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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T S A M U E L</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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David, being driven from Achish, returns into the land of Israel to be
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hunted by Saul.
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I. David sets up his standard in the cave of Adullam, entertains his
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relations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:1">ver. 1</A>),
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enlists soldiers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:2">ver. 2</A>),
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but removes his aged parents to a more quiet settlement
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>),
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and has the prophet Gad for his counsellor,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:5">ver. 5</A>.
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Saul resolves to pursue him and find him out, complains of his servants
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and Jonathan
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:6-8">ver. 6-8</A>),
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and, finding by Doeg's information that Ahimelech had been kind to
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David, he ordered him and all the priests that were with him,
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eighty-five in all, to be put to death, and all that belonged to them
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destroyed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:9-19">ver. 9-19</A>)
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from the barbarous execution of which sentence Abiathar escaped to
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David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:20-23">ver. 20-23</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David in the Cave of Adullam.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1057.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave
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Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard
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<I>it,</I> they went down thither to him.
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2 And every one <I>that was</I> in distress, and every one that
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<I>was</I> in debt, and every one <I>that was</I> discontented, gathered
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themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there
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were with him about four hundred men.
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3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the
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king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come
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forth, <I>and be</I> with you, till I know what God will do for me.
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4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt
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with him all the while that David was in the hold.
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5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold;
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depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed,
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and came into the forest of Hareth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. David shelters himself in the cave of Adullam,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Whether it was a natural or artificial fastness does not appear; it is
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probable that the access to it was so difficult that David thought
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himself able, with Goliath's sword, to keep it against all the forces
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of Saul, and therefore buried himself alive in it, while he was waiting
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to see (and he says here,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>)
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what God would do with him. The promise of the kingdom implied a
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promise of preservation to it, and yet David used proper means for his
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own safety, otherwise he would have tempted God. He did not do any
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thing that aimed to destroy Saul, but only to secure himself. He that
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might have done great service to his country as a judge or general is
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here shut up in a cave, and thrown by as a vessel in which there was no
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pleasure. We must not think it strange if sometimes shining lights be
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thus eclipsed and hidden under a bushel. Perhaps the apostle refers to
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this instance of David, among others, when he speaks of some of the
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Old-Testament worthies that <I>wandered in deserts, in dens and caves
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of the earth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:38">Heb. xi. 38</A>.
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It was at this time that David penned
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+142:1-7">Psalm cxlii.</A>,
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which is entitled, <I>A prayer when David was in the cave;</I> and
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there he complains that <I>no man would know him</I> and that refuge
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failed him, but hopes that shortly the <I>righteous would compass him
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about.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. Thither his relations flocked to him, <I>his brethren and all his
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father's house,</I> to be protected by him, to give assistance to him,
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and to take their lot with him. <I>A brother is born for adversity.</I>
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Now, Joab, and Abishai, and the rest of his relations, came to him, to
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suffer and venture with him, in hopes shortly to be advanced with him;
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and they were so. The first three of his worthies were those that first
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owed him when he was in the cave,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+11:15-25">1 Chron. xi. 15</A>,
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&c.</P>
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<P>
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III. Here he began to raise forces in his own defence,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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He found by the late experiments he had made that he could not save
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himself by flight, and therefore was necessitated to do it by force,
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wherein he never acted offensively, never offered any violence to his
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prince nor gave any disturbance to the peace of the kingdom, but only
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used his forces as a guard to his own person. But, whatever defence his
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soldiers were to him, they did him no great credit, for the regiment he
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had was made up not of great men, nor rich men, nor stout men, no, nor
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good men, but men <I>in distress, in debt, and discontented,</I> men of
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broken fortunes and restless spirits, that were put to their shifts,
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and knew not well what to do with themselves. When David had fixed his
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headquarters in the cave of Adullam, they came and enlisted themselves
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under him to the number of about 400. See what weak instruments God
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sometimes makes use of, by which to bring about his own purposes. The
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Son of David is ready to receive distressed souls, that will appoint
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him their captain and be commanded by him.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He took care to settle his parents in a place of safety. No such
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place could he find in all the land of Israel while Saul was so
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bitterly enraged against him and all that belonged to him for his sake;
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he therefore goes with them to the king of Moab, and puts them under
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his protection,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>.
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Observe here,
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1. With what a tender concern he provided for his aged parents. It was
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not fit they should be exposed either to the frights or to the fatigues
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which he must expect during his struggle with Saul (their age would by
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no means bear such exposure); therefore the first thing he does is to
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find them a quiet habitation, whatever became of himself. Let children
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learn from this to <I>show pity at home and requite their parents</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+5:4">1 Tim. v. 4</A>),
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in every thing consulting their ease and satisfaction. Though ever so
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highly preferred, and ever so much employed, let them not forget their
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aged parents.
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2. With what a humble faith he expects the issue of his present
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distresses: <I>Till I know what God will do for me.</I> He expresses
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his hopes very modestly, as one that had entirely cast himself upon God
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and committed his way to him, expecting a good issue, not from his own
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arts, or arms, or merits, but from what the wisdom, power, and goodness
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of God would do for him. Now David's father and mother forsook him, but
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God did not,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:10">Ps. xxvii. 10</A>.</P>
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<P>
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V. He had the advice and assistance of the prophet Gad, who probably
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was one of the sons of the prophets that were brought up under Samuel,
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and was by him recommended to David for his chaplain or spiritual
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guide. Being a prophet, he would pray for him and instruct him in the
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mind of God; and David, though he was himself a prophet, was glad of
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his assistance. He advised him to go into the land of Judah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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as one that was confident of his own innocency, and was well assured of
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the divine protection, and was desirous, even in his present hard
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circumstances, to do some service to his tribe and country. Let him not
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be ashamed to own his own cause nor decline the succours that would be
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offered him. Animated by this word, there he determined to appear
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publicly. Thus are <I>the steps of a good man ordered by the
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Lord.</I></P>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa22_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Saul Destroys the Lord's Priests; the City of Nob Destroyed.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1057.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that
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<I>were</I> with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah,
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having his spear in his hand, and all his servants <I>were</I>
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standing about him;)
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7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear
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now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you
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fields and vineyards, <I>and</I> make you all captains of thousands,
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and captains of hundreds;
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8 That all of you have conspired against me, and <I>there is</I>
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none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son
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of Jesse, and <I>there is</I> none of you that is sorry for me, or
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sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against
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me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
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9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the
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servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob,
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to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
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10 And he enquired of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> for him, and gave him victuals,
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and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
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11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of
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Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that <I>were</I> in
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Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
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12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he
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answered, Here I <I>am,</I> my lord.
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13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me,
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thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and
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a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise
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against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
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14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who <I>is so</I>
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faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son
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in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine
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house?
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15 Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from
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me: let not the king impute <I>any</I> thing unto his servant, <I>nor</I>
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to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of
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all this, less or more.
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16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou,
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and all thy father's house.
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17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him,
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Turn, and slay the priests of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; because their hand also
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<I>is</I> with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not
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shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth
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their hand to fall upon the priests of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the
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priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the
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priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did
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wear a linen ephod.
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19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of
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the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen,
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and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have seen the progress of David's troubles; now here we have the
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progress of Saul's wickedness. He seems to have laid aside the thoughts
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of all other business and to have devoted himself wholly to the pursuit
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of David. He heard at length, by the common fame of the country, that
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David <I>was discovered</I> (that is, that he appeared publicly and
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enlisted men into his service); and hereupon he called all his servants
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about him, and sat down under a tree, or grove, in the high place at
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Gibeah, with his spear in his hand for a sceptre, intimating the force
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by which he designed to rule, and the present temper of his spirit, or
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its distemper rather, which was to kill all that stood in his way. In
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this bloody court of inquisition,</P>
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<P>
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I. Saul seeks for information against David and Jonathan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Two things he was willing to suspect and desirous to see proved, that
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he might wreak his malice upon two of the best and most excellent men
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he had about him:--
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1. That his servant David did <I>lie in wait</I> for him and seek his
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life, which was utterly false. He really sought David's life, and
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therefore pretended that David sought his life, though he could not
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charge him with any overt act that gave the least shadow of suspicion.
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2. That his son Jonathan stirred him up to do so, and was confederate
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with him in compassing and imagining the death of the king. This also
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was notoriously false. A league of friendship there was between David
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and Jonathan, but no conspiracy in any evil thing; none of the articles
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of their covenant carried any mischief to Saul. If Jonathan had agreed,
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after the death of Saul, to resign to David, in compliance with the
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revealed will of God, what harm would that do to Saul? Yet thus the
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best friends to their prince and country have often been odiously
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represented as enemies to both; even Christ himself was so. Saul took
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it for granted that Jonathan and David were in a plot against him, his
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crown and dignity, and was displeased with his servants that they did
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not give him information of it, supposing that they could not but know
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it; whereas really there was no such thing. See the nature of a jealous
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malice, and its pitiful arts to extort discoveries of things that are
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not. He looked upon all about him as his enemies because they did not
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say just as he said; and told them,
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(1.) That they were very unwise, and acted against the interest both of
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their tribe (for they were Benjamites, and David, if he were advanced,
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would bring the honour into Judah which was now in Benjamin) and of
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their families; for David would never be able to give them such rewards
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as he had for them, of <I>fields and vineyards,</I> and such
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preferments, to be colonels and captains.
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(2.) That they were unfaithful: <I>You have conspired against me.</I>
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What a continual agitation and torment are those in that give way to a
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spirit of jealousy! <I>If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are
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wicked</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:12">Prov. xxix. 12</A>),
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that is, they seem to be so in his eyes.
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(3.) That they were very unkind. He thought to work upon their good
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nature with that word: <I>There is none of you that is</I> so much as
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<I>sorry for me,</I> or <I>solicitous for me,</I> as some read it. By
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these reasonings he stirred them up to act vigorously, as the
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instruments of his malice, that they might take away his suspicions of
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them.</P>
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<P>
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II. Though he could not learn any thing from his servants against David
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or Jonathan, yet he got information from Doeg against Ahimelech the
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priest.</P>
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<P>
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1. An indictment is brought against Ahimelech by Doeg, and he himself
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is evidence against him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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Perhaps Doeg, as bad as he was, would not have given this information
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if Saul had not extorted it, for had he been very forward to it he
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would have done it sooner: but now he thinks they must be all deemed
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traitors if none of them be accusers, and therefore tells Saul what
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kindness Ahimelech had shown to David, which he himself happened to be
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an eye-witness of. He had <I>enquired of God for him</I> (which the
|
|
priest used not to do but for public persons and about public affairs)
|
|
and he had furnished him with <I>bread and a sword.</I> All this was
|
|
true; but it was not the whole truth. He ought to have told Saul
|
|
further that David had made Ahimelech believe he was then going upon
|
|
the king's business; so that what service he did to David, however it
|
|
proved, was designed in honour to Saul, and this would have cleared
|
|
Ahimelech, whom Saul had in his power, and would have thrown all the
|
|
blame upon David, who was out of his reach.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Ahimelech is seized, or summoned rather to appear before the king,
|
|
and upon this indictment he is arraigned. The king sent for him and all
|
|
the priests who then attended the sanctuary, whom he supposed to be
|
|
aiding and abetting; and they, not being conscious of any guilt, and
|
|
therefore not apprehensive of any danger, <I>came all of them to the
|
|
king</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
and none of them attempted to make an escape, or to flee to David for
|
|
shelter, as they would have done now that he had set up his standard if
|
|
they had been as much in his interests as Saul suspected they were.
|
|
Saul arraigns Ahimelech himself with the utmost disdain and indignation
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Hear now, thou son of Ahitub;</I> not so much as calling him by his
|
|
name, much less giving him his title of distinction. By this it appears
|
|
that he had cast off the fear of God, that he showed no respect at all
|
|
to his priests, but took a pleasure in affronting them and insulting
|
|
them. Ahimelech holds up his hand at the bar in those words: "<I>Here I
|
|
am, my lord,</I> ready to hear my charge, knowing I have done no
|
|
wrong." He does not object to the jurisdiction of Saul's court, nor
|
|
insist upon an exemption as a priest, no, not though he is a high
|
|
priest, to which office that of the judge, or chief magistrate, had not
|
|
long since been annexed; but Saul having now the sovereignty vested in
|
|
him, in things pertaining to the king, even the high priest sets
|
|
himself on a level with common Israelites. <I>Let every soul be
|
|
subject</I> (even clergymen) <I>to the higher powers.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. His indictment is read to him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
that he, as a false traitor, had joined himself with the son of Jesse
|
|
in a plot to depose and murder the king. "His design" (says Saul) "was
|
|
to <I>rise up against me,</I> and thou didst assist him with victuals
|
|
and arms." See what bad constructions the most innocent actions are
|
|
liable to, how unsafe those are that live under a tyrannical
|
|
government, and what reason we have to be thankful for the happy
|
|
constitution and administration of the government we are under.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. To this indictment he pleads, Not guilty,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
He owns the fact, but denies that he did it traitorously or
|
|
maliciously, or with any design against the king. He pleads that he was
|
|
so far from knowing of any quarrel between Saul and David that he
|
|
really took David to have been then as much in favour at court as ever
|
|
he had been. Observe, He does not plead that David had told him an
|
|
untruth, and with that had imposed upon him, though really it was so,
|
|
because he would not proclaim the weakness of so good a man, no, not
|
|
for his own vindication, especially to Saul, who sought all occasions
|
|
against him; but he insists upon the settled reputation David had as
|
|
the most faithful of all the servants of Saul, the honour the king had
|
|
put upon him in marrying his daughter to him, the use the king had
|
|
often made of him, and the trust he had reposed on him: "He <I>goes at
|
|
thy bidding, and is honourable in thy house,</I> and therefore any one
|
|
would think it a meritorious piece of service to the crown to show him
|
|
respect, so far from apprehending it to be a crime." He pleads that he
|
|
had been wont to <I>enquire of God for him</I> when he was sent by Saul
|
|
upon any expedition, and did it now as innocently as ever he had done
|
|
it. He protests his abhorrence of the thought of being in a plot
|
|
against the king: "<I>Be it far from me.</I> I mind my own business,
|
|
and meddle not with state matters." He begs the king's favour: "<I>Let
|
|
him not impute</I> any crime to us;" and concludes with a declaration
|
|
of his innocency: <I>Thy servant knew nothing of all this.</I> Could
|
|
any man plead with more evidences of sincerity? Had he been tried by a
|
|
jury of honest Israelites, he would certainly have been acquitted, for
|
|
who can find any fault in him? But,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. Saul himself gives judgment against him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech,</I> as a rebel, <I>thou and all
|
|
thy father's house.</I> What could be more unjust? <I>I saw under the
|
|
sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+3:16">Eccl. iii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It was unjust that Saul should himself, himself alone, give
|
|
judgment in his own cause, without any appeal to judge or prophet, to
|
|
his privy council, or to a council of war.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That so fair a plea should be overruled and rejected without any
|
|
reason given, or any attempt to disprove the allegations of it, but
|
|
purely with a high hand.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That sentence should be passed so hastily and with so much
|
|
precipitation, the judge taking no time himself to consider of it, nor
|
|
allowing the prisoner any time to move in arrest of judgment.
|
|
|
|
(4.) That the sentence should be passed not only on Ahimelech, himself,
|
|
who was the only person accused by Doeg, but on <I>all his father's
|
|
house,</I> against whom nothing was alleged: must the children be put
|
|
to death for the fathers?
|
|
|
|
(5.) That the sentence should be pronounced in passion, not for the
|
|
support of justice, but for the gratification of his brutish rage.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
6. He issues out a warrant (a verbal warrant only) for the immediate
|
|
execution of this bloody sentence.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He ordered his footmen to be the executioners of this sentence,
|
|
but they refused,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Hereby he intended to put a further disgrace upon the priests; they may
|
|
not die by the hands of the men of war (as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+2:29">1 Kings ii. 29</A>)
|
|
|
|
or his usual ministers of justice, but his footmen must triumph over
|
|
them, and wash their hands in their blood.
|
|
|
|
[1.] Never was the command of a prince more barbarously given: <I>Turn
|
|
and slay the priests of the Lord.</I> This is spoken with such an air
|
|
of impiety as can scarcely be paralleled. Had he seemed to forget their
|
|
sacred office or relation to God, and taken no notice of that, he would
|
|
thereby have intimated some regret that men of that character should
|
|
fall under his displeasure; but to call them <I>the priests of the
|
|
Lord,</I> when he ordered his footmen to cut their throats, looked as
|
|
if, upon that very account, he hated them. God having rejected him, and
|
|
ordered another to be anointed in his room, he seems well pleased with
|
|
this opportunity of being revenged on the priests of the Lord, since
|
|
God himself was out of his reach. What wickedness will not the evil
|
|
spirit hurry men to, when he gets the dominion! He alleged, in his
|
|
order that which was utterly false and unproved to him, that they knew
|
|
when David fled; whereas they knew nothing of the matter. But malice
|
|
and murder are commonly supported with lies.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Never was the command of a prince more honourably disobeyed. The
|
|
footmen had more sense and grace than their master. Though they might
|
|
expect to be turned out of their places, if not punished and put to
|
|
death for their refusal, yet, come on them what would, they would not
|
|
offer to fall upon the priests of the Lord, such a reverence had they
|
|
for their office, and such a conviction of their innocence.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He ordered Doeg (the accuser) to be the executioner, and he
|
|
obeyed. One would have thought that the footmen's refusal would awaken
|
|
Saul's conscience, and that he would not insist upon the doing of a
|
|
thing so barbarous as that his footmen startled at the thought of it.
|
|
But his mind was blinded and his heart hardened, and, if they will not
|
|
do it, the hands of the witness shall be upon the victims,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:7">Deut. xvii. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
The most bloody tyrants have found out instruments of their cruelty as
|
|
barbarous as themselves. Doeg is no sooner commanded to fall upon the
|
|
priests than he does it willingly enough, and, meeting with no
|
|
resistance, slays with his own hand (for aught that appears) on that
|
|
same day eighty-five priests that were of the age of ministration,
|
|
between twenty and fifty, for they <I>wore a linen ephod</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
and perhaps appeared at this time before Saul in their habits, and were
|
|
slain in them. This (one would think) was enough to satiate the most
|
|
blood-thirsty; but the horseleech of persecution still cries, "Give,
|
|
give." Doeg, by Saul's order no doubt, having murdered the priests,
|
|
went to their city Nob, and put all to the sword there
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>men, women, and children,</I> and the cattle too. Barbarous cruelty,
|
|
and such as one cannot think of without horror! Strange that ever it
|
|
should enter into the heart of man to be so impious, so inhuman! We may
|
|
see in this,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The desperate wickedness of Saul when the Spirit of the Lord had
|
|
departed from him. Nothing so vile but those may be hurried to it who
|
|
have provoked God to give them up to their hearts' lusts. He that was
|
|
so compassionate as to spare Agag and the cattle of the Amalekites, in
|
|
disobedience to the command of God, could now, with unrelenting bowels,
|
|
see the priests of the Lord murdered, and nothing spared of all that
|
|
belonged to them. For that sin God left him to this.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The accomplishment of the threatenings long since pronounced
|
|
against the house of Eli; for Ahimelech and his family were descendants
|
|
from him. Though Saul was unrighteous in doing this, yet God was
|
|
righteous in permitting it. Now God performed against Eli that at which
|
|
the ears of those that heard it must needs tingle, as he had told him
|
|
that he would <I>judge his house for ever</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+3:11-13"><I>ch.</I> iii. 11-13</A>.
|
|
|
|
No word of God shall fall to the ground.
|
|
|
|
[3.] This may be considered as a great judgment upon Israel, and the
|
|
just punishment of their desiring a king before the time God intended
|
|
them one. How deplorable was the state of religion at this time in
|
|
Israel! Though the ark had long been in obscurity, yet it was some
|
|
comfort to them that they had the altar, and priests to serve at it;
|
|
but now to see their priests weltering in their own blood, and the
|
|
heirs of the priesthood too, and the city of the priests made a
|
|
desolation, so that the altar of God must needs be neglected for want
|
|
of attendants, and this by the unjust and cruel order of their own king
|
|
to satisfy his brutish rage--this could not but go to the heart of all
|
|
pious Israelites, and make them wish a thousand times they had been
|
|
satisfied with the government of Samuel and his sons. The worst enemies
|
|
of their nation could not have done them a greater mischief.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa22_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa22_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa22_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa22_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abiathar's Escape.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1057.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named
|
|
Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
|
|
21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s
|
|
priests.
|
|
22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew <I>it</I> that day, when
|
|
Doeg the Edomite <I>was</I> there, that he would surely tell Saul: I
|
|
have occasioned <I>the death</I> of all the persons of thy father's
|
|
house.
|
|
23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life
|
|
seeketh thy life: but with me thou <I>shalt be</I> in safeguard.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
1. The escape of Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, out of the desolations
|
|
of the priests' city. Probably when his father went to appear, upon
|
|
Saul's summons, he was left at home to attend the altar, by which means
|
|
he escaped the first execution, and, before Doeg and his bloodhounds
|
|
came to Nob, he had intelligence of the danger, and had time to shift
|
|
for his own safety. And whither should he go but to David?
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let those that suffer for the Son of David <I>commit the keeping of
|
|
their souls to him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+4:19">1 Pet. iv. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. David's resentment of the melancholy tidings he brought. He gave
|
|
David an account of the bloody work Saul had made among the priests of
|
|
the Lord
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
as the disciples of John, when their master was beheaded, <I>went and
|
|
told Jesus,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+14:12">Matt. xiv. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
And David greatly lamented the calamity itself, but especially his
|
|
being accessory to it: <I>I have occasioned the death of all the
|
|
persons of thy father's house,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is a great trouble to a good man to find himself in any way an
|
|
occasion of the calamities of the church and ministry. David knew
|
|
Doeg's character so well that he feared he would do some such mischief
|
|
as this when he saw him at the sanctuary: <I>I knew he would tell
|
|
Saul.</I> He calls him <I>Doeg the Edomite,</I> because he retained the
|
|
heart of an Edomite, though, by embracing the profession of the Jewish
|
|
religion, he had put on the mask of an Israelite.
|
|
|
|
3. The protection he granted to Abiathar. He perceived him to be
|
|
terrified, as he had reason to be, and therefore bade him not to fear,
|
|
he would be as careful for him as for himself: <I>With me thou shalt be
|
|
in safeguard,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
David, having now time to recollect himself, speaks with assurance of
|
|
his own safety, and promises that Abiathar shall have the full benefit
|
|
of his protection. It is promised to the Son of David that God will
|
|
<I>hide him in the shadow of his hand</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:2">Isa. xlix. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
and, with him, all that are his may be sure that they shall be in
|
|
safeguard,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+91:1">Ps. xci. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
David had now not only a prophet, but a priest, a high-priest, with
|
|
him, to whom he was a blessing and they to him, and both a happy omen
|
|
of his success. Yet it appears (by
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+28:6"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 6</A>)
|
|
|
|
that Saul had a high priest too, for he had a urim to consult: it is
|
|
supposed that he preferred Ahitub the father of Zadok, of the family of
|
|
Eleazar
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+6:8">1 Chron. vi. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
for even those that hate the power of godliness yet will not be without
|
|
the form. It must not be forgotten here that David at this time penned
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+52:1-9">Psalm lii.</A>,
|
|
|
|
as appears by the title of that psalm, wherein he represents Doeg not
|
|
only as malicious and spiteful, but as false and deceitful, because
|
|
though what he said was, for the substance of it, true, yet he put
|
|
false colours upon it, with a design to do mischief. Yet even then,
|
|
when the priesthood had become as a withered branch, he looks upon
|
|
himself as a <I>green olive-tree in the house of God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+52:8">Ps. lii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
In this great hurry and distraction that David was continually in, yet
|
|
he found both time and a heart for communion with God, and found
|
|
comfort in it.</P>
|
|
|
|
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