Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 22
David returned from Gath to the hills on the border between Judah (southern Israel) and Philistia. Saul had plans to kill him; David needed to find a place where he could live safely.
Clearly, David would be unable to live in a town; he would have to live in the open country.
David chose a place in the region of the ancient town called Adullam. The rock there is the kind called limestone. Water can pass through limestone; the result is that large, natural caves form in the rock. David could live safely in those caves and he could hide from Saul’s men there.
It seems that during this period in David’s life, he prayed much. He felt like a prisoner, but he put his trust completely in God. He wrote Psalms 57 and 142, and probably several other Psalms also, while he lived in those caves.
However, David did not remain alone there. Because of Saul’s anger against David, David’s brothers were in danger too. They escaped to Adullam and they lived with David.
So did many men who had various troubles in Israel. They included men from Israel’s army, who had known David as one of the army commanders. These men were brave soldiers as we read in 1 Chronicles 11:10-47.
In the end, there were 400 men with David, and they considered him to be their leader. It seems that they formed a kind of private army. They fought against the many large groups of robbers who attacked Israel from that region.
So even in this situation, David was continuing to fight on Israel’s behalf. Although Saul considered David his enemy, David was still supporting Saul’s rule.
Next part: David’s parents in Moab (1 Samuel 22:3-4)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.