King on the Run
1 Samuel 21 King on the Run
Introduction
Certain place names conjure specific images or feelings for us. For instance, when someone says, ‘North Coast’, we might recall its beauty and memories of enjoyable visits there. On the other hand, hearing names like ‘Gaza’ or ‘Ukraine’ often brings to mind news coverage and thoughts about the horrors of war.
And place names in the Bible will conjure up certain associations in our minds too. For example, ‘Bethlehem’ may remind us of king David, but more likely, it brings to mind Christmas and Jesus’s birth.
Today we hear two about places that would have conjured up certain associations in David’s mind. Today we hear about ‘Nob’ and ‘Gath’. Nob is the place of David’s fearful flight, and Gath is the city of David’s mad refuge.
Chapter 21 describes David’s flight from King Saul, where he deceptively seeks aid from the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Later, David feigns madness to escape King Achish of Gath, an event that prompts him to write Psalms 34 and 56 expressing his trust in God amidst his fear.
When we reflect on David’s experiences in Nob and Gath, we consider both the errors of a Believer who gave in to fear and the faithfulness of God. In Chapter 21 we witness God graciously provide for David and delivers him in a wonderfully unexpected way.
As God’s People we must always remember that God’s faithful provision and providential guiding. In desperation and in doubt we must always look to Christ and what God has done for us at the Cross.
Let us turn, firstly, then and consider… David’s Fearful Flight Through Nob
As we come to Chapter 21, and the final third of 1 Samuel, we are going to encounter a recurring theme: David, though anointed as king, is fleeing from his enemies and living in fear of Saul. And this marks an incredible shift in David’s circumstances. Back in Chapter 17 he was portrayed as the conquering hero with the world at his feet. Now, after the events of Chapters 19 and 20, David is a desperate and fearful fugitive.
So, when we meet David at the beginning of Chapter 21, he is on the run, fearful for his very existence. David flees to the priestly compound at Nob, a location about two miles south of Saul’s home in Gibeah; in verse 1 we read:
David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
Notice that Ahimelech was hardly overjoyed to see David. He senses something is not right and questions David.
Given David’s position, Ahimelech would reasonably expect him to travel accompanied by an entourage. Observing David alone, without attendants or servants, led Ahimelech to suspect that David may have been fleeing- in the next chapter we will see that Ahimelech had good reason to tremble.
For the moment, however, David sought to put the priest’s fears to rest. In verse 2 David tells Ahimelech that he is on a secret mission from the king, and his men are waiting nearby. This, of course, is a lie and suggests a troubling trend emerging in David’s life.
David is developing a troubling habit. We’ve already seen him involved in deception when Michal, his wife, helped cover for him. He also created a convincing lie for Jonathan to tell Saul about why he was missing from the meal. Now, facing Ahimelech, it seems that David’s instinct is once again to resort to dishonesty.
David could have trusted God and told the truth. But he trusted himself and told a lie. This is what happens when our minds are overthrown by fear. When we have forgotten God’s faithfulness and love, we easily fall into patterns of sin.
David should have been honest and trusted God. David should have asked the priest for prayer and guidance. In verse 3 we learn that David’s main interest, however, was in provision rather than prayer
David’s request presented a challenge, as the only food accessible at the tabernacle was consecrated bread, and it was to be eaten only by the priest and his family- you can read all about this aspect of the Law in Leviticus 24. In verse 4 we see that Ahimelech was willing to give this bread to David- so long as he and his men had kept themselves ceremonially clean.
Fortunately for David, he and his men met this qualification- it was, after all, standard policy for all his missions. And so, in verse 6, Ahimelech gave David this special bread.
So, Ahimelech bent the rules to provide food for David. But why would he do this?
Well, we shouldn’t understand this as careless disregard for the Law. Notice that Ahimelech took particular care concerning David’sceremonial cleanness.
Instead, what we witness here is God providing for His anointed king by way of this faithful priest. Ahimelech could have chosen legalistic observance of the Law. Instead, he chose obedience to the spirit of the law. And, more importantly, he recognises his calling to provide sustenance for God’s anointed king- to play his part in God’s sovereign plans.
So, David has his five loaves, which, of course, will sustain him physically. Then, David makes his second request in verse 8.
David claims he had left the king too quickly to gather supplies or take his weapons, but the situation was not as he led Ahimelech to believe. Again, David is using deceit to get what he thinks he needs.
David, on the run from Saul, will clearly need food to eat. However, as we listen to him speak, we sense he is more concerned with the great sword he had taken from Goliath back in Chapter 17. Certainly, he was eager to get it into his hands; in verse 9 we read:
The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.”
David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
It says much that the same David who refused to wear Saul’s armour as he went to fight Goliath now rejoices to wield the weapon of his former pagan enemy. No longer relying on God’s strength, he delights in the sword, saying, ‘There is none like that; give it to me.’.
David’s experience in Nob serves as an example to us all. When God’s People allow fear to take over it can lead us to do things we never imagined we would do. During his time there, David used deception for self-preservation and looked to earthly things, like swords, for a security only God could give.
Surely it would have been better for David to have held Goliath’s sword in his hand and remembered God’s previous provision in response to faith. Surely the very mention of that sword should have called to mind God’s readiness to support those who seek assistance.
As we consider this true story from God’s Word today may it encourage us, when we are desperate or fearful, to remember God’s gracious provision and trust in God’s sovereign grace. In Christ God has provided for our truest needs, so He will surely provide for every other need according to His perfect purposes.
Next, we see… David’s Mad Refuge in Gath
So, David went to Nob and obtained provisions and a very impressive weapon from Ahimelech. Then he continued his flight from Saul.
What David did next was dangerous, reckless even. The story is told briefly but vividly in verses 10 to 15. His actions reveal his utter desperation and just how much he feared Saul.
To better understand the unusual events of these verses, it is important we appreciate that Saul’s hatred for David was intense and unrestrained. In Chapter 20 Saul’s jealousy had become explosive- Saul even attempted to spear his own son for his support for David. And this episode had come after at least three separate attempts on David’s life by Saul and his henchmen.
So, we can understand just why David feared Saul so much- as we will see, he even feared him more than he feared his long-term enemies, the Philistines. This helps us understand what we read in verse 10:
That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.
Literally the verse says that David fled ‘from the presence of Saul’. The implication is that Saul’s presence could be felt, so to speak, throughout his kingdom. Saul exercised authority over the entire territory in which David was living.
To escape from Saul, David needed to get beyond Saul’s reach. So he does what seems to be the unthinkable: he goesto the Philistine city ofGath.
Gath was about twenty-five miles southwest of Nob, down out of the hills, toward the coastal plain. Gath was, therefore, outside Saul’s territory. That is the only positive thing that can be said for David’s decision to flee to Gath.
David, driven by intense desperation, decided to hide in the last place Saul would expect to find him. And he certainly did choose the very last place on earth that Saul would look for him- because Gath was not only a Philistine city, it was also the hometown of Goliath!
Now, if there was one place on earth where you could be confident that David would be universally hated, it would be Gath. Add to this fact the fact that he has taken with him Goliath’s sword and we can only describe this as an act of madness.
It is one thing to go to Gath- to enter enemy territory as a figure of hate. It is quite another to go there carrying the very weapon with which you cut off the head of the city’s hero! This is like showing up at Ibrox wearing a Celtic jersey.
But David was desperate. He feels he must take this risk. He likely intended to slip into Gath unnoticed, aiming to hide out as an unknown Hebrew fugitive.
If so, he seriously underestimated Gath’s intelligence network. Achish’s men recognise him almost immediately, the seize him, and bring him before the Philistine king.
What they say to Achish in verse 11 is astonishing:
…“Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”
Whatever Achish’s men consciously thought, their words were truer than they knew.
David was the one destined to be ‘…the king of the land…’. David had now been acknowledged as the future king by God, by the prophet Samuel, by Jonathan, and now by the Philistine servants of Achish.
Remember, the danger of being regarded as the future king in Saul’s territory was what had driven David to Gath. Now that he had been recognised in Gath, any hope of safety there was gone; in verse 12 we read:
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.
Earlier Saul had hoped that the Philistines would do his dirty work for him and eliminate David. Unexpectedly, because of David’s desperate flight to Gath, Saul’s wishes may have come true. So it seemed at least to David.
David was ‘…much afraid…’. But David had a cunning plan to escape. In verse 13 we read that David put on the performance of his life. Slobbering hysterically and scraping the door with his nails, David pretended to be insane.
David’s actions are, of course, a commentary on his own state of mind: his actions had been crazy, and now it was appropriate that he acted that way. One commentator helpfully notes: The man who stood calmly before Goliath because he was possessed with faith now acts like a maniac because he is possessed with fear.
The only positive thing to say about David’s desperate action was that it worked. In verses 14 and 15 David succeeded in stirring Achish to a mixture of pity and revulsion. The Philistine king could not believe that this dribbling, scraping thing was any threat to him.
The joke was on Achish and the Philistines. Achish himself testified that he was surrounded by idiots. The fact that Philistine Enemy Number One managed to escape from their grasp by just a bit of dribbling and scratching showed how right he was.
And so, David escaped by playing the madman. This was indeed a strange deliverance. But the ultimate explanation of what happens in this incident does not lie in David’s cunning.
Instead, we understand these events by turning to Psalm 34- which we read as our ‘Call to Worship’- and the words that David wrote as he reflected on what happened in Gath:
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
We might imagine that David shared these words in the cave at Adullam- which we will come to next time- with the group that now was beginning to gather around him. And we can also imagine him saying, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good…’ because he had experienced God’s goodness in this strange deliverance.
You see, David, in that circumstance, was distressed, and he was persecuted, but he was not forsaken. He was the Lord’s anointed and, as Psalm 2 tells us, God will look after His anointed and see him crowned. God’s plans will succeed, and He will protect and provide for His People. We will learn more of this next week when we consider Chapter 22.
[Take Aways] But for now, what are we to take away from these strange episodes in Nob and Gath?
Well, in considering David’s fearful flight and mad refuge we should take note of three points:
Firstly, David’s behaviour warns us that any Believer can fall away if they fail to trust in the perfect goodness and sovereign faithfulness of God. David was a very great servant of God, with many spiritual qualities and gifts. But the best of men are men at best.
We are all prone to fall away and so we must daily seek God in His Word, pour out our hearts in prayer to Him, and ponder His goodness to us in the Gospel.
Secondly, we must be aware that not only can any of us can fall, but also how far we can fall and how fast it can happen. Only recently, David had been faithfully serving in Saul’s court and leading Israel’s armies valiantly in battle. Now he is slobbering in a corner of Goliath’s hometown.
This is why the Bible tells us always to consider both God’s grace and our duty. We must be ever aware that we are in a Spiritual war, and we must daily seek God’s help to fight the good fight.
Thirdly, David shows us that even very godly people will struggle with doubts, fears, resentments, and broken hearts. This is why we need Christian friends who we can rely on to pray with us and offer counsel. Notice that David’s struggles occur during his separation from his covenant friend Jonathan. This is also why God provides elders and pastors in the church. God gives us men to keep watch over our souls and oversee our spiritual condition.
Conclusion
As we close, one final thought.
Once David departed from Gath and regained his safety, he too reflected on this low period of his life, and in Psalms 34 and 56 he recorded his thoughts, which focus mainly on God. Having considered lessons about ourselves from David’s flight, we can also note four truths about God’s dealings with His People.
The first lesson is that God provides for His People in all their needs. The second lesson is that God protects His People in danger. Thirdly, God providentially guides His People and works all things for their ultimate good. Fourthly, God loves His People and is abundantly gracious.
So, daily, hourly, we must ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good…’. Moment by moment we look to Christ as the supreme example of God’s provision, protection, providence and abundant grace. We do not give in to fear or unbelief but we seek the Lord and trust in His deliverance.