Jun 14, 2020. I Samuel 22:1-5

Posted byJohn Sanzone

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DAVID ON THE RUN WITH GOD. I SAMUEL 22:1-5. 6/14/20. #69.

I Samuel 22:1-5 [New King James Version (NKJV)]

1 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was [a]discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him. 3 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.” 4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Now the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

  • Family affairs
    • David leaves Gath after feigning madness
      • He ends up in a cave at Adullam (13 miles SW of Bethlehem)
      • Adullam is in the forested rolling hills of Shephelah (like the Appalachian foothills)
      • Many limestone caves in the hills
    • Due to David’s status, his family is threatened
      • His family flees to stay with David in cave
      • No mention of how his family knew that David was in Adullam or if they had received direct threats to their lives
    • What impacts one member of a family impacts the entire family (Aachen, Jn. 9 blind man)
    • David desires to move family out of harm’s way
      • He goes to Moab and asks the king to give his family sanctuary
      • David’s great grandma Ruth was Moabite
      • The king didn’t mind a civil war in Israel
    • David and his family + men built a stronghold there
    • Later, David attacks Moab in king’s son’s reign
  • David’s disgruntled men
    • 400 disgruntled men gathered around David
      • God was providing David a force
      • The men were discontent (“bitter of soul”)
    • The men who gathered around David
      • They were discontent with the system (cheated, over taxed, violated, stifled…)
      • Men who had some kind of grievance
    • Like Jephthah, David is leader of rogue raiders
      • The number of men will swell to 600
      • God is establishing David as the future leader of Israel
  • Shifting sands
    • David stays in his stronghold to await events
    • David’s wife, Mical, is still in Gibeah
    • The prophet Gad comes to David
      • An indication of God beginning to promote David over Saul
      • Samuel no longer visits Saul
      • Gad tells David to leave his stronghold and return to Judah
    • David now becomes an irritation to Saul in Judah
      • Saul is never able to catch David
      • David’s reputation and strength grow
  • Being moved by God
    • David does not control any of the events in life
      • God moves David around and sends aid
      • David’s plans are controlled by God
    • Often we try to engineer our own destiny
      • Exodus 4, it is God who promotes one person over another and brings the mighty down
      • God moves in his timing and way
    • When we rest in the Lord, allowing him to lead and fight our battles, we experience peace and power 
      • Focus on praise and holiness, he triumphs
      • Job, Joseph, Daniel = obeyed and He did rest