The Philistines get ready for battle, Saul panics and consults Samuel through sorcery, David initially goes with the Philistines but is turned back (thankfully!). So David returns to his home in Ziklag to wait out the battle. Uh, no…

Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn’t kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner. (1 Samuel 30.1 – 3, MSG)

Recall that among the people David raided as recorded in chapter 27 were the Amalekites. Maybe David’s operations weren’t as secret as he thought. Anyway, David and his men wept until the men wanted to take their frustrations out on David:

And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. (1 Samuel 30.6, MSG)

Recall the kind of men David had on his team: losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. But David’s trust was not in his men – we have the rest of verse 6:

David strengthened himself with trust in his GOD. (1 Samuel 30.6, MSG)

So David seeks God’s guidance and promise:

Then David prayed to GOD, “Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?” The answer came, “Go after them! Yes, you’ll catch them! Yes, you’ll make the rescue!” (1 Samuell 30.8, MSG)

Off they go…

David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They arrived at the Brook Besor, where some of them dropped out. David and four hundred men kept up the pursuit, but two hundred of them were too fatigued to cross the Brook Besor, and stayed there. (1 Samuel 30.9 – 10, MSG)

Remember the 200 left behind: we’ll get some insight into the kind of leader David was.

David and his men find the Amalekite camp, rescue their families and their property and return:

David pounced. He fought them from before sunrise until evening of the next day…David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives! Nothing and no one was missing…David recovered the whole lot. He herded the sheep and cattle before them, and they all shouted, “David’s plunder!” Then David came to the two hundred who…had dropped out at the Brook Besor. They came out to welcome David and his band. As he came near he called out, “Success!” But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: “They didn’t help in the rescue, they don’t get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that’s it. Take them and go!” (1 Samuell 30.17 – 22, MSG)

The mean-spirited men: “they didn’t help, they don’t get any of the plunder.” David won’t have it:

Families don’t do this sort of thing! Oh no, my brothers! You can’t act this way with what GOD gave us! God kept us safe. He handed over the raiders who attacked us. Who would ever listen to this kind of talk? The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights—equal shares. Share and share alike! From that day on, David made that the rule in Israel. (1 Samuel 30.23 – 25, MSG)

Then David uses the plunder to buy some goodwill among the “elders of Judah:”

On returning to Ziklag, David sent portions of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his neighbors, with a note saying, “A gift from the plunder of GOD’s enemies!” He sent them to the elders in Bethel… and Hebron, along with a number of other places David and his men went to from time to time. (1 Samuel 30.26 – 31, MSG)

A chapter with a bad start has a good finish. David’s faith in God is strengthened, he creates a rule that support people share equally with frontline fighters, and he buys some goodwill.

Those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Corinthians 12.22 – 27, NKJV)

The Philistines are marching into battle; where is Saul? Answer: scared to death:

The Philistines had mustered their troops and camped at Shunem. Saul had assembled all Israel and camped at Gilboa. But when Saul saw the Philistine troops, he shook in his boots, scared to death. (1 Samuel 28.4, 5, MSG)

The guy who at the beginning of his career was filled with the Spirit and confidently led the nation into battle, was now on his own and rightfully terrified:

Saul prayed to GOD, but GOD didn’t answer—neither by dream nor by sign nor by prophet. (1 Samuel 28.6, MSG)

What to do? Here’s where it gets weird. The Law was clear about consulting mediums:

A man or woman who is a medium or sorcerer among you must be put to death. You must kill them by stoning. They’re responsible for their own deaths. (Leviticus 20.27, MSG)

This apparently, is one more law the Israelites ignored because the chapter opens with an aside:

Saul had long since cleaned out all those who held seances with the dead. (1 Samuel 28.3, MSG)

It’s hard to clean out people who aren’t there! But even though they weren’t supposed to be there, and King Saul had gotten rid of those who were there, Saul wants to consult one, and his officials, shockingly, know where one is!

So Saul ordered his officials, “Find me someone who can call up spirits so I may go and seek counsel from those spirits.” His servants said, “There’s a witch at Endor.” (1 Samuel 28.7, MSG)

Saul disguises himself (how do you disguise the tallest guy in the country?) and goes to see her. She calls up Samuel, whose death is recorded in 1 Samuel 25. This is the only recorded seance in the Bible, as far as I remember, and I’m not going to speculate on all that’s going on. What’s clear is that Saul, for all this trouble, gets the same message he already heard:

Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by calling me up?” “Because I’m in deep trouble,” said Saul. “The Philistines are making war against me and God has deserted me—he doesn’t answer me any more, either by prophet or by dream. And so I’m calling on you to tell me what to do.” “Why ask me?” said Samuel. “GOD has turned away from you and is now on the side of your neighbor. GOD has done exactly what he told you through me—ripped the kingdom right out of your hands and given it to your neighbor. It’s because you did not obey GOD, refused to carry out his seething judgment on Amalek, that GOD does to you what he is doing today. Worse yet, GOD is turning Israel, along with you, over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And, yes, indeed, GOD is giving Israel’s army up to the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 28.15 – 19, MSG, emphasis mine)

It’s the same message Samuel gave Saul back in chapter 15:

Samuel said, “GOD has just now torn the kingdom from you, and handed it over to your neighbor, a better man than you are. (1 Samuel 15.28, MSG)

We’ll get to the battle in chapter 31 in a couple of days, where Saul and his sons will join Samuel in death.

In the meantime, let’s be obedient to what we know:

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. (James 1.22 – 24, MSG)

These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. (Matthew 7.24 – 27, MSG)

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29.29, ESV)

PS For those in breathless anticipation of whether or not we’re doing a road trip “planned” to start April 23, we are now shooting for September.

We ended our story of David yesterday with these verses:

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16.9, ESV)

Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way? (Proverbs 20.24, TLB)

Here’s an ongoing example: June and I were planning to fly to the southeast April 16 – 24 to see family and visit a couple of places we haven’t seen in 50+ years. On April 1, she woke up with chest pain. Rather than call 911, she just crawled back into bed, and in about an hour, she was fine. Having a very busy week, she opted not to contact her cardiologist.

Fast forward to Friday, April 12. She went to her family doctor for her annual Medicare physical (she thought). But when she told the doc about the April 1 event, everything changed, and the visit ended with, “And don’t even think about flying next week. You can’t fly. Go to your cardiologist and tell him I said you need an angiogram.” Can’t fly? No problem. We started planning a road trip instead, starting maybe April 23.

By the way, here’s the short version of what an angiogram is:

A coronary angiogram is part of a general group of heart tests and treatments called cardiac catheterization. Cardiac catheterization uses one or more thin, flexible tubes, called catheters. The tubes are placed within the major blood vessels of the body and the heart. The test requires a small cut in the skin. During a coronary angiogram, a treatment called angioplasty and stenting can be done to open any blocked arteries. – Mayo Clinic

On Thursday, April 18, directed by the cardiologist’s office, June showed up at the Emergency Room in the hospital where he was working that week. (The cardiologist is a friend of ours, a strong believer, and he also knows our general practitioner.) We had thought it would be a consult. Wrong. He read what the GP said and announced, “We need to do an angiogram…now.” Now? “Yes. In a few minutes. You’ll be home by mid-afternoon.”

He did the angiogram, found a blockage, and inserted two stents. “She’ll be fine!” And we were home by 4:00p after being at the hospital from 7:30a – 3:30p. An unexpected adventure.

When I shared the first part of this story, after we had canceled our flight, before we saw the cardiologist, our wise neighbor said, “At our age, plans are optional.” That’s a good word.

So as of this writing, we’re planning a road trip with an adjusted itinerary, leaving April 23. But…plans are optional, aren’t they?

[Paul’s team] went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. (Acts 16.6, 7, MSG)

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. – Woody Allen

Yesterday we left David in Philistia (1 Samuel 27.1 – 28.2). Let’s pick up that story in chapter 29 where the Philistines are going to battle against the Israelites:

The Philistines mustered all their troops at Aphek. Meanwhile Israel had made camp at the spring at Jezreel. As the Philistine warlords marched forward by regiments and divisions, David and his men were bringing up the rear with Achish. (1 Samuel 29.1, 2, MSG)

We don’t know what David’s plan was. Achish trusted him, but the Philistine officers didn’t:

The Philistine officers said, “What business do these Hebrews have being here?” Achish answered the officers, “Don’t you recognize David, ex-servant of King Saul of Israel? He’s been with me a long time. I’ve found nothing to be suspicious of, nothing to complain about, from the day he defected from Saul until now.” Angry with Achish, the Philistine officers said, “Send this man back to where he came from. Let him stick to his normal duties. He’s not going into battle with us. He’d switch sides in the middle of the fight! What better chance to get back in favor with his master than by stabbing us in the back! (1 Samuel 29.3, 4, MSG)

Whatever David’s plan was, David would be on the battleground when Saul was killed (we’ll get there in chapter 31). There would be confusion among the Israeli troops as to whose side David was on. It was definitely best he not be there.

Achish listens to his officers and sends David back:

So Achish had to send for David and tell him, “As GOD lives, you’ve been a trusty ally—excellent in all the ways you have worked with me, beyond reproach in the ways you have conducted yourself. But the warlords don’t see it that way. So it’s best that you leave peacefully, now. It’s not worth it, displeasing the Philistine warlords.” (1 Samuel 29.6, 7, MSG)

As I say, we don’t know what David’s plan was, but God’s plan was that he not be on that battlefield. God was saving David’s reputation.

God directs our steps. I don’t know why I didn’t get to see the eclipse. I planned on it for 7 years. The original plan was to drive out with June and continue on a southeast trip. But we ruled that out in January when we perceived how difficult travel was for us. Then I decided to go with Mark, who was also planning to drive to Melody’s place in Arkansas. Then we started looking at weather… Anyway, we didn’t go.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16.9, ESV)

Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way? (Proverbs 20.24, TLB)

We are wrapping up 1 Samuel with stories that overlap a bit:

• David in Philistine territory: 1 Samuel 27.1 – 28.2
• Philistines march against Israel and David is sent home 28.3 – 5, 29.1 – 11
• Saul and the Witch at Endor, 28.6 – 25
• Attack on David’s family in Ziklag, 30.1 – 31
• The battle with the Philistines, Saul and Jonathan are killed 31.1 – 13

We left David in Gath, where we went to flee from Saul’s relentless pursuit (even though Saul had twice said that David was right and he was wrong (1 Samuel 24, 1 Samuel 26).

David thought to himself, “Sooner or later, Saul’s going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to Philistine country. Saul will count me a lost cause and quit hunting me down in every nook and cranny of Israel. I’ll be out of his reach for good.” … They moved in and settled down in Gath, with Achish… When Saul was told that David had escaped to Gath, he called off the hunt. (1 Samuel 27.1 – 4, MSG)

David gets King Achish to let him live in the small town of Ziklag (away from the king) so he can raid various surrounding tribes:

David lived in Philistine country a year and four months. From time to time David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites… When David raided an area he left no one alive, neither man nor woman, but took everything else: sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, clothing—the works. Then he’d return to Achish. Achish would ask, “And whom did you raid today?” David would tell him, “Oh, the Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” He never left a single person alive lest one show up in Gath and report what David had really been doing. This is the way David operated all the time he lived in Philistine country. (1 Samuel 27.7 – 11, MSG)

David won the trust of Achish, which is a potential problem: God has to work again to save David’s reputation. Stay tuned.

Achish came to trust David completely. He thought, “He’s made himself so repugnant to his people that he’ll be in my camp forever.” During this time the Philistines mustered their troops to make war on Israel. Achish said to David, “You can count on this: You’re marching with my troops, you and your men.” And David said, “Good! Now you’ll see for yourself what I can do!” “Great!” said Achish. “I’m making you my personal bodyguard—for life!” (1 Samuel 27.12 – 28.2, MSG)

David was a man of war, and God honored him…but there was a limit. We’ll see as we keep reading one of the costs, as David tells his son Solomon:

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. (1 Chronicles 22.7, 8, ESV)

And, as always, just because a Bible character does something doesn’t mean it’s right. David is killing people and lying to Achish, that’s what the text says. There’s no commentary except perhaps in 1 Chronicles 22 and like passages, that David was doing the best thing.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8.28, NASB)

1 Samuel 26 records David’s last confrontation with Saul. You’d think that would have been in chapter 24 when David cuts Saul’s robe instead of Saul himself, and Saul admits his fault. But no. Saul is at it again:

Some Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Did you know that David is hiding out on the Hakilah Hill just opposite Jeshimon?” Saul was on his feet in a minute and on his way to the wilderness of Ziph, taking three thousand of his best men, the pick of the crop, to hunt for David in that wild desert. (1 Samuel 26.1, 2, MSG)

David finds Saul’s camp with the whole army asleep. He and Abishai go down:

David and Abishai entered the encampment by night, and there he was—Saul, stretched out asleep at the center of the camp, his spear stuck in the ground near his head, with Abner and the troops sound asleep on all sides. Abishai said, “This is the moment! God has put your enemy in your grasp. Let me nail him to the ground with his spear. One hit will do it, believe me; I won’t need a second!” But David said to Abishai, “Don’t you dare hurt him! Who could lay a hand on GOD’s anointed and even think of getting away with it? … As GOD lives, either GOD will strike him, or his time will come and he’ll die in bed, or he’ll fall in battle, but GOD forbid that I should lay a finger on GOD’s anointed. Now, grab the spear at his head and the water jug and let’s get out of here.” (1 Samuel 26.7 – 11, MSG)

David accuses Saul’s general, Abner, of dereliction of duty, and once again asks Saul why he continues pursuing David when David means him no harm. (1 Samuel 26.12 – 20) And Saul confesses…again:

Saul confessed, “I’ve sinned! Oh, come back, my dear son David! I won’t hurt you anymore. You’ve honored me this day, treating my life as most precious. And I’ve acted the fool—a moral dunce, a real clown.” David answered, “See what I have here? The king’s spear. Let one of your servants come and get it. It’s GOD’s business to decide what to do with each of us in regard to what’s right and who’s loyal. GOD put your life in my hands today, but I wasn’t willing to lift a finger against GOD’s anointed. Just as I honored your life today, may GOD honor my life and rescue me from all trouble.” Saul said to David, “Bless you, dear son David! Yes, do what you have to do! And, yes, succeed in all you attempt!” Then David went on his way, and Saul went home. (1 Samuel 26.21 – 25, MSG)

David knows that Saul’s repentance is insincere, and he decides to camp out in Philistine territory where our story will pick up. David never sees Saul again.

David thought to himself, “Sooner or later, Saul’s going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to Philistine country. Saul will count me a lost cause and quit hunting me down in every nook and cranny of Israel. I’ll be out of his reach for good.” So David left; he and his six hundred men went to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. (1 Samuel 27.1, 2, MSG)

With respect to Saul, there is effective repentance and pretend repentance. The Apostle Paul was clear in his letter to the Corinthians:

Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7.9, 10, NIV

David, in the meantime, has done the right thing to spare Saul. Look at Psalm 23.3. We all learned, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Here it is in The Living Bible:

He helps me do what honors him the most.

Indeed.

I wrote a few days ago that the challenge in David’s ordeal between being anointed the next king and becoming the next king is twofold: God must protect David’s life AND his reputation. 1 Samuel 25 is about protecting the reputation.

There was a wealthy rancher, Nabal, in the wilderness of Maon where David was, and David sent men to ask if Nabal might share some of his bounty with David and his men. After all, the men had been providing Nabal protection. Nabal refused, and David, perhaps tired of living as an outcast in desolate places, lost his cool:

David’s men got out of there and went back and told David what he had said. David said, “Strap on your swords!” They all strapped on their swords, David and his men, and set out, four hundred of them… “That sure was a waste, guarding everything this man had out in the wild so that nothing he had was lost—and now he rewards me with insults. A real slap in the face! May God do his worst to me if Nabal and every cur in his misbegotten brood isn’t dead meat by morning!” (1 Samuel 25.12, 13, 21, 22, MSG)

Not a good decision by David! You don’t build a good reputation by slaughtering wealthy Jewish ranchers. Fortunately, even though Nabal was a fool, his wife Abigail was not. She was not only wise, but she also was quick-acting:

Meanwhile, one of the young shepherds told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, what had happened: “David sent messengers from the backcountry to salute our master, but he tore into them with insults. Yet these men treated us very well…They formed a wall around us, protecting us day and night all the time we were out tending the sheep. Do something quickly because big trouble is ahead for our master and all of us…Abigail flew into action. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she had it all loaded on some donkeys.” (1 Samuel 25.14 – 18, MSG)

When Abigail meets David, we get a lesson in the art of persuasion. She explains why killing Nabal and everyone associated with him is not good…for David.

As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage, saying, “My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say. Don’t dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him…And now, my master, as GOD lives and as you live, GOD has kept you from this avenging murder…Forgive my presumption! But GOD is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights GOD’s battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you…When GOD completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder…” (Snippets of 1 Samuel 25.23 – 31, MSG)

Kudos to Abigail: wise and quick-acting. Kudos also to David, who accepts correction…from a woman. Not everyone in that time would have.

And David said, “Blessed be GOD, the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me! And blessed be your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and taking charge of looking out for me. A close call! As GOD lives, the God of Israel who kept me from hurting you, if you had not come as quickly as you did, stopping me in my tracks, by morning there would have been nothing left of Nabal but dead meat.” (1 Samuel 25.32 – 34, MSG)

A happy ending for David, and a temporary step-down for Abigail. She leaves life as the wife of a wealthy rancher to marry David, who, don’t forget, is still in the wilderness.

When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet. He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk. So she didn’t tell him anything of what she’d done until morning. But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story. Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma. About ten days later GOD finished him off and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead he said, “Blessed be GOD who has stood up for me against Nabal’s insults, kept me from an evil act, and let Nabal’s evil boomerang back on him.” Then David sent for Abigail to tell her that he wanted her for his wife. (1 Samuel 25.36 – 39, MSG)

As always, David records his thoughts in a psalm.

A David psalm, when he was out in the Judean wilderness.

God—you’re my God! I can’t get enough of you! I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts…I hold on to you for dear life, and you hold me steady as a post. Those who are out to get me are marked for doom, marked for death, bound for hell. (Psalm 63.Intro, 1, 8, 9, MSG)

King Saul is devoting his life to killing David because he irrationally believes that David is out to harm him. 1 Samuel 24 tells a different story.

When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, “David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi.” Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David’s men whispered to him, “Can you believe it? This is the day GOD was talking about when he said, ‘I’ll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.’ ” Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul’s royal robe. (1 Samuel 24.1 – 4, MSG)

David confronts Saul:

Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn’t. Look at the evidence! I’m not against you. I’m no rebel. I haven’t sinned against you, and yet you’re hunting me down to kill me. (1 Samuel 24.11, MSG)

Saul repents and acknowledges that David will be king:

When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, “Can this be the voice of my son David?” and he wept in loud sobs. “You’re the one in the right, not me…You’ve heaped good on me; I’ve dumped evil on you. And now you’ve done it again—treated me generously. GOD put me in your hands and you didn’t kill me…May GOD give you a bonus of blessings for what you’ve done for me today! I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king…” (1 Samuel 24.16 – 20, MSG)

So David and Saul are reconciled, and David returns with Saul to serve him as before…Uh, no.

Then Saul went home and David and his men went up to their wilderness refuge. (1 Samuel 24.22, MSG)

Saul will be at it again in chapter 26. Jesus didn’t trust people either:

During the time [Jesus] was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn’t entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them. (John 2.23 – 25, MSG)

David leaves the Cave of Adullam and moves about in the wilderness. For example:

David continued to live in desert hideouts and the backcountry wilderness hills of Ziph. Saul was out looking for him day after day, but God never turned David over to him. David kept out of the way in the wilderness of Ziph, secluded at Horesh, since it was plain that Saul was determined to hunt him down. (1 Samuel 23.14, 15, MSG)

You should have an idea of the kind of area David was in.

Because of its lack of water and good routes, the Judean wilderness has been (mostly) uninhabited throughout history. Consequently it was an ideal place for those seeking refuge from enemies or retreat from the world. When on the run from King Saul, David hid in various places in the Judean wilderness (the Wilderness[es] of Ziph, Maon, and En Gedi are part of the Judean Wilderness). – https://www.bibleplaces.com/judeanwilderness/

David’s hiding was complicated by the fact that the folks who did live there were often eager to hand him over to Saul:

Some Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Did you know that David is hiding out near us in the caves and canyons of Horesh?…So whenever you’re ready to come down, we’d count it an honor to hand him over to the king.” Saul said, “GOD bless you for thinking about me! Now go back and check everything out. Learn his routines…Scout out all his hiding places. Then meet me at Nacon and I’ll go with you. If he is anywhere to be found in all the thousands of Judah, I’ll track him down!” So the Ziphites set out on their reconnaissance for Saul. Meanwhile, David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the desert south of Jeshimon. (1 Samuel 23.19 – 24, MSG)

Note: God is with David; he is NOT with Saul, despite Saul’s flippant use of God-talk: “God bless you for thinking of me!”

I wrote earlier that God had to protect David and his reputation, and he used various means to do it. In this case:

Saul and his men arrived and began their search. When David heard of it, he went south to Rock Mountain, camping out in the wilderness of Maon. Saul heard where he was and set off for the wilderness of Maon in pursuit. Saul was on one side of the mountain, David and his men on the other. David was in full retreat, running, with Saul and his men closing in, about to get him. Just then a messenger came to Saul and said, “Hurry! Come back! The Philistines have just attacked the country!” So Saul called off his pursuit of David and went back to deal with the Philistines. That’s how that place got the name Narrow Escape. (1 Samuel 23.25 – 28, MSG)

God can even use the enemy for his purposes!

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21.1, ESV)

And there’s a psalm:

A David psalm, when the Ziphites reported to Saul, “David is hiding out with us.”

God, for your sake, help me! Use your influence to clear me. Listen, God—I’m desperate. Don’t be too busy to hear me. Outlaws are out to get me, hit men are trying to kill me. Nothing will stop them; God means nothing to them. Oh, look! God’s right here helping! GOD’s on my side,…You got me out of every scrape, and I saw my enemies get it. (Psalm 54.Intro, 1 – 4, 7, MSG)

In my 20 years in the US Air Force, I observed two types of senior leaders. Some would come to a unit and immediately work on transferring in people they had worked with before. Within a year, these leaders would have formed a team with people they had worked with, and possibly trained, before. Others would come in and build a team with what they had. Both types of leaders could be effective, but I always admired those who could work with what they had. Not all of us have the luxury of bringing in a whole new team.

What kind of leader was David? What sort of team did he build?

So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all. (1 Samuel 22.1, 2, MSG)

“…losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader.” Wow.

Back to Saul, NOT hiding in a cave:

Saul got word of the whereabouts of David and his men. He was sitting under the big oak on the hill at Gibeah at the time, spear in hand, holding court surrounded by his officials. He said, “Listen here, you Benjaminites! Don’t think for a minute that you have any future with the son of Jesse! Do you think he’s going to hand over choice land, give you all influential jobs? Think again. Here you are, conspiring against me, whispering behind my back—not one of you is man enough to tell me that my own son is making deals with the son of Jesse, not one of you who cares enough to tell me that my son has taken the side of this, this… outlaw!” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, spoke up: “I saw the son of Jesse meet with Ahimelech son of Ahitub, in Nob. I saw Ahimelech pray with him for GOD’s guidance, give him food, and arm him with the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 22.6 – 10, MSG)

Recall that David lied to Ahimelech, who had no idea that David was on the run. No matter. Saul had Doeg kill him anyway, Ahimelech and his entire family except for his son Abiathar who escaped and joined David. (See 1 Samuel 22.11 – 22)

We have David’s reaction in Psalm 52:

A David psalm, when Doeg the Edomite reported to Saul, “David’s at Ahimelech’s house.”

Why do you brag of evil, “Big Man”? God’s mercy carries the day. You scheme catastrophe; your tongue cuts razor-sharp, artisan in lies. You love evil more than good, you call black white. God will tear you limb from limb…Pull you up by the roots from the land of life. Good people will watch and worship… And I’m an olive tree, growing green in God’s house. I trusted in the generous mercy of God then and now. (Psalm 52.Intro, 1 – 3, 5 – 8, MSG)

And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. (1 Samuel 22.2, ESV)