David Spares King Saul's Life (1 Samuel 23 &24)

One day, David got word that the Philistines were attempting to take over the city of Keilah. David prayed and asked God if he should gather his men (which now numbered about 600) and fight the Philistine army and save Keilah. God said "Yes." So David gathered his men and they defeated the Philistine army and saved the city of Keilah. In the meantime, King Saul heard that David was at Keilah. "Now we have David right where we want him! He is in Keilah, a city with a wall all the way around it. Gather the entire Israelite army! We have him trapped!" King Saul shouted.
 So as the king and his men marched toward Keilah to kill David, David prayed to God and asked him if he should stay in Keilah or leave. God told David that the people of Keilah would turn him over to king Saul, and that he should leave the city.

 Wow! David saves the whole city from destruction by the Philistine army, and they are ready to turn on him as soon as they hear that King Saul was on his way!

So David and his men left and headed into the wilderness. Jonathan heard that his father the king was in hot pursuit of David and went to the wilderness to find David and encourage him. "Don't worry." Jonathan told David when he finally reached him. "God has anointed you to be king, so my father can't harm you."

God knows where we are all the time and He led Jonathan to David. David was in need of some encouragement after he found out that the city of Keilah was going to turn against him. God knows where you are right now, physically, mentally and spiritually. And he will equip you with what you need to carry out His purposes.

When King Saul reached Keilah, the people told him which way David went. The king and his army were just on the other side of a large rock that David was hiding behind, when Saul got word that the Philistines were attacking Israel. He gathered his men, left the chase and went back to Israel to fight. Ever since then, that rock has been known as "the Rock of Escape". Then David and his men went deeper into the wilderness and found a cave in which to hide.

 After King Saul chased the Philistine army out of Israel, he took 3000 of his best warriors and continued to chase David. Some men along the way told the king which way David went.  So King Saul headed in that direction. Along the road into the wilderness, the king had to go to the bathroom so he ducked into a cave. Guess what? David and his men were hiding in that very cave! As King Saul was standing with his back to David and his men, some of David's men whispered to David that now was the time to kill Saul and become the king. David knew that this was not God's plan. "Saul is God's appointed leader and it is a serious thing to attack and kill him!" David rebuked his men.
 So David reached out and cut off a piece of Saul's robe. Then he told his men not to harm the king.
 After King Saul left the cave and was on his way, David came out and shouted, "My lord the king!"
Saul turned and saw David holding something. "Why are you trying to kill me?" David continued. "Don't listen to all those men who say that I am trying to kill you! Look what I have in my hand. It is a piece of your robe! I could have killed you back in that cave, but I didn't. I am leaving all the judging to God. He will punish which ever one of us is guilty. Be sure of this my king. I will never purposely harm you."
 Saul called back to David and began to cry. "You are a better man than I David, for you have repaid me good for evil. You have shown me kindness today. I was in a place where you could have easily killed me. But you didn't." Saul continued."I know now that someday you will be king! Please be kind to all the members of my family when you do."
 With that Saul went back home and David went back to the cave where he had set up camp.

God says in the book of Romans that we should "overcome evil with good" and that is just what David did.

David Hides and Saul's Downward Spiral (1 Samuel:21-22)

After David left Jonathan, he ran to the city of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech got a little nervous when he saw David and asked him. "Why are you here?"
"I am on a special mission from the king." David replied. "Do you have anything for me to eat?"
"No, just the holy bread. (This was bread that had been placed in the temple, but had been replaced earlier that day with fresh bread.) You can heat it only if you have kept yourself pure recently." Ahimelech added.
So David ate the holy bread., because he had kept himself pure. Then David asked the priest, "Do you have a sword or any kind of weapon."
Ahimelech answered, " Do you remember when you killed the giant named Goliath?" David nodded yes. "Well the king's men brought his sword here. It is wrapped in cloth in the back room. I will get it for you."


 While David was standing there he saw Doeg, one of Saul's chief herdsman who was there for ceremonial purification. David knew that Doeg had not heard that Saul was trying to kill him yet, but he knew he had to leave there before word reached him. David took Goliath's sword and left. He ended up in Gath. (The city that Goliath came from)  David asked to see the king there, but the guards were not happy about it. They knew who David was. They escorted David to the king's throne. On the way, the guards were grumbling about how David was honored in Israel with singing and dancing. David heard the grumbling of the guards and became afraid. He realized that going before the king was not a very good idea. So David pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. The king took one look at David and said to his guards. "Why have you brought this madman before me! We already have enough madmen in my kingdom. Take him away!"











David left Gath and found a very large cave in Adullam. He stayed in the cave for quite some time. Some other men who were discontent with Saul, heard about where David was staying and joined him in the cave. Soon David was the leader of about 400 men there.

 One day Saul was ranting and raving about how everyone was against him. "Even my own son Jonathan is encouraging David to kill me, and none of you even whispered a word about it to me!" He shouted.  Many of Saul's men were around him listening to the king's bellowing. Then one his his officers, Doeg, spoke up. "When I was at Nob for the purification ceremony, I saw David talking to the priest there. I saw the priest consult the Lord about what David should do. Then he handed him Goliath's spear."
 Saul was outraged! He sent for the priests of Nob. (Eighty-five in all) He brought Ahimelech before him and accused him of treason. The priest defended himself by telling Saul that he had no idea that Saul was after David. It was not the first time that David had visited Nod asking for the priests to consult the Lord.
 "You will surely die!" Saul shouted. "Along with your entire family" Saul ordered his officers to kill all the priests, and they did what he said. Then they went to Nod and killed the priest's family. Only one family member escaped. Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech fled to David's camp and told him that Saul had killed all the priests and their families.  David knew that Doeg must have told Saul about their chance meeting at the temple in Nob. "Stay here with us and we will protect you from the king who wants to kill us both." David told Abiathar.


 It is hard to believe that Saul was once a king who turned to God. Now he was getting more evil as the days passed. Once we turn away from God, things become more unclear. Right and wrong get muddled. Sin is turning away from God. The more we sin, the more separated from God we become..... the more we sin. When we find ourselves in that downward spiral, admit the wrong, stop the sin and turn back toward God. This is called repentance.

David and Goliath (1Samuel 7:32-58)

So David stood before king Saul. The king asked him. "What's with all the questions about the reward for killing the Philistine soldier known as Goliath?"
 David replied. "Don't worry about a thing. I will go and defeat the giant."
"Don't be ridiculous!" The king replied. "You are just a boy! He has been in the army since before you were even born!"
David persisted. ""God has been with me when bears and lions attacked my father's sheep. I clubbed the beasts and sometimes would even have to kill them with my bare hands."

David remembered how God helped him through the tough times. When we are faced with difficult situations, it helps to remember the times when God was there for us in the past. David also realized that the lions and bears were training him for something bigger. Are you going through a tough time? It may be that God is preparing you for something great.

 Finally Saul agreed to let David go and fight Goliath. He even gave David his own personal armor to wear. But Saul was very tall and the armor felt clunky and uncomfortable to David. So he took it off. He wasn't used to wearing any type of armor when he was defending his father's sheep. David grabbed his staff and a slingshot. Then he headed down to the river where he picked up five smooth stones and put them into his pouch.
 Goliath was already out in the clearing taunting the Israelite army. David came up from the bank of the river and ran toward Goliath and his armor bearer.

To everyone it looked like two against one.... and a very lopsided two against one at that, because one was a giant with a spear, armor and a shield bearer and the other was a boy.  It WAS lopsided, but not a giant against a boy, but God and a boy against two men. 

Goliath sneered at David. "Am I a dog that you come at me with a stick? Come over here and I'll feed you to the wild animals!" He shouted.
 David shouted back. "You come to me with a spear, javelin and a sword. But I come to you in the name of the Lord God Almighty. Today He will conquer you, then I will feed you to the wild animals and the whole world will know that there is one true God! This battle is not mine, but it is the Lord's because you have defiled His people." David continued running toward Goliath as he reached into his pouch and took out a stone.

When facing problems in our lives, do we look at the problem and give up or panic? Or do we have the confidence that comes with knowing that God is on our side. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

                                                              As David ran toward Goliath, Goliath moved toward David. Placing the stone in the slingshot, David hurled it toward Goliath. It hit Goliath in his head. Goliath fell with a great thump face down to the ground. He was dead. David triumphed over the Philistine giant with only a stone and a sling.
 The Philistine army saw Goliath fall to the ground and ran away. The Israelite army, now full of confidence, shouted triumphantly and chased the Philistines out past the gates of Ekron.

God doesn't want us to sit back and wait for Him to fight our battles. He also does not want us to do it all by ourselves. He wants us to team up with Him.  He loves you and everything He allows into your life is for His greater purpose. Trust Him in the little things, the big things and the difficult things.