1 SAMUEL LESSON 25


     We will begin this lesson in I Samuel 22:1 "David therefore
departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his
brethren and all his father's house heard [it], they went down thither
to him."

     This cave was a natural hiding place for David. It was large
enough to safely house a few hundred people. There were many caves in
this area. This was not the largest, but it was large enough to give
them safe haven from their enemies. It appears that, his father and
his brethren came to the aid of David. David's father was aware that
David had been anointed king by Samuel. The brethren, here, would have
included all of David's close relatives.

     I Samuel 22:2 "And every one [that was] in distress, and every
one that [was] in debt, and every one [that was] discontented,
gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and
there were with him about four hundred men."

     Saul had been a hard king. He had brought extra pain on some of
the people. Saul was not a king that thought of justice for all the
people. He was a self-willed individual. He did not concern himself
with the hardships of others, as long as he was comfortable. The
Israelites had insisted on having a king like their neighbors, and
that is just what they got. He was not just a strong military leader,
he was a dictator at home. These who have come to be with David are
thinking of a revolt against Saul. They are dissatisfied with him as
king. These 400 men were nothing compared to the army that Saul had,
but with the LORD with them, they felt they could win.

     I Samuel 22:3  "And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he
said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee,
come forth, [and be] with you, till I know what God will do for me."

     David was aware that Saul would show no mercy to his father and
mother. He sends them to safety in Moab. They will stay with the king
of Moab, until the battle between the forces of Saul and the forces of
David have decided who will rule. David knows that his fate is in the
hands of God.

     I Samuel 22:4 "And he brought them before the king of Moab: and
they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold."

     The hold, in this instance, is speaking of the cave where David
is headquartered with his men. He, probably, changed locations
occasionally, to keep Saul from finding out where he was.

     I Samuel 22:5  "And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in
the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David
departed, and came into the forest of Hareth."

     Gad, here, seems to be a prophet who had joined David, while he
was hiding in the caves. David seems to have great respect for him, as
a prophet of God. David takes the advice of Gad. Perhaps, the LORD
knows that Saul has found out where David is hiding, and now, he
speaks through Gad for them to move to the forest of Hareth in Judah.

     I Samuel 22:6  "When Saul heard that David was discovered, and
the men that [were] with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree
in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants [were]
standing about him;)"

     It appears, from this, that Saul feared David greatly. He had his
spear in his hand as a sign of his authority. He moved under this big
shady tree, and had his men surrounding him on every side. This tree
was a tamarisk, which was a big tree with many branches and much
foliage. It gave off more shade than most of the other trees.

     I Samuel 22:7 "Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about
him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of
you fields and vineyards, [and] make you all captains of thousands,
and captains of hundreds;"

     Saul is trying to tell his men, how much better off they are with
him, than they would be with David. It seems to me that, Saul fears
that his men will leave him, and go to the side of David. Saul had
shown favoritism in his reign.

     I Samuel 22:8 "That all of you have conspired against me, and
[there is] none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with
the son of Jesse, and [there is] none of you that is sorry for me, or
sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to
lie in wait, as at this day?"

     He is accusing his own men of betraying him. He leaves no one
out, when he says all. He believes that Jonathan has gone into league
with David. The only thing that Jonathan has really done, is saved
David's life. David had done nothing evil to his father. Saul would
even kill his son, if he knew for sure he had conspired with David.

     I Samuel 22:9  "Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set
over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to
Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub."

     We remember that, Doeg had accidentally been at Nob at the same
time David was there. He is telling Saul, that the priest, Ahimelech,
helped David. He does not tell him, that David told the priest he was
on the king's business. Ahimelech had not betrayed Saul, but Doeg
insinuated that he had.

     I Samuel 22:10 "And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him
victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

     Doeg was trying to save his own life, and the life of Saul's men.
He turned Saul's attention away from his own men, to the priest,
Ahimelech. At this point, Saul is like a mad man.
     I Samuel 22:11 "Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest,
the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that [were]
in Nob: and they came all of them to the king."

     There would be a large number of priests in this case. Saul's
madness is now directed to all of the men who were related to
Ahimelech.  His intentions, from the beginning, was to kill them all.
Saul was so full of hate, it had to come out in killing the innocent.

     I Samuel 22:12 "And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And
he answered, Here I [am], my lord."

     Ahimelech appeared before Saul, representing all of the priests.
When Saul called his name, He answered by calling Saul his lord. This
is a statement, which says he recognizes Saul as his earthly king.

     I Samuel 22:13 "And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired
against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him
bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should
rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?"

     Of course, Ahimelech had given food and the sword of Goliath to
David, but for an entirely different reason than Saul supposes. David
had told the priest, that he was on business for Saul.

     I Samuel 22:14 "Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And
who [is so] faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the
king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in
thine house?"

     Ahimelech knew that the heart of David was not against Saul. He
even reminds Saul, that David is his son-in-law. Ahimelech had no
reason to suspect that David was at odds with Saul. David had been
faithful to Saul. He had won many battles in the name of Saul. He does
take a stand, expressing his belief that David is an honorable man.

     I Samuel 22:15 "Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it
far from me: let not the king impute [any] thing unto his servant,
[nor] to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of
all this, less or more."

     This verse is in defense of himself and the priests with him. He
truly did not know that David was running from Saul, when he came to
him. Saul was cruel and looking for someone to take out his anger on.
The priests explains, that he was innocent of wrong doing, but that
will not matter with Saul.

     I Samuel 22:16 "And the king said, Thou shalt surely die,
Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house."

     It does not matter that he is innocent. Saul orders him and his
father's entire family killed. He is killing the representatives of
the LORD upon the earth. This is a very serious sin.

     I Samuel 22:17  "And the king said unto the footmen that stood
about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand
also [is] with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not
shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their
hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD."

     The footmen of Saul's were Israelites. They knew the danger of
killing a priest. The servants of Saul refused to kill these men of
God. A man, who truly knew God, would have thought about his order to
kill the priests and changed it, but not Saul.

     I Samuel 22:18 "And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall
upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the
priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear
a linen ephod."

     Doeg and his men had no special respect for the priest, or the
priests. They were Edomites. They gladly killed these priests. There
were 85 people killed who had on the garment of the LORD {linen
ephod}.

     I Samuel 22:19 "And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with
the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and
oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword."

     Saul was so cruel, he was not satisfied just killing the priests.
He turned on their wives and children, and killed all of them, too. He
killed their animals, to show his utter hate for all of them.

     I Samuel 22:20  "And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of
Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David."

     We do not know how he got free, only that he did. He would have
been a priest, as well. He was the son of Ahimelech. His name was
Abiather. He had, probably, been left to care for the sanctuary, while
Ahimelech and the others went to answer Saul's request. His escape to
David was necessary. We read in the Scripture of the great respect
that David had for Abiather. The name "Abiather" means father of
plenty.

     I Samuel 22:21 "And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the
LORD'S priests."

     This was terrible news to David. He would feel responsible for
their deaths. He had not intended that, when he stopped for help from
them.

     I Samuel 22:22 "And David said unto Abiathar, I knew [it] that
day, when Doeg the Edomite [was] there, that he would surely tell
Saul: I have occasioned [the death] of all the persons of thy father's
house."

     David had left quickly when he saw Doeg, thinking he might draw
Saul away from the priests and their family. He knew that Doeg would
tell Saul, and that Saul would give chase. He did not believe Saul was
evil enough to kill the priests, however. David was sorrowful of the
priests death, blaming himself for their problem.

     I Samuel 22:23 "Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh
my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou [shalt be] in safeguard."

     There really was nothing to go back to. Saul had destroyed all of
his family, and all they had. Saul would kill Abiathar, the same as he
would kill David, if he could find them. David promises the priest
that he will be safe with him. David feels indebted to him all the
days of his life.

     One lesson we must all learn from this, is that sin gets worse
and worse, if not checked. Saul started out doing just a few little
things in contrast with the commandments of the LORD. Each time he
committed a sin, the next sin was worse. Now, he has committed one of
the most heinous crimes of all history. We must immediately stop, when
we commit that first little sin. We must seek forgiveness, and turn
from sin at that moment. Sin is like a cancer that grows and grows,
until it destroys us.

































                        1 Samuel 25 Questions


1.  Where did David escape to?
2.  When his brethren and all his father's house heard it, what did
    they do?
3.  How large was the cave?
4.  David's father was aware, that David had been anointed king by
    _____________.
5.  Who were covered by "brethren" in verse 1?
6.  Who gathered themselves to him?
7.  How many men came to help David?
8.  What kind of a king had Saul been?
9.  Where did David find a place of safety, for his mother and father?
10. Why had David done this?
11. David knows that his fate is in the hands of the ________.
12. How long did his parents stay with the king of Moab?
13. What did the prophet, Gad, suggest that David do?
14. Where was Saul abiding, after he heard what David was doing?
15. What was the spear in Saul's hand a sign of?
16. What was the tree, that Saul sat under?
17. What is Saul saying in verse 7?
18. Who is he accusing of conspiring against him in verse 8?
19. Who speaks up, and tells of David coming to see Ahimelech?
20. Why did he tell this?
21. What does he tell Saul, that Ahimelech did for David?
22. Who did Saul call to his presence to check on this matter?
23. What does Saul accuse the priest of?
24. What does Ahimelech say in defense of David?
25. What is verse 15?
26. What punishment did Saul declare on the priest?
27. Who refused to move against the priests?
28. Who killed them?
29. What other cruel thing did Saul do, to the families of the
    priests?
30. Who ran to David for safety?
31. Why did David feel responsible for this?
32. What did David tell Abiathar to do?
33. What is a lesson we can all learn here?