April
11th 1 Samuel 21 David supported by Ahimelech
1: Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech
the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto
him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2: And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath
commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of
the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have
appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3: Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves
of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 4: And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common
bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept
themselves at least from women. 5:
And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been
kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the
young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were
sanctified this day in the vessel. 6:
So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the
shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day
when it was taken away. 7: Now
a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the
LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that
belonged to Saul. 8: And David
said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for
I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's
business required haste. 9: And
the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the
valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou
wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said,
There is none like that; give it me.
David
fakes insanity
10: And David arose, and fled that day
for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11: And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David
the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances,
saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12: And David laid up these words in
his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13: And he changed his behaviour
before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors
of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14: Then said Achish unto his
servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15: Have I need of mad men, that ye
have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow
come into my house?
1
Samuel 22 David raises an army
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. 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. 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. 4: And he brought them before the king
of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. 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.
Saul
kills the priests
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;) 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; 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? 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. 10: And he
inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of
Goliath the Philistine. 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. 12: And Saul said, Hear
now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. 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? 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? 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. 16: And the king said, Thou shalt
surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. 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. 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. 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. 20:
And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped,
and fled after David. 21: And
Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD's priests. 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. 23: Abide thou with me, fear not: for
he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in
safeguard.
1
Samuel 23 David rescues Keilah
1: Then they told David, saying,
Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors.
2: Therefore David inquired of
the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said
unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 3: And David's men said unto him,
Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah
against the armies of the Philistines? 4:
Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said,
Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 5: So David and his men went to
Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and
smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
Saul
chases David
6: And it came to pass, when Abiathar
the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod
in his hand. 7: And it was told
Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into
mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
8: And Saul called all the
people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9: And David knew that Saul secretly
practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring
hither the ephod. 10: Then said
David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh
to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11: Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will
Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech
thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. 12: Then said David, Will the men of
Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They
will deliver thee up. 13: Then
David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of
Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David
was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. 14: And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and
remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every
day, but God delivered him not into his hand. 15: And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and
David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16: And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the
wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17:
And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find
thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and
that also Saul my father knoweth. 18:
And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and
Jonathan went to his house. 19:
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide
himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is
on the south of Jeshimon? 20:
Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to
come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand. 21: And Saul said, Blessed be ye of
the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. 22:
Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and
who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. 23: See therefore, and take knowledge
of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with
the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in
the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. 24: And they arose, and went to Ziph
before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain
on the south of Jeshimon. 25:
Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came
down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard
that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26: And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and
his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear
of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take
them. 27: But there came a
messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have
invaded the land. 28: Wherefore
Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines:
therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth. 29: And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at
En-gedi.
In the next three chapters we have recorded the beginning of
David’s time of obscurity. David is found by the Philistines but he pretends to
be insane to escape execution. Next we see that David raises an army. And while
Saul is becoming worse and worse David is seeking ever more to do what is right
before the Lord, but Saul is constantly after him. So here we see David coming to the priest to
ask for five loaves with which to feed his men. David was given the holy bread
reserved only for the priests. David’s greater son obtained five loaves and
with them fed a huge multitude. He told the priest that he was on secret
business for Saul. David was unarmed and so he asked whether there might not be
weapons the priest said there is only the sword of Goliath, but it’s yours
David. So David took it as his only weapon. David in his journey found himself
in the camp of the Philistines and they recognised him so he pretended to be
insane and they left him alone. David finally found a place of safety at the
cave of Adullam. When the men of Israel knew that he was there they went to
him. All those who were penniless, debtors and discontented. They all went to
David. They understood him and he understood them and they recognised in him a
man of God. They knew God was with him. David became their leader over a band
of 400 men. David went and put his father and family in a safe place and then
he went and lived in the forest. Saul was becoming increasingly paranoid. When
he heard that the Priest had given David food and the sword of Goliath he went
and executed the priest of God. Saul’s men were afraid to kill the priests but
the Edomites with Saul carried out his evil wishes. They killed 84 priests that
day. When David heard of this he confessed that he thought it might happen.
Then David heard that the Philistines had invaded so he enquired of the LORD
and the LORD told him to go and fight against them and he had total victory.
When Saul knew that David was in the city he besieged the city but David
enquired of the Lord. David’s men now numbered 600. David escaped and lived in
caves and in the wild mountains. Saul searched for him but God was with David.
Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him and made a covenant of peace
with him. On one occasion Saul seemed to have trapped David but right then he heard
that the Philistines had invaded the north so he broke off following him. How
sad it was that one Israelite chased another Israelite to murder him. And how
sad it is today when men of God pursue each other for harm.
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