§72. The Band of Outlaws (I Sam. 22:1, 2; 23:1-8, 13, 14; 25:2-42)

A. THE GATHERING OF THE BAND

David arose and fled for fear of Saul, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. 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 captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

And they told David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they rob the threshing-floors."

Therefore David enquired 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."

And David's men said unto him, "Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?"

Then David enquired 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."

And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 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.

And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country.

B. DAVID'S REQUEST OF NABAL

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings.

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men, "Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, 'Peace be both unto thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.'"

And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David. And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they be?"

So David's young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words. And David said unto his men, "Gird ye on every man his sword." And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.

C. ABIGAIL'S PEACEMAKING

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he flew upon them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were with them, when we were in the fields: they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him."

Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her young men, "Go on before me; behold, I come after you." But she told not her husband Nabal. And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good. God do so unto David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man child."

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. And she fell at his feet, and said, "Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal, fool, is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, this present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord. Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days. And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy life, yet the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and the lives of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel; that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: and when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid."

And David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thy wisdom, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the Lord, the God of Israel, liveth, which hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one man child."

So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said unto her, "Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person."

D. THE END OF NABAL

And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died.

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from evil; and the evil-doing of Nabal hath the Lord returned upon his own head."

And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife. And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, "David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife."

And she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, "Behold, thine handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord." And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

§73. David's Generosity to Saul (I Sam. 26:2-25; 27:1-4)

A. THE SLEEPING ENEMY

And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David. David therefore sent out spies and knew where Saul was come. And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people pitched round about him. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai, "Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?"

And Abishai said, "I will go down with thee."

So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head: and Abner and the people lay round about him.

Then said Abishai to David, "God hath delivered up thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time."

And David said to Abishai, "Destroy him not: for who can put forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?" And David said, "As the Lord liveth, either the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed: but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go."

So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.

B. SAUL'S REPENTANCE

Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them: and David cried to the people, and to Abner, saying, "Answerest thou not, Abner?"

Then Abner answered and said, "Who art thou that criest to the king?"

And David said to Abner, "Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now, see, where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head."

And Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is this thy voice, my son David?"

And David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king. Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains."

Then said Saul, "I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly."

And David answered and said, "Behold the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it. And the Lord shall render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: forasmuch as the Lord delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation."

Then Saul said to David, "Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail." So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

C. DAVID'S FLIGHT FROM ISRAEL

And David said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand."

And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

244. It was clear to David that Saul had determined to kill him. He therefore decided to flee to his own tribe of Judah and to dwell in the mountains where it would be hard for Saul to reach him. The caves in the Judean hills have been the refuge all through the centuries for those who were in danger from the government. In thus fleeing from the king, David became an outlaw, that is, one who refuses to be under the law. Of course he was obliged to do so by the king's tyranny.

245 (§72A). Adullam was probably about twelve miles from Bethlehem. David would have friends near his own town. He gathered to him all his own relatives, who otherwise might have been killed by the king. Three classes of people are mentioned as joining him: who are they? The first would be those who were oppressed, the second those who were likely to be sold as slaves for debt, the third those who had some grievance. It has often happened in countries where there was no free government that men have banded together in sufficient strength to defy the rulers. In English history we read of Robin Hood and his outlaws, who made the rich pay tribute, when they caught them in the forest. Of course in our modern free states there is no excuse for any such life, and we rightly put down all bandits as criminals. How many men did David have at the first?

246 (§72A). News soon came to David that the people of Keilah, a few miles south of Adullam, were being robbed by the old enemies, the Philistines. They had come when the people were threshing the grain, and intended to steal it. How did David use his band of adventurers against the Philistines? What food supply did he secure?

247 (§72A). How was David's expedition brought to an end? How large had his band grown to be? He must have been an able chieftain to attract these men to him. The next story shows how he provided for them.

248 (§72B). Find Maon and Carmel on the map, just south of Hebron. Who was the rich sheep owner? What kind of man was he and what kind of wife had he? It is evident that David's men had protected the shepherds. What request did he make at the time of the shearing feast? Was this a reasonable request? There were so many bands of robbers abroad that it was a great advantage to the Judean shepherds to have David's protection. Of course he in turn needed supplies for his men.

249 (§72B). What answer did Nabal send back? How did he sneer at David's band? What did David decide to do? How did he divide his men?

250 (§72C). What report was brought to Abigail? What did the shepherds think of David? What did Abigail immediately do? David was in a great rage with Nabal, though of course he really had no right to any pay from the man. What vengeance had he decided to take? What do you think of that? How thankful it makes us feel that we live in times when we have strong laws, and no man is permitted to take the law in his own hands.

251 (§72C). Notice how beautifully Abigail speaks to David, telling him that she knows he will never be sorry that he was merciful. How does David respond? What do you think of a man who gives up his purpose so suddenly?

252 (§72D). Note the character of the drunken fellow and his cowardice when he learned of his escape. Probably his drunkenness and the shock of his terror seriously affected him. How long afterward did he die? When David heard the news, what message did he send to the beautiful Abigail? How did she reply?

253 (§73A). Saul had not given up his determination to kill David. He had made several unsuccessful attempts to capture him. At last he heard of David's hiding-place. How many men did he take with him? But David was ever on the watch. How did he discover that Saul was coming?

254 (§73A). Tell the story of the sleeping camp, of David's stealthy approach with a single companion, of the proposal of Abishai, of David's reply, of the spear and the jug of water. What did we mean when we said Abraham was "magnanimous"? Would you say that David was magnanimous? Read Rom. 12:19-21. Where does David appear best—when he threatens Nabal or when he spares Saul?

255 (§73B). Tell the story of the conversation with Saul: David's summons to the sleepers, his reproach of the captain, Saul's recognition, David's appeal, Saul's repentance, the peaceful separation.

256 (§73C). David knew that he could not trust Saul. There was constant danger from the jealous king, so he decided to leave the country. We are surprised to find that he found refuge with Israel's enemies. Where did he go? Locate the city on the map. How was he received? What did Saul decide? But David could afford to wait. In a little while everything was going to turn to his advantage.

WRITTEN REVIEW

Imagine that you were Abishai. Write the story as though you were telling your brother Joab about that night when you crept with David to the sleeping camp. Describe all that happened and tell what you thought of David.