Sarah
Samuel 22
David fled to a place called the **Cave of Adullam**.
This wasn’t some tourist attraction—it was simply a cave where people could hide.
David sat there alone, probably thinking,
*”Not long ago I was a national hero. I defeated Goliath, and everyone praised me. Now I’m the most wanted man in the kingdom.”*
Before long, word spread.
His brothers, his parents, and the rest of his family came to join him.
Why?
Because they knew that if Saul’s anger kept growing, their family would be in danger too.
Then more and more people began coming to David.
The Bible says that everyone who was **in distress, in debt, or bitter in spirit** gathered around him.
In today’s words, they were people who had fallen on hard times.
Some were buried in debt.
Some carried deep emotional pain.
Others felt beaten down by life and had nowhere else to turn.
Soon, about **four hundred men** had gathered around David.
These weren’t elite soldiers.
They were ordinary people whose lives had fallen apart.
Yet God chose this very group of people and slowly shaped them into some of Israel’s greatest warriors.
That’s often how God works.
People look at your background.
God looks at whether you’re willing to follow Him.
Meanwhile, David was deeply concerned about his parents.
He thought,
*”I’m constantly running for my life. What if Saul comes after my father and mother?”*
So David took them to the king of Moab, asking him to care for them while he continued hiding in the wilderness.
Then the prophet Gad came with a message from God:
*”Do not stay in the stronghold. Go back to the land of Judah.”*
Humanly speaking, that sounded dangerous.
David knew Saul’s men were searching throughout Judah.
Why would God send him back?
But David didn’t argue.
If God said go, he went.
Because David understood something important:
**A cave may feel safe, but that doesn’t mean it’s where God wants you to be. The safest place is always where God is leading you.**
Now let’s look at Saul.
He was sitting beneath a tree, holding his spear.
Have you noticed?
The Bible repeatedly mentions Saul with a spear in his hand.
It reveals what was happening inside him.
He was always tense.
Always suspicious.
Always afraid.
The longer he remained king, the less secure he became.
Then Saul exploded at his officials.
*”Has everyone joined David’s side? Why has no one told me? Even my own son Jonathan is helping him! Are all of you plotting against me?”*
In other words,
*”What’s going on? Are you all keeping secrets from me? Why is nobody on my side?”*
The truth was, no one was trying to destroy Saul.
The thing destroying him wasn’t David.
It was jealousy.
At that moment, a man named **Doeg the Edomite** stepped forward.
He said,
*”My lord, I saw David at Nob. The priest Ahimelech gave him food, gave him Goliath’s sword, and inquired of the Lord for him.”*
That single report brought disaster upon an entire city of priests.
Saul immediately summoned Ahimelech.
The priest was completely confused.
He answered,
*”My lord, David has always been your faithful servant. He is your son-in-law and one of your most trusted commanders. I had no idea you and David had become enemies. I have sought God’s guidance for him before.”*
Everything Ahimelech said was true.
But a heart consumed by jealousy can no longer recognize the truth.
Saul replied,
*”You and your whole family must die.”*
Then Saul ordered his guards,
*”Kill the priests!”*
But the guards refused.
They knew these were priests serving the Lord.
They would not raise their hands against them, even under the king’s command.
There was only one man willing to do it.
Doeg.
He drew his sword and killed **eighty-five priests who wore the linen ephod**.
But he didn’t stop there.
He went to the priestly city of Nob.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Infants.
Even the livestock.
He killed them all.
It is one of the darkest moments in Saul’s life.
In his determination to capture one man, he destroyed an entire city devoted to serving God.
The humble king Saul had become someone completely different.
When a person continues walking away from God without repentance, sin only grows deeper.
Yet God still preserved hope.
Ahimelech’s son, **Abiathar**, escaped.
He fled to David and told him everything that had happened.
David’s heart sank.
He said,
*”The day I saw Doeg there, I knew he would tell Saul. Your father’s family died because of me.”*
David didn’t make excuses.
He didn’t say,
*”It’s all Saul’s fault.”*
Nor did he say,
*”This has nothing to do with me.”*
Instead, he accepted the responsibility that belonged to him.
Then David told Abiathar,
*”Stay with me. Don’t be afraid. Whoever seeks your life is seeking mine. You will be safe with me.”*
Those words gave comfort to a man who had just lost his entire family.
From that day on, Abiathar remained with David and brought the priestly ephod with him.
Many times afterward, David sought God’s guidance through Abiathar.
God did not allow the priesthood to disappear.
And He did not allow His plan to fail.
Even in humanity’s darkest moments, God faithfully preserves His purposes.