DAVID INVENTS ROBIN HOOD

1 Samuel 21-22

Saul’s ego and paranoia drove him to a murderous mood. Warned by Jonathan, David had to flee.

First he went to Nob, a priestly town south of Jerusalem about halfway down the Dead Sea, though inland. There he told the chief priest, Ahimelech that he was on an urgent, confidential mission for the king. He demanded something to eat and convinced the man to give him day old bread that had sat in the Holy of Holies before the Lord. (Jesus would reference this when the Pharisees criticized the Twelve for idly snacking on grain as they walked through a field.) He claimed he left in such a hurry he forgot his weapons. Ahimelech offered Goliath’s sword, and David said you can’t beat that. (Another confirmation that David was a big man.)

Doeg, the secretary of the sheep department, happened to be in town and saw David. He reported back to Saul which changed his dangerous mood to vicious. “Bring me the priest.” When Ahimelech was before him, the king demanded to know why the priest was plotting with David. That good man had no idea what Saul was talking about and assured him that David was a very loyal citizen. That totally enraged the king, whose paranoia was growing by the moment. “Kill him!” he roared, “And go wipe out the whole village of Nob!” The king’s men knew what was happening and did no such thing. But Saul could not be appeased. He turned to Doeg, pointed to Ahimelech, and repeated the command. Doeg was not an Israelite, but an Edomite and took delight in wiping out 85 priests, their families, and cattle.

Meanwhile, David went from Nob to Gath, one of the five cities of the Philistines. When he was recognized, he feared for his life and pretended to be insane. King Achish took one look at him and pronounced these classic lines (I love them!):

¹⁴ Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? ¹⁵ Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”

Next, David retreated to a cave, known as the cave of Adullam. You have doubtless heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in 13 caves near the Dead Sea south of Jerusalem. Likely he went in that general direction. Word was circulating and men who were not liking Saul’s behavior joined David. He was in effect establishing an outlaw band of rebels. During this time of exile, these men lived as Robin Hood would live two thousand years later in England. They were always on the move, hiding out, and living off the land. They were also to become popular by helping villagers in many ways. I’m sure there were many tales told for years that did not make it into the Bible. Their number soon grew to 400, then 600, a small but effective army.

Ahimelech’s son, Abiathar, went to David and told him what was happening at Nob. So David added him to his band and promised him safety. David expressed guilt for recognizing Doeg, but not stopping him from escaping.

Anyway, Abiathar was also a priest, and it was probably through him. That David consulted the Lord.

A message came to him that the Philistines were harassing a Jewish settlement at Keilah, and stealing grain from their threshing floors. So David asked the Lord what he should do. The Lord said go. But the troops were afraid. “We’re running from Saul here in Judah. It’s not safe to come out in the open and wage war!” So David once again asked God what to do, and God had not changed His mind.

So David’s band of men fought their first battle and won their first victory. They saved the people of Keilah, while defeating the arch-enemy of Israel. In addition to inflicting a decisive defeat on the Philistines, the group also captured a good deal of enemy livestock.

Saul did indeed hear of David’s victory, but did not rejoice. Instead, he thought he had caught him penned up within a town. But David also had a spy service and heard of the king’s coming. So by the time Saul and his army arrived, the outlaws had disappeared.

We’ll pick up there next week.