1 Samuel 22:1-10 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 22:1-10. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Samuel 22:1-2 (NIV)
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
On verses 1-2: David was at the lowest point of his life so far. His hiding in a cave symbolized the darkness, loneliness and distress David was experiencing as he ran from Saul. Yet it was in this cave that God took David’s leadership to another level, from being a military leader that led well trained soldiers who were commanded to follow him, to becoming a leader of people who were not as well trained or experienced but who wanted and chose to follow him.
This wasn’t the only time God would use a cave to transform a person. It was in a cave that David would have a destiny-defining moment in 1 Samuel 24 and write some of his most beautiful worship songs, like Psalm 57 and Psalm 142. It was while Elijah was hiding in a cave that God ushered him into the next phase of his ministry, from being a one man show to a trainer of future leaders. It was in a cave that Jesus’ crucified body was placed before He emerged from that dark tomb as our resurrected Saviour.
What can we learn from this? God uses our “cave seasons” to mould us into the people He wants us to be. What are “cave seasons”? They’re those dark, lonely, difficult, distressing seasons in our lives where we feel weak and all we want to do is hide. Cave seasons are never comfortable but they are compulsory for any leader, for it’s under the pressure of that cave season — when everything feels like it’s caving in — that God takes you to another level. Often it’s so that you can become a bigger blessing to the people God places in your path. So don’t look down on your cave seasons.
1 Samuel 22:3-5 (NIV)
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”
4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
On verses 3-5: Here we see both David’s temptation and David’s teachability. A frequent struggle for David when he was under pressure was trying to find refuge in people and things other than God. It’s a temptation we all face. That’s why David went to Gath in chapter 21. That’s also why here David takes his parents and brothers to Moab, hoping that the King of Moab would protect his family for him (v3-4). Some of David’s biggest mistakes later on would be sourced in him trying to find refuge in things other than God.
Perhaps David went to Moab because his great-grandmother, Ruth, was from Moab. Perhaps he thought that the King of Moab could become his ally. But a spiritual leader in his life, the prophet Gad, sees that it is unwise to go against God’s Word by making treaties with unbelieving nations, that this “stronghold” was actually a false source of security. So Gad tells David not to stay in Moab. David obeys, leaving Moab, a place of idolatry, for Judah, a place of praise (“Judah” means “praise”). That shows David’s humility and teachability.
All of us like David will be tempted from time to time to find refuge in things other than God. May we like David have the humility and teachability to listen to godly advice and to obey God’s Word in those times.
1 Samuel 22:6-9 (NIV)
6 Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul, spear in hand, was seated under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing around him.
7 Saul said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?
8 Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”
9 But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.
On verses 6-9: While David was learning to trust in God in new ways, self-willed Saul continued to spiral downward from insecurity into paranoia. With spear in hand (v6), Saul accuses his own men of conspiring with David against him (v7) and thinks that David is lying in wait for him (v8). When your hope is not in God, your fears can easily turn into paranoia and can lead to you making false conclusions about others, in turn hurting your relationships with them. But when your hope is in God, your heart, mind and relationships gravitate to a healthy place.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the cave seasons in my life. Though cave seasons are not comfortable, they are compulsory. Though cave seasons are painful, they are also precious. That’s because You use my cave seasons to mould me into the person You want me to be. So may I be humble and teachable, especially with the people You use to speak Your Word into my life. May I place my hope in You in my cave seasons and in every season. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
