Lesson 10 - 1 Sam. 22:6-17 - THE CASE OF A PARANOID KING
INTRODUCTION: Last week in 1 Sam. 18:2-5; 20:32-38, we covered the period following David's defeat of the Philistine giant, Goliath, and his rise to fame, both as a warrior and a leader of men in Israel's ongoing military campaign against the Philistines. He had not only gained favor with God, but became very popular with the leaders in Saul's royal staff, and as his reputation grew, also with the people of Israelite in general-a national hero. Jonathan, Saul's eldest son and crown prince, a man thought to have been at least 10 years' David's senior, became David's closest friend and confidant. Despite being crown prince, Jonathan accepted the reality that David was truly God's anointed and should be the next King of Israel. Jonathan confirmed this by entering a covenant of loyalty with David and giving him his royal robe and his military weapons as a symbols. When Saul began plotting to get David killed, Jonathan took active steps to warn and protect him. In terms of application, Jonathan exemplified the truth that pleasing God should always take precedence over pleasing man.
This week, In 1 Sam. 22:6-17, we return to the story of David as he begins the life of a fugitive, secretly moving from place to place in order to escape Saul's efforts to track him down and kill him. At the same time, we see king Saul taking more and more desperate measures to find and kill him.
Read 1 Sam. 22:6-8 - ALL OF YOU HAVE CONSPIRED AGAINST ME
6 Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him. 7 Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, "Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who informs me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who cares about me or informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day."
Note: Verses 1-5, reveal that David's family had joined him at his hiding place in Adullam along with about 400 other followers. David took his parents to Moab (see map) and asked the king there to protect them from Saul. David is introduced to the prophet Gad, who warned him to return to Judah, probably to the wilderness area of En-gedi (see map). Much later, after David is king, Gad will assist him with the musical arrangements in Tabernacle worship.
v. 6: "Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him." - Here, we find Saul at Gilbeah in the tribal area of the Benjaminites, (about 10 miles NW of the future site of Jerusalem-see map). He's sitting under the shade of a "tamarisk tree" and summoning a war council with his "servants"-i.e., court officers. At these meetings, Saul was accustomed to hold a spear in his hand as a symbol of his power as king. His informants have apparently discovered the current whereabouts of David. It would be nearly impossible for David to conceal the movements of the 400 followers who were traveling with him.
v. 7: "Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, "Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? - In this scene, Saul is conferring with the inner-circle of his own tribe, the "Benjaminites." Notice that he refers to David as the "son of Jesse," a slur against the tribe of Judah. Using scare tactics designed to appeal to their greed, Saul blatantly asks them if they think David would give them the same "perks"-lands and military authority-that he, their kinsman, has given them; in short, he threatens that supporting David would cost them dearly. Saul is clearly willing to divide the nation, even plunge it into a civil war to keep his hold on power. This leads to one conclusion: Saul has allowed his jealousy of David to turn him into a complete fool. "A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul." (Prov. 18:17)
v. 8: "For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who informs me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who cares about me or informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day." - Earlier chapters report that David was much loved by Saul's servants (18:22), and Saul knows at this point that some in his army, apparently even some of his own tribal kinsmen from Benjamin, had deserted him and gone over to David's camp. Although his son Jonathan has pledged loyalty to David, the "ambush" he refers to is a figment of his imagination. This is a classic example of paranoia. This reminds me of Adolph Hitler, when he was holed-up in his bunker and surrounded by his close Nazi associates during the final months of WWII.
Read 1 Sam. 22:9-10 - REPORT OF DOEG THE EDOMITE
9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."
v. 9: "Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, 'I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.'" - We know that Edomites, as descendants of Esau, are long-time enemies of the Israelites. But here, Doeg see an opportunity to ingratiate himself with Saul. Using Saul's derogatory "son of Jesse" label for David, he reports seeing him at "Nob" (only a few miles east of Gibeah-see map).
v. 10: "And he inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine." - At Nob, Doeg reported that he saw David making contact with "Ahimelech," a Levitical priest who "inquired of the LORD for him" (i.e, gave him a blessing) and supplied him with provisions. In return for his generosity, David gave him "the sword of Goliath," a valuable relic.
Read 1 Sam. 22:11-15 - THE KING SUMMONED AHIMELECH THE PRIEST
11 Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." And he replied, "Here I am, my lord." 13 Saul then said to him, "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?" 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king's own son-in-law, who is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? 15 Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair."
v. 11a: "Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub," In
this context, a "summons" is a legal order to present yourself at a certain place, and at a certain time or suffer serious consequences for the failure to do so. It carries with it the inference that the party or parties are being summoned to answer official charges of alleged wrongdoing, a trial or a hearing.
v. 11b: "and all his father's household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king." - Notice that Saul not only summoned Ahimelech to appear before him but all the priests at Nob. This is very strange.
v. 12: "Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." And he replied, "Here I am, my lord." Notice that Saul doesn't ask Ahimelech for an explanation but commands him to "Listen now." Ahimelech's reply, Here I am," is a standard answer to someone in authority (God usually, not a human king) which simply confirms that he has the listener's attention and he is listening very carefully.
v. 13: "Saul then said to him, "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?" - The is the substance of Saul's accusation against Ahimelech: (1) that he and David have been working together against him: (2) that he has given food and weapons to his enemy; (3) that he has prayed for God to help his enemy; (4) he has assisted his enemy with plans to entrap him. This is a virtual death sentence for the crime of treason.
v. 14: "Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king's own son-in-law, who is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house?" - Here, we see Ahimelech answer Saul with all the honesty of a man with a clear conscience. His replies to Saul's accusations are those of an innocent men who believed that all of his actions were forthright as a matter of course. At the same time, however, his accurate description of David's official rank and privileges within Saul's organization probably just angered the king even further. In Ahimelech's eyes, David was Saul's most faithful and trusted officer.
v. 15a: "Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me!" - The exact meaning of "inquire of God for him" in not clear. It may have been a ritual of some kind that the priest had regularly performed in the past for David when he was on the king's official business. But whatever it was, the priest flatly denies doing it in league with David against the king. The term "Far be from me," could be translate that I would never in life do such a thing. Never ever.
v. 15b: "Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair." - Here, Ahimelech denies any complicity with any of Saul's accusations. This verse forms a complete defense to any wrongdoing on the part of Ahimelech or any of his priests. In short, he completely denies that he or any of his priests knew that David was running from Saul at the time he came to Nob.
Read 1 Sam. 22:16-17 - YOU SHALL CERTAINLY DIE
16 But the king said, "You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's household!" 17 And the king said to the guards who were attending him, "Turn around and put the priests of the LORD to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not inform me." But the servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to attack the priests of the LORD.
v. 16: "But the king said, "You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's household!" - Here, Saul has gone off the deep end: His paranoia, which is purely self-centered fear, has driven him from sane thinking into pathological behavior. What he's ordering is not execution but murder.
v. 17a: "And the king said to the guards who were attending him, "Turn around and put the priests of the LORD to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not inform me." - These men are Saul's personal royal body guards, assigned to protect him from any threat coming from any direction, inside or outside. We see this today when our President is surrounded by Secret Service agents everywhere he goes. They are committed guardians who will even step in front of a bullet as a human shield if necessary.
v. 17b: "But the servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to attack the priests of the LORD.' - At this point the guards realized that Saul had gone too far. They knew that his command to kill the priests was unlawful-that the king must be insane. At the base of it, these guards feared God far more than they feared Saul. They essentially froze in place and did nothing.
Postscript: Even though Saul's men rightly refused to kill the priests, vv. 18-19 reveal that Saul hired Doeg, the godless Edomite, to slay the priests, and he killed Ahimelech and 85 other priests with his sword and when he finished with the priests, he then killed every man, woman, child, and animal in the city of Nob. Scholars remark that Saul carried out a 'ban' in Nob, which destroyed part of his own kingdom: out of his sinful pride, he did against his own people what he had failed to do earlier against the Amalekites. Verses 20-21 relate that one son of Ahimelech did escape the carnage and reported what happened to David.
APPLICATION-An Extreme Case of Denial
Human beings are incapable of ruling themselves. Very simply, we have no valid authority over ourselves or others outside of the Word of God. In today's lesson we saw Saul attempt and fail to become his own god. Chapter 22 depicts an extreme example of what can happen to a person-king Saul-who repeatedly refuses to repent of wrongdoing and accept responsibility for his sins. Saul's problem went all the way back to his refusal to accept responsibility for failing to obey God's command to completely eliminate all the Amalekites and their property from the face of the earth, which, in turn, caused God to reject Saul as king of Israel (1 Sam. 15:1-35). Afterward, rather than repent and accept God's judgment, Saul's sinful pride led to a continuing rebellion against God, where he used everything at his disposal to retain his power as king (see, 1 Sam. 19 and 20 generally). Saul's continuing descent into paranoia (with Satan's help of course) eventually obsessed him to be what we would call a homicidal maniac-insane. History is replete with examples of evil leaders like Saul: Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, and Kim Jong-un, all of whom tried to become gods unto themselves.
