David at the Cave of Adullam / The Slaughter of the Priests
Introduction:
David at the Cave of Adullam / The Slaughter of the Priests
Look for:
Saul’s irrational behavior.
Saul’s paranoia. (Once again Saul’s character is on display.)
Doeg the Edomite’s evil behavior.
David’s leadership.
God’s sovereignty at work.
1 Samuel 22 NLT
David at the Cave of Adullam
22 So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. 2 Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men.
3 Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, “Please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” 4 So David’s parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.
5 One day the prophet Gad told David, “Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah.” So David went to the forest of Hereth.
6 The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. At the time, the king was sitting beneath the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, holding his spear and surrounded by his officers.
7 “Listen here, you men of Benjamin!” Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news. “Has that son of Jesse promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you all generals and captains in his army? 8 Is that why you have conspired against me? For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse. You’re not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son—encouraging him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day!”
9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s men, spoke up. “When I was at Nob,” he said, “I saw the son of Jesse talking to the priest, Ahimelech son of Ahitub. 10 Ahimelech consulted the Lord for him. Then he gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
The Slaughter of the Priests
11 King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. 12 When they arrived, Saul shouted at him, “Listen to me, you son of Ahitub!”
“What is it, my king?” Ahimelech asked.
13 “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me?” Saul demanded. “Why did you give him food and a sword? Why have you consulted God for him? Why have you encouraged him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day?”
14 “But sir,” Ahimelech replied, “is anyone among all your servants as faithful as David, your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your household! 15 This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! May the king not accuse me and my family in this matter, for I knew nothing at all of any plot against you.”
16 “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted. 17 And he ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests of the Lord, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!” But Saul’s men refused to kill the Lord’s priests.
18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You do it.” So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. 19 Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
20 Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David. 21 When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord, 22 David exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father’s family. 23 Stay here with me, and don’t be afraid. I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both.”
Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 22 NLT
David at the Cave of Adullam
22:1 So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
David is on the move.
- David leaves Philistia and moves back into the area ruled by Saul and hides in the cave of Adullam. (Adullam is in Judah.)
Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there.
David’s family members came from Bethlehem, about 12 miles away.
David’s family would have been in danger from Saul.
Kings frequently killed all of the family members of their “enemies”.
- David’s brothers and all of his other relatives joined him at the cave of Adullam.
2 Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men.
- Other men joined up with David. These were men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented. David became the captain of about 400 men.
Note: Here David’s actions foreshadowed those of Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 NLT
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Luke 5:30-32 NLT
30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
We might describe these men as a “bunch of misfits”.
- The number of men with David soon increased to 600.
1 Samuel 23:13 NLT
13 So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside.
- Under David’s leadership this group of men (misfits) at Adullam became an effective fighting force.
1 Samuel 23:5 NLT
5 So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah.
1 Samuel 27:8 NLT
8 David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times.
3 Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, “Please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” 4 So David’s parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.
- Life in the wilderness, living in a cave, would have been difficult for David’s aging parents.
This would have been a long journey from Adullam to Moab for David and his men.
Moab was where David’s great grandmother Ruth had lived.
David had Moabite blood from his great grandmother Ruth.
The king of Moab was probably an enemy of Saul.
- David moves his parents to Moab, while he and his men were living in “his stronghold”.
David’s parents may have stayed in Moab for the 10 years David was fleeing from Saul.
David’s stronghold may have been the fortress of Masada. (See #8 on the map.)
The last holdout of the Jews in A.D. 73.
5 One day the prophet Gad
Here in the story, the prophet Gad is advising David.
2 Samuel 24:11 NLT
11 The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer.
1 Chronicles 29:29 NLT
29 All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel the Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer.
- God provides David with a prophet.
told David, “Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah.” So David went to the forest of Hereth.
- After leaving Moab David moved to the Forest of Hereth.
6 The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. At the time, the king was sitting beneath the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah,
In the Old Testament court was often held under a tree.
Judges 4:5 NLT
5 She ( Deborah) would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.
holding his spear and surrounded by his officers.
If Saul was holding a spear, he was a threat to friend or foe alike.
7 “Listen here, you men of Benjamin!” Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news.
Saul is addressing the officers of his army.
He may have been pitting men from the tribe of Benjamin against men from the tribe of Judah.
“Has that son of Jesse (from the tribe of Judah) promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you all generals and captains in his army?
Can David give you more than what you already have?
8 Is that why you have conspired against me? For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse. You’re not even sorry for me.
Think of it! My own son—encouraging him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day!”
This is not true. Saul is showing signs of paranoia.
- Saul is angry with his own officers, accusing them of conspiring against him.
At this point in time Saul is unable to trust in anyone, including his own servants.
- Saul’s behavior throughout this story is irrational.
9 Then Doeg the Edomite,
The Edomites were the descendants of Esau.
1 Samuel 14:47 NLT
Saul’s Military Successes
47 Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel’s throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction—against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was victorious.
who was standing there with Saul’s men, spoke up. “When I was at Nob,” he said, “I saw the son of Jesse talking to the priest, Ahimelech son of Ahitub (A hi tub). 10 Ahimelech consulted the Lord for him. Then he gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
- Doeg the Edomite tries to get on Saul’s “good side”.
The fact that “Ahimelech consulted the Lord for him” is not recorded in chapter 21. Doeg may have been lying about this.
The Slaughter of the Priests
11 King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. 12 When they arrived, Saul shouted at him, “Listen to me, you son of Ahitub!”
“What is it, my king?” Ahimelech asked.
13 “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me?” Saul demanded. “Why did you give him food and a sword? Why have you consulted God for him? Why have you encouraged him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day?”
This is not true.
Ahimelech was not conspiring against King Saul.
14 “But sir,” Ahimelech replied, “is anyone among all your servants as faithful as David, your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your household!
- Ahimelech believed that David was a faithful servant of Saul.
David was Saul’s son-in-law.
To many, David was seen as the captain of Saul’s bodyguard and a highly honored member of Saul’s household.
1 Samuel 16:21 NLT
21 So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.
- David had deceived Ahimelech into thinking that he was on a mission for Saul.
15 This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! May the king not accuse me and my family in this matter, for I knew nothing at all of any plot against you.”
16 “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted.
Proverbs 14:29 NLT
29 People with understanding control their anger;
a hot temper shows great foolishness.
17 And he ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests of the Lord, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!”
- The priests may not have known that David was running from Saul.
Scripture does not say that David told them that he was running from Saul.
But Saul’s men refused to kill the Lord’s priests.
- Saul believed that Ahimelech and the other priests were conspiring against him so he ordered his bodyguards to kill all of them.
- Saul’s own men, his body guards, refused to kill the Lord’s priests.
18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You do it.” So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments.
The name “Doeg the Edomite” is mentioned in 21:7, 22:9, 18, and 22.
It took a “foreigner” to betray David and kill the 85 priests. It appears that Doeg had no fear of the Lord.
Doeg the Edomite killed 85 priests.
19 Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
Doeg killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
- Doeg the Edomite killed the 85 priests of Nob along with their families and livestock.
Josephus wrote that he killed “Ahimelech and all his family, who were in all three hundred and eighty-five.”
This fulfilled the curse on Eli’s house.
1 Samuel 2:31 NLT
31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age.
20 Only Abiathar (A bi a thar), one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David.
David was joined by Abiathar the son of the priest Ahimelech.
Abiathar remains with David, until David’s death, providing him with true priestly counsel.
- God provides David with a priest.
21 When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord, 22 David exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father’s family.
1 Samuel 21:1-2 NLT
21:1 David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?”
2 “The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later.
- David had lied to Ahimelech which led to the death of Ahimelech and the members of his family.
23 Stay here with me, and don’t be afraid. I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both.”
This marked the beginning of David’s priestly staff which would later lead the tabernacle worship in Jerusalem.
