Man On The Run

The ways and providences of God are innumerable.   ~~~   Can you imagine the emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical strain and pressure, perhaps even exhaustion that David was feeling throughout this narrative? Let’s just consider the physical. He has just fought a battle with the Philistines in 1 Samuel 23. Don’t overlook that. Running, jumping, swinging swords, stabbing, chopping. We cannot even begin to imagine the adrenal and physical toll that took on a body. But don’t stop there. Think about the mental and emotional aspects as well. The fear, the uncertainty, experiencing war AGAIN. Leading men into battle and losing brothers and friends in battle. The brutality and horror of it all. And then under all of that, the foundation, is David’s spiritual life. He, who had the Spirit of God, who was hearing from God, had to be on the run from a maniacal king who was devoid of the Spirit of God. As we read these stories and turn these pages, we are not meant to forget, or to push to the side any of these things. David was not superhuman. He was a human, a man, just like the rest of us. So 1 Samuel 23:15 says, “David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life.” Here we go again. Another chase. “Will I escape this time? How much longer LORD? I can’t take this any more.” We know this was, at times anyway, how David felt because we have the Psalms. Psalm 55 says: “Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked… My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.” We know this is not the last time something like this happens. In fact, the back half of 1 Samuel 23 is another story of more of David’s fellow Israelites turning on him, wanting to appease Saul and avoid Saul’s savageness. The Ziphites run to Saul saying, “We know where David is and we can put you on his trail” I don’t think any of us can quite relate at the exact level of David, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know what it’s like to be tired from fighting the enemy; to be confused as to what exactly is going on in this life, when you are trying seeking the LORD and face nothing but battle after battle. To doubt, to be afraid, to want to give up. So what happens here is of immense importance to us. This is not David’s first foray into being chased, neither will it be his last. And the common theme that we have seen throughout this story is the providence of God directing, protecting, providing for His future king. The ways and providences of God are innumerable, and we will witness another on in this text, but you have to come back tomorrow to discover it, OR you could read it for yourself!