DAVID THE FUGITIVE What a painful portrait of David the fugitive! He left every thing and fled with no sword nor bread. Having made no plans, and not consulted the Lord, he became confused: He came to ‘Nob,’ a city of priests; and because of him, the priests were killed and the city was destroyed. He headed to Gath, where he was counted as a spy; so he pretended to be insane, to save his life. These were moments of weakness, that mighty man of faith went through. 1- David in Nob 1 – 9. 2- David in Gath 10 – 15. 1- DAVID IN NOB It is amazing, how that man, before whom the heathens trembled, for whom women sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18: 7) and who gained the admiration and love of the king, his son, his daughter, his leaders, and his whole people... would flee before the rejected king.. The hour of bitter temptation, that every believer is to go through, has come; when he feels that he is lonely, with nobody to support him, or to share his feelings. David came to ‘Nob,’ north of and close to Jerusalem (Isaiah 10: 32); It was counted as a city of priests, though not included as one in Joshua 21. It was so counted, because the tabernacle of the meetings had been moved to it after the devastation of Shiloh. There, he met ‘Ahimalech’ the priest - probably ‘Ahija’ the son of ‘Ahitob’ (1 Samuel 14: 3), or his brother and his successor in priesthood. He was a good man; a son of a grandson of Eli the high priest, whose house was condemned to destruction by the Lord (1 Samuel 3: 13 - 14). When the Lord Christ mentioned that episode in Mark 2: 26, He said that it happened during the days of ‘Abiathar,’ the son of ‘Ahimalech’ the high priest (1 Samuel 22: 2), who ministered as a high priest together with his father. Although David was accompanied by some followers, ‘Alimalech’ thought that David was traveling alone, for his high position in the royal court gave him the right of a more dignified company. This situation probably confused Alimalech, because of what he heard that Saul was seeking to kill David which made giving him hospitality a great offense that might bring on him the king’s wrath. David was so desperate, that he resorted to deceit and lies to justify his situation before Alimalech saying to him: “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you’. And I have directed my young men to such and such place”(1 Samuel 21: 2).David was a man according to God’s heart; yet, in his moments of weakness he misbehaved. His deception led to serious consequences (1 Samuel 22: 18, 19). David asked for the holy showbread (Leviticus 24: 5 - 9), which the priests used to set fresh on the holy table every Sabbath before the Lord, and eat the old bread. although it was not lawful to eat except for the priests, Alimalech offered it to David and his men, if they, at least, had kept themselves from women; on account that they were hungry, and there was nothing else to offer them. The Lord Christ used that episode to confirm to the Jews, that it was all right for the disciples to pluck the heads of grain, to rub them in their hands, and eat them on the Sabbath (Mark 2: 25; Matthew 12: 3, 4; Luke 6: 3 - 5). 2 St. Cyril the Great says: [Although David violated the law by his act, to us he remains to be a dignified saint and a prophet... We should know that the showbread mentioned here, symbolizes the bread that comes down from heaven, that we see on the holy tables in the Churches; and that all the tools on that table, we use in that holy sacrament, are all symbols of the exalted divine treasures1]. David did not do that, out of slothfulness or negligence of the commandment, but because he had no other way. His behavior carried a symbol2; as the Gentiles would get to enjoy, not the showbread, but the body of the Lord Christ, the bread coming down from heaven, as a source of real fulfillment to the soul. When David asked Alimalech if he had any weapon on the premises, he gave him the sword of Goliath, whom David killed in the valley of Elah, that had been wrapped in a cloth (probably the robe of Goliath), behind the ephod, fore safe keeping. David said to the priest: “There is none like it, give it to me” (1 Samuel 21: 9). Seeing that sword, gave assurance to the soul of David; He remembered how he, as a boy, confronted the mighty Goliath with all his armor, with nothing more than a sling and five smooth stones from the valley, defeating him by the name of the Lord. In Nob, there was one of Saul’s servants: ‘Deog,’ an Edomite - probably the lad who was accompanying Saul as he was looking for the lost donkeys of his father (1 Samuel 9: 3) - detained before the Lord(1 Samuel 21: 7), maybe to fulfill a vow or for purification. David, feeling the danger of the presence of ‘Deog,’ hastened to depart from there that same day. It came to pass that ‘Deog’ told Saul about what happened, and incited him, not to kill Alimaleh alone, but all the priests, together with their women, children, and beasts. St. Augustine3 believes ‘Deog’ to mean (initiation), and ‘Edom’ to mean (dust) or (earth)... as though representing someone with an earthly, and not a heavenly, initiation, that corrupts the ministry of the Lord. 2- DAVID IN GATH David fled to Gath, the city of the mighty Goliath whom he killed; and here he comes carrying the sword of their hero. As there were in the city, numerous widows and orphans, as a result of David’s action, it was impossible for the people of Gath to give David hospitality as a fugitive of Saul; but they counted him as a spy on them, and intended to kill him. Now David was very much afraid of ‘Achich’ the king of Gath - one of the titles of the kings of the Philistines - that he resorted to feign insanity; as there were certain privileges enjoyed by the insane, like not being punished for their actions, on the assumption that they harbor a spirit that should be feared. What a miserable scene! To behold the mighty David, the pious man of God, becoming weak in faith to the extent of feigning madness; scratching on the doors of the gate; namely, writing in an unintelligible way; or, according to the Septuagint version, banging (drumming) on the door; beside letting his saliva fall down on his beard (1 Samuel 21: 13), which was a sure sign of madness in the east, because of the dignity given to the beard in those days. The man of faith used a human way to save himself!! Although David saw himself in Gath as helpless, as a dumb ‘silent dove in a distant land,’ and resorted to a shameful human way to save himself, his heart was lifted up toward God, as he proclaimed in his fifty-sixth psalm. That psalm started with the introduction: [When David was captured by the Philistines - the ‘Alluphyli,’ 1 عظة 22 على إنجيل لوقا. . 2 راجع تفسيرنا إنجيل متى، ص 268 3 On Ps. 52. 3 meaning (the strangers), in ‘Gath,’ meaning (wine-press)]. St. Augustine comments on this introduction, saying, that what occurred was a symbol of what was realized with the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, Who was captured by the (non-believer strangers) to pass through the press of the cross: [How was He taken to ‘Gath’? His body, namely, the Church, was taken to the press. What was in the press? The grapes, while still on the grapevine, do not give juice; but when cast in the wine- press, and squeezed, they look as though put to damage; but would give sweet juice. I wish the saints who suffer, being pressed by strangers, would comprehend this psalm, and utter its words. “Be merciful to me O God, for man would swallow me up” (psalm 56: 1). Do not be afraid that man would swallow you up (press you); You will produce juice; you will produce wine! “Fighting all day he oppresses me” (Psalm 56: 1); ”All day” means (always and forever)... No one should say to himself: There were oppressions in the times of our fathers; but not anymore in our days. If you Assume that you are not suffering oppression; that indicates that you might have not started to become a Christian. Here we hear the voice of the apostle, saying: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3: 12). If you are not suffering persecution for the sake of Christ, beware lest you might not have started living by piety in Christ. When you do, be ready to get pressed in the vine press; So do not be dry, lest you would produce no juice1!]. Having been saved by God from Abimelech - after feigning madness - David set forth praising the Lord who saved him saying: “I will bless the Lord at all times;... My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it and be glad.... I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and deliver them. Oh, taste and see that the lord is good;... The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken... The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned” (Psalm 34). St. Augustine comments on the prophet David’s behavior before the king of Gath - according to the Septuagint version - “He banged (drummed) on the doors of the gate of the city” (1 Samuel 21: 13); saying: [He (drummed); as the drum does not produce sound, unless the leather is firmly stretched on its frame; David drummed, to indicate that Christ had to be crucified... What are those “doors of the city,” but our hearts that are closed before Christ; He who by the drum of His cross, will open the hearts of those fallen under death2]. 1 On Ps 56. 2 On Ps 34.
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