David’s Story: Man on the Run

1 Samuel 18-26

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. DAVID. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

Have you noticed how the people in God’s story face significant struggles? God leads them through difficult situations, and doesn’t always spare them hardship.

Abraham and Sarah remained childless well into their nineties. Jacob fled from his brother to save his life, and then was deceived by his father-in-law. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers and spent years in prison after being falsely accused of sexual misconduct.

Moses spent forty years as a fugitive in the desert, then led the grumbling Israelites through the wilderness another forty years, only to be denied passage into the promised land because of his disobedience. Joshua spent the latter part of his life fighting battle after battle to take the promised land. Rahab had been a prostitute. Gideon was high-maintenance and stumbled in the end. Samson faced one problem after another in his undisciplined life. Naomi lost her husband and two sons. Ruth lost her husband and labored in the fields before marrying Boaz. 

Do you see a pattern here? In God’s story, people are often forged in the fire, and their challenges become part of how faith, character, dependence on God, and greater purposes unfold. That is certainly true of David.

David’s victory over Goliath made him a rock star in Israel, and it was only the first of many military victories he would lead. Young women sang songs about him and everyone loved them …except Saul. Saul’s jealousy soon turned to hatred, and he wanted David dead. One day, as David played his lyre for him, Saul hurled a spear across the room. He missed, but David knew he might not miss the next time. With the spear still stuck in the wall, David fled for his life.

David first went to Nob, where he met Ahimelech the priest and claimed he was on a secret mission. Ahimelech gave him consecrated bread and Goliath’s sword (1 Sam. 21:1–9). Later, when Saul learned that the priests of Nob had helped David, he ordered the slaughter of all of them. Eighty-five priests were killed.

David then fled to Gath in Philistine territory. This was risky because he had killed the Philistine giant, Goliath. There David “pretended to be insane . . . and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard” (1 Sam. 21:13). Gath’s king, Achish, drove David away, saying, “Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow” to me? (1 Sam. 21:15). (This is one of my favorite retorts in Scripture–“Do I lack madmen?”).

As word spread that David, the mighty warrior, was on the run, his brothers and many others joined him at the Cave of Adullam. Scripture captures the reality of his situation: “And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him” (1 Sam. 22:2). Soon, David found himself commander of more than four hundred desperate men. No doubt, he slept with one eye open!

Now a fugitive, David feared Saul would take revenge on his family. For their protection, he arranged for his father and mother to stay with the king of Moab (1 Sam. 22:3–5), and then he hid in the forest of Hereth (1 Sam. 22:6). There, Jonathan, Saul’s son, came to him and said, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you” (1 Sam. 23:17). Still, Saul “sought [David] every day, but God did not give him into his hand” (1 Sam. 23:14).

David and his scrappy band of men, which eventually numbered as many as six hundred, spent much of their time in the wilderness of En Gedi. Across this area’s rocky hills and rugged desert mountains, what appear to be black spots are actually caves, some of them quite large. Thus, when Scripture says that David “lived in the strongholds of Engedi” (e.g., 1 Sam. 23:29), it means that he and his men took shelter in these caves, moving from place to place to evade Saul’s elite soldiers.[1]

While David was on the run, he had two opportunities to kill Saul. One instance happened when Saul entered a cave to relieve himself, not knowing that David and his men were hiding in the recesses. David could have easily taken Saul’s life, but instead he crept close enough to cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Then he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed” (1 Sam. 24:6).

On another occasion, David and Abishai slipped into Saul’s camp and stood over the sleeping king. Once again, David refused to harm Saul, saying, “The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed” (1 Sam. 26:11). Instead, he took Saul’s spear and water jug from beside his head.

Interestingly, after these two spiritual victories– when David refused to kill Saul– he finally said, “I’m done,” and moved to the land of the enemy. That’s where we’ll begin next time.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on 1 Samuel 18-26. In what current situation might God be shaping your character through pressure or obscurity?

Talking to God: Ask God to give you the strength to remain on his course.

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I invite you to visit the Living Grounded YouTube channel, where we share conversations to help you stay rooted in your faith. Be sure to check out The Living Grounded Podcast with Cliff Graham. Cliff is the author of The Lion of War series, based on the life of David, which Tunch Ilkin introduced me to years ago. See Episode 124 here: [Living Grounded YouTube Channel].

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