The Book of SamuelSample

David’s Integrity: 1 Samuel 22:1-23:29

The first segment is the well-known episode of David at Engedi, in 23:29-24:22. After Saul left to fight the Philistines, David moved eastward to the place known as Engedi. But when Saul’s battle was over, he went after David once again. Along the way, Saul stopped to relieve himself in a cave. And in God’s providence, David was hiding within that very cave. David could have killed Saul easily, but instead, he only cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And to highlight how sensitive David’s conscience was to sin, our author pointed out that David felt guilty about even this small act against the Lord’s anointed king. So, the next morning, David called out to Saul from a distance. He made it clear that he had spared Saul’s life, and that he would not harm him. And then, in a brief moment of remarkable clarity, Saul told David in 24:17, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.” And in 24:20 Saul himself confessed, “And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.”

In the second segment, our author described what happened to David and Abigail in the wilderness of Paran in 25:1-44. Saul isn’t mentioned in this episode, but our author began with the notice that Samuel died and that all Israel mourned for him. More than likely, he mentioned this to indicate that both David and Saul were present at Samuel’s burial under terms of a temporary truce. This fact in itself reveals how Saul’s hostility was subsiding. But David took no chances and immediately fled from Saul far into the desert regions of southern Judah, to the wilderness of Paran. There, David’s actions confirmed his innocence once again.

We learn of a beautiful and intelligent woman named Abigail and her cruel and wicked husband Nabal, whose name means “fool.” After David’s men treated Nabal’s shepherds well and protected them in the wilderness, David asked Nabal for a gift of sustenance for his men. But when Nabal foolishly rejected David’s request and insulted his messengers, David prepared his men to attack Nabal’s household. Abigail intervened on behalf of her husband, offering David a gift and begging forgiveness for her husband. She also humbly acknowledged David’s goodness. And David praised God that he had been restrained from taking revenge. About ten days later, the Lord himself struck and killed Nabal. When David received word of Nabal’s death, he replied in verse 39, “Blessed be the Lord who … has kept back his servant from wrongdoing.” And soon after, God blessed David further when Abigail became his wife. 

Our author then turned to David in the wilderness of Ziph for a second time in 26:1-25. Saul pursued David once again. But David remained innocent of wrongdoing. One night David entered Saul’s camp and found Saul asleep with his spear near his head. As before, David refused to harm Saul, but he took Saul’s spear and jar of water. The next day, God blessed David for his restraint. When David and Saul spoke from afar, Saul admitted David’s innocence and pronounced a blessing on David in verse 25, saying, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.”

The last segment of Saul’s de-escalating hostility deals with David in Philistia in 1 Samuel 27:1-12. David fled from Saul once again, this time to the land of the Philistines.

God’s blessing on David’s decision is evident because, after learning that David had fled to the city of Gath, Saul stopped pursuing him. God blessed David in other ways as well. Achish, the Philistine king, gave David the town of Ziklag for his residence. David lived in Ziklag for a year and four months and led several successful raids from there. Now, our author was careful to point out that David never harmed any of God’s people. Rather, he only helped the Philistines attack God’s enemies. Still, Achish trusted David, supposing that the Israelites hated him and that David would have no other choice but to remain faithful to him for the rest of his life.