David was only seventeen years old when Samuel unexpectedly anointed him to be Israel’s next king. He went from shepherd to king-in-training, with no clear royal training regimen for him to follow.

In fact, apart from Samuel, no one seems to have recognized that David was a good candidate for the throne. His older brothers thought he was an arrogant upstart. King Saul was in his prime, still leading Israel and fighting enemies on every side. He didn’t want David as his successor; he hated David.

David had a long way to go before he could be king of Israel.

Pulling Back the Bowstring

At first God seemed to put David on a course that drove him further and further from the throne. He was a fugitive on the run. He fled to the Philistines (whose champion he had recently killed) and pretended to be insane so they wouldn’t kill him. He hid in the hills and ended up living in a cave.

An article on the Messianic Jewish website One for Israel likens David’s backward journey to God pulling back the bowstring on a mighty bow, with David as the arrow. For thirteen years God drew the bowstring tighter until, when David was ready at age thirty, God released him into the world to become ancient Israel’s greatest king.

Jonathan and David

Jonathan and David were both fiery young warriors who faced impossible odds in battle and saw God give them victory. Jonathan climbed up a cliff, killed twenty Philistines with one sword and sent the whole Philistine army into a panic. David stood up to Goliath and took him down with a stone from a slingshot. They had these powerful experiences of God in common with each other and were the best of friends.

So when David was distraught about Saul’s attempts to kill him, he naturally fled to his best friend Jonathan for wisdom and asked:

“What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?” 1 Samuel 20:1

Jonathan thought he knew his father better than David did.

“’Never,’ Jonathan replied, ‘You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!’” 1 Samuel 20:2

David pointed out that because of his friendship with Jonathan Saul might not tell Jonathan about his plans, “yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.” 1 Samuel 20:3

Even though Jonathan thought David was exaggerating, he asked what he could do to help and together they made a plan to help Jonathan find out what was on Saul’s mind.

Saul’s Intentions Revealed

Jonathan didn’t know what to think when David said, “If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?” (1 Samuel 20:8) He wanted to calm David so they went for a walk in a field and talked about how to discover Saul’s thinking regarding David.

The New Moon feast was coming and Saul expected to see David there, but David was sure Saul had murderous intentions toward him so he wasn’t going to the feast. He asked Jonathan to watch the King’s reaction to his absence. If Saul became angry, Jonathan would know he was intent upon harming David.

After he saw the King’s response, Jonathan promised to come to the field where David was hiding and give him a signal to indicate whether he was safe or in danger from the King.

The second day of the feast Saul asked Jonathan why David wasn’t there and Jonathan told Saul that David had asked to be excused. Saul’s anger flared. He suspected that Jonathan was conspiring with David against him and he pointed out that Jonathan would never ascend to the throne of Israel as long as David was alive.

“’Why should [David] be put to death? What has he done?’ Jonathan asked his father. But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.” 1 Samuel 20:32-33

Jonathan went to meet David the next morning and gave the signal they both had dreaded. David came out of hiding and bowed three times with his face to the ground as he approached Jonathan. They kissed each other and wept in each other’s arms. They pledged undying friendship for each other and protection for their families.

They didn’t think they would ever see each other again.

David Runs from Saul

David went on the run to escape from Saul and his first stop was at Nob, a town near Jerusalem. The tabernacle was set up there and Eli’s descendant Ahimelek served as high priest. Seeing David arrive alone made Ahimelek worry. He must have feared giving assistance to a man living under the threat of death from King Saul.

But David told Ahimelek that he was on a secret mission from King Saul and needed bread for his men. He lied about the men that were waiting for him, and took five loaves of bread that had just been removed from the table of bread in the holy place.

David then asked for a weapon to take with him and Ahimelek produced the sword of Goliath. “David said, ‘There is none like it; give it to me.’” 1 Samuel 21:9

Unfortunately, there was an eavesdropper at the tabernacle.

“One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd.” 1 Samuel 21:7

David Flees to the Philistines

David needed to go somewhere Saul couldn’t get to him easily so he took a chance and went to Gath, a Philistine town. King Achish initially welcomed Israel’s champion to town. He may have heard about the feud between King Saul and David and perhaps hoped David was defecting to the Philistines.

King Achish’s advisors reminded him about David’s reputation and took David into custody. Achish could have put David to death, but “while [David] was in their hands he acted like a mad man, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.” 1 Samuel 21:13

“Achish said to this servants, ‘Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?” 1 Samuel 21:14-15

The Philistines let him go and David left Gath.

Psalm 34

David wrote this Psalm after he was delivered from King Achish’s officials in Gath. It shows how scared he was among the Philistines and how grateful he was when God delivered him from them.

David has a lot of “before” and “after” statements in this Psalm.

• Before the Lord delivered David he was a poor man, fearful and troubled.
• After he was delivered he was radiant, unashamed, lacking nothing, and delivered from all of his troubles.

David was a changed man! How did he get from the “before” to the “after” experience?

Here’s what he said about it:

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears . . . This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.” Psalm 34:4,6

In the “after” phase David discovered how wonderful the Lord is.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

“Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:10

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.” Psalm 34:15

“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” Psalm 34:19

David was traveling alone at this time. He didn’t know whom he could trust and he didn’t want anyone to betray him to King Saul. It was a lonely time for David – until he discovered another wonderful thing about the Lord.

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 34:7

Real Words for Real Life

David was really scared — and amazed — and grateful — when he wrote Psalm 34. One of the great things about reading the Bible Chronologically is that we get to see a Psalm like this in the context of David’s life.

In this case, David needed an amazing idea to escape from the Philistines so he feigned insanity . . . and he gave God the credit for getting him out of his predicament. Did God suggest that David act like a madman in front of Achish? Who knows?

But this Psalm should encourage us to believe that no situation is impossible for God to handle. And you never know what the solution may be until you pray.