1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. – 1 Samuel 22:1-5  ESV

David left Gath in a hurry, the drool still clinging to his beard and the laughter of the Philistines still ringing in his ears. He had managed to escape with his life but was forced to leave his dignity behind. He had put himself in a very dangerous predicament and been forced to feign insanity when his plan fell apart. But despite the less-than-positive outcome of his plan to seek refuge in Gath, David was learning to trust in God and not himself. This would prove to be a lifelong endeavor, but with each passing circumstance, David learned to lean less on himself and more on God.

His trip to Gath would not be the last time David found himself in a tight spot. In fact, during the fugitive phase of his life, suffering, rejection, and ridicule would become familiar experiences. He recorded the feelings of loneliness and dejection that often haunted him in one of his psalms.

But I am a worm and not a man.
    I am scorned and despised by all!
Everyone who sees me mocks me.
    They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
“Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
    Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
    let the Lord rescue him!” – Psalm 22:6-8 NLT

David would know what it was like to be despised by others and wrestle with feeling abandoned by God. He would experience many moments of doubt and despair but, through it all, he would discover the reality of God’s persistent presence and power. In time, through all the trials of his life, David would learn what it means to trust God.

After having escaped from Gath by the skin of his teeth, David headed east to an isolated region called Adullam, the former site of an ancient Canaanite city. Adullam was not far from the valley of Elah, where David defeated Goliath. The area is pockmarked with caves, many of which are large enough to hold up to 400 men. It was in one of these caves that David sought refuge but he would not be alone for long. Somehow, his father and brothers received word of David’s location and they made their way to him, along with their entire households.

David’s cave was filling up fast and it would soon be standing room only. The text states that “all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts” (1 Samuel 22:2 MSG). David suddenly found himself surrounded by a motley crew of debtors, malcontents, and social miscreants, who each shared one thing in common: A general dislike for King Saul. In one way or another, this man’s reign had negatively impacted them and they were willing to risk all to throw in their lot with David, a man with a bounty on his head. Just showing up at the cave in Adullam made them guilty of aiding and abetting a fugitive.

It’s not difficult to discern why these disgruntled Israelites chose to throw in their lot with David. They had each experienced some aspect of Saul’s oppressive rule and were ready for a change. The foreboding words of Samuel the prophet, spoken before Saul was even anointed as king, must have rung in their ears as they made their way to Adullam.

“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.” – 1 Samuel 8:11-17 NLT

Oppressed, overtaxed, and outraged by their treatment by Saul, these disenfranchised Israelites chose to align themselves with the disgraced and equally disillusioned David. Just hours earlier, David had been surrounded by hostile Philistines. Now, he was surrounded by disgruntled and desperate Hebrews, who were looking to him for leadership and direction.

The text tells us that 400 men allied themselves with David and viewed him as their commander. He was no longer alone, but now he found himself responsible for the well-being and protection of hundreds of men and their families. How would he feed them all? How was he going to be able to protect them from the professional soldiers sent by Saul to hunt him down? Whether he liked it or not, David suddenly found himself thrust into the role of leader once again. But these were not well-trained soldiers equipped with the latest military weapons; they were nothing more than peasants, farmers, and common laborers. This amalgam of human flotsam and jetsam would put David’s leadership abilities to the test, but it was within this crucible of crisis that God chose to purify and perfect the man whom He had chosen to be the next king of Israel.

One of the first decisions David made was to send his father and mother to stay in the land of Moab. He arranged for the King of Moab to provide his parents with a safe haven, “until I know what God is going to do for me” (1 Samuel 22:3 NLT). David's great-grandmother, Ruth, had been a Moabitess, so there was a familial connection that explains David’s decision. His parents would remain in Moab until he had a better idea as to what God had in store for him.

David had learned a painful lesson at Gath and he was slowly learning to seek God’s will. Taking matters into his own hands and trying to determine his fate apart from God had proved to be a dangerous game to play. He had no clue what the future held, but he was anxious to know what God had in mind, and he didn’t have to wait long.

One day, a prophet appeared at the cave and gave David a word from God. He was to leave immediately and return to the land of Judah. This would not be the last time during David’s wilderness wanderings that God would speak to him through a prophet. God had not left David alone, and He would not leave him directionless.

It’s important to remember that David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel. It is still not clear whether David was aware of this fact. Up until this point in the narrative, there is no indication that David had ever been told by Samuel what his anointing had meant. David has shown no signs that he knew he was the king-in-waiting. He had been content to be a commander in Saul’s army. He had shown no aspirations of being king or any expectations that God was going to remove Saul and put him in his place on the throne. Yet, God had chosen David to be the next king of Israel. So why did God choose to put David on this precarious and potentially deadly path to the throne? Why was he allowing Saul to persecute and pursue David? Why was David being forced to run for his life and live like a fugitive? Why was God willing to allow Saul to retain the crown and use his royal resources to harass David?

None of this seems to make any sense. It all appears illogical and unnecessary. But God’s ways are not our ways. His plans rarely make sense to us. His methods, more often than not, come across as little more than madness to us. But the life of David is meant to reveal the sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing nature of God. David was receiving God’s will one day at a time; he wasn’t given the whole picture. The reader can view the full scope of David’s life and know how the story ends. But for David, each day was a mystery. He had no assurances. He couldn’t read ahead and learn how his life story was going to turn out. Yet, God was there, and David would learn to see Him in the middle of all the madness and messiness of life.

David was going to experience many dark days. He would know what it means to despair and feel the loneliness that comes with leadership. There would be moments when all seemed lost and there would be days when he felt abandoned by God. He would even put his thoughts of desperation in writing.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame. – Psalm 22:1-5 NLT

Through it all, David would discover the holiness and faithfulness of God. This lesson, while painful, would be crucial to his transformation from a shepherd of sheep to the shepherd of God’s people.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.