time when David remained at the Cave of Adullam, his parents lived in Moab. But word came from the prophet Gad that David should move again. ‘You must not stay here,’ Gad told David. ‘You must go into the land of Judah.’ David’s move took him to the forest of Hereth in the land of Judah. The news of David’s hiding place reached Saul while he was sitting under an oak tree at Gibeah, fingering his spear. As usual, Saul had a temper tantrum, shouting his anger at his officers who sat there with him. ‘Listen, you Benjamites!’ he roared. ‘Why are you all conspiring against me? Has David promised you fields and vineyards or has he promised to make you commanders in his army? Not one of you ever told me that my son Jonathan made a covenant with David! Not one of you is sorry for me because my son has stirred David to come against me to kill me.’ Doeg the Edomite happened to be there with Saul’s men that day. ‘One day I was at Nob,’ he said. ‘David visited Ahimelech the priest who asked Adonai what David should do and even gave him food and Goliath’s sword.’ Immediately Saul sent for Ahimelech and his family, along with all the priests of Nob. ‘Listen, son of Ahitub!’ Saul shouted when Ahimelech arrived with the priests. ‘Yes, your majesty,’ Ahimelech answered, trembling. ‘Why have you conspired with David against me?’ Saul demanded. ‘Why have you given him bread and a sword and sought Adonai’s direction for him so that he could revolt against me?’ ‘But who is as faithful to you as David?’ Ahimelech asked Saul. ‘Isn’t he your own son-in-law and captain of your bodyguard and an honoured member of your household? Is this the first time I asked YHVH’s direction for him? Certainly not! I didn’t know of the problems between you and David, so you must not blame me or my family for that.’ But Saul would not believe him. ‘You will die, Ahimelech!’ Saul ordered. ‘You will die with all your family.’ Saul immediately issued orders for his guards. ‘Kill these priests!’ he shouted. ‘They knew that David was escaping and helped him and would not even tell me.’ But Saul’s guards would not kill the priests of YHVH. Then Saul turned to Doeg. ‘You kill them!’ he ordered. Without hesitation, Doeg murdered all eighty-five priests, who were still wearing their priestly robes. Then he went to Nob and killed the families of the priests, including every man, woman, child, baby, ox, donkey and sheep. Only one man escaped, Abiathar, one of Abimelech’s sons and he fled to David. When Abiathar reported this massacre, David responded sadly, ‘I knew that Doeg would tell Saul that I had come to Nob. I have caused your whole family to be murdered. Stay here with me and I will protect you with my life. Anyone who wants to kill you must kill me first.’

COMMENTARY

ROYAL COURIERS

Where can a person hide if the king of his country is determined to kill him? David finally settled on a wilderness cave. No one dared help David. King Saul even killed priests of Adonai who had earlier given David bread and weapons. The fact that the priests thought David was on a mission for the king did not turn Saul’s mad anger. Communications were slow in Bible times. Without the conveniences of telephones or postal routes, people relied on human messengers to deliver important information. Each town had at least one man for hire who carried messages. The king had his own company of couriers. They were always at hand, ready to deliver important communications across town or to the farthest corners of the East. Short trips were made on foot by individual runners, but on long journeys messengers travelled in pairs. The extra man discouraged robbers and increased the chances of delivery. Even if disaster delayed one, the second carried the communication to its goal. The hardships of the road were only the beginning of the dangers a courier met. If he carried bad news, he felt the receiver’s anger. Furious kings were known to kill or imprison messengers who delivered unwelcome news. But the courier’s job had its rewards as well as its dangers. As the representative of the sender, he received a royal welcome in the court of a friendly king. He was clothed in rich robes and entertained lavishly. Usually, the courier carried a written message, prepared by a scribe and sealed with the royal insignia but secret information was not written down for fear that it might fall into the wrong hands. A courier delivering information affecting the outcome of a battle, for example, delivered his message aloud. The courier’s work was not over even when he had successfully delivered his message. Frequently he served as a spy, with orders to bring back as much information as he could gather. For this reason, a courier from a hostile king was closely guarded by escorts who did not leave his side until he was safely out of their country.