David’s story is a story of the power and sovereignty of God. Psalm 78:70 says,

“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”

Young David learned to have integrity of heart and be skillful in leadership in the years he spent as a fugitive from King Saul. It was a boot camp for a king and it tested every part of David’s soul.

David in the Desert

King Saul learned that David was leading his own small army after he defeated the Philistines at Keilah. Saul tried to trap David there, but he escaped and kept his six hundred men on the move from place to place. They turned south and went into the desert of Ziph, a wilderness area with lots of ravines and hills. Six hundred men with a strong leader could disappear into that wilderness and remain a formidable force.

But King Saul only wanted to capture David. He wanted intelligence about where he might be and he was very cordial to anyone who had information. The Ziphites were on Saul’s side and they offered to hand David over whenever Saul wanted to come and get him.

“Saul replied, ‘The Lord bless you for your concern for me. Go and get more information . . . Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.” 1 Samuel 23:21-23

Meanwhile, Saul’s son Jonathan went to see David, to help him find strength in the Lord and to renew their covenant of friendship.

“’Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.’” 1 Samuel 23:17

Saul followed the Ziphites down to the desert of Maon where David had been spotted and he went after him. But God protected David so well that even when Saul was on the other side of a hill from David, he didn’t catch him.

The hunt continued until Saul learned that the Philistines were attacking and he broke off his search to go and meet them.

Psalm 54

David’s prayer in Psalm 54 is remarkable. He recognizes that he has enemies, but he doesn’t ask God to help him slay them. He names his fears and concerns, then trusts God to deal with them. David practiced great faith and humility before God in this stressful time in his life.

En Gedi

David and his men moved to En Gedi, a beautiful place with high rocks and crags, with a spring-fed stream that flowed all year long. Saul returned from fighting the Philistines and went looking for David again.

The integrity of David’s heart was on display when Saul came into the cave where David was hiding with his men. Saul was alone and vulnerable and David’s friends told him that this was his chance to get rid of his enemy, but David replied,

“’The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.’” 1 Samuel 24:6

Before Saul left the cave David crept close and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Then he followed Saul out of the cave and called out to him,

“’My Lord the King!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you?’ This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’” 1 Samuel 24:8-10

Saul’s Heart is Touched

Saul wept when he heard David’s voice and realized that David had spared his life. He was amazed.

“When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. Now swear to me that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe my name from my father’s family.” 1 Samuel 24:19-21

David gave his oath to do what Saul had asked of him and Saul returned home, leaving David and his men in the stronghold.

The Death of Samuel

Samuel was very old when he passed away. One of his final acts as a priest was to counsel and encourage David when he came to Ramah. Samuel also seems to have run a school for prophets at Ramah in his last days. He was faithful to God and spiritually fruitful all his life.

In a time when Israel was spread out over the largest area they would ever occupy, the nation managed to come together to mourn for Samuel. His passing was the end of the era of the judges.

David and Nabal

David moved his troops farther south, all the way down to the desert of Paran. It was a region of sheepherders and a wealthy man named Nabal ran his vast flocks there. He was married to a beautiful and intelligent woman named Abigail.

David had a lot of mouths to feed, but he and his men never pilfered stray sheep from Nabal’s flocks. They actually guarded them, maybe because David remembered how hard it was to defend a flock in the field.

Sheep shearing time was a celebration and time to reward the shepherds for a job well done. Nabal was a wealthy man who would offer hospitality to guests as well as employees. David had a right to ask if he had anything to offer the men who had protected his flocks during lambing and grazing seasons.

All Nabal had to offer were insults. He compared David to a runaway slave and said he had no idea who the men with David were. While David had shown remarkable restraint around Saul, this response from Nabal was too much to bear. He told his men to strap on their swords because he didn’t intend to leave one man alive in Nabal’s household.

Abigail

Nabal’s employees were well aware of what David had done for their master during the year. One of them hurried to Abigail and reported how Nabal had insulted David.

“Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.” 1 Samuel 25:17

Fortunately, Abigail knew what to do, and she also knew not to involve Nabal. She quickly put together a handsome gift for David and his army and rode out herself to deliver it. She saved David from doing something he would regret later and he was grateful. This beautiful woman also favorably impressed him.

Abigail went home and the next morning she told Nabal how close he had come to being wiped out by an army that included men with faces like lions. He was struck dumb, his heart failed and ten days later he died.

David is Grateful

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he was glad he had not killed him.

“Praise be to the Lord, who has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” 1 Samuel 25:39

David sent for Abigail and asked her to marry him. She was more than willing. She accepted his proposal with gratitude and went right to him. She joined another wife, Ahinoam, whom David had married in the Jezreel Valley. Meanwhile, King Saul gave Michal, David’s first wife, to another man.

David was growing into a man with many responsibilities, but he still had a long road ahead before he reached the throne of Israel.