The Life and Times of

Narrow Escape (23:19-29)

19 Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 “Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand.” 21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD; for you have had compassion on me. 22 “Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 “So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall come about if he is in the land that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 And Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. 27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing David, and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. 29 And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

Jonathan goes home while David remains in the strongholds of Horesh (verses 18-19). David’s circumstances have not changed, but we have good reason to assume his outlook changed significantly. The people of that area were known as the Ziphites, the people of Ziph (verse 19ff.). They are people of the tribe of Judah, like David. In spite of this, they go to Saul at Gibeah, offering him the location of David so he can be captured. They are eager to win Saul’s favor and likely just as eager to avoid his wrath. Thus they are willing to hand David over to him.

Saul’s language in verse 21 is tragic. It sounds so pious, yet his holy words are only a veil to cover the wickedness of his intended actions. “May you be blessed of the Lord. . . .” What could sound more spiritual than this? This use of God’s name is “vain,” common, profane. This is what God forbids – using His name in vain, in a common and degrading way (Deuteronomy 5:11). Saul dares not bless in the name of the Lord those who are acting in rebellion against him, and assisting Saul in his rebellion against God. It is not spiritual to bless those who would curse God’s anointed. It is not spiritual to betray one’s own kinsman. How ironic that the Ziphites would show compassion toward Saul, when Saul’s son, Jonathan, shows compassion toward David.

Saul is beginning to wise up. He does not immediately summon his troops to make another attempt to arrest David. After all, it seems as though he has just gotten back from his last abortive effort. This time he intends to be more cautious, because it wouldn’t look good to come back empty-handed. He tells the Ziphites to carefully watch David’s movements, to note his hiding places and routes of travel, and then notify him when they know precisely where he is located. Then Saul feels sure that he will capture his foe.

Verse 22 is noteworthy. Saul tells the Ziphites that he is told David is cunning. Why does he not say he has personally found him to be this way? It may be because much of Saul’s intelligence concerning David comes second hand by those whom Saul should not really trust, men like Doeg the Edomite. We will make more of this when we come to verse 9 of chapter 24. Second-hand information is virtual hearsay and should not be taken as though it were the essence of the truth.

The Ziphites return to their land, ready and willing to carry out Saul’s orders. In the meantime, David has moved on a few miles to the wilderness (or desert) of Maon (verse 25).⁶ Saul and his men appear once again in hot pursuit. What a place for a helicopter view of the chase! David is hurrying to get away from Saul and his men as he makes his way around the mountain. Behind, in pursuit, are Saul and his men. They continue to gain ground, or perhaps they are coming after David in the opposite direction so that they are just about to meet face to face. Perhaps Saul has troops pursuing David and his men from both directions. In one way or another, David and his men are in the process of being surrounded. It is only a matter of time before they are going to fall into Saul’s grasp. We can see Saul’s men getting closer and closer. We can also see that all means of escape are being sealed off. There is no way out. They are finished.

Suddenly, when Saul’s men are almost close enough to touch, a shout is heard. A messenger is calling out to Saul, informing him that Israel has come under attack by the Philistines. It must not be at Keilah, for Saul doesn’t seem to care about this city’s problems with the Philistines. Could it be much closer to Gibeah, Saul’s home? The situation is viewed as being so serious that Saul breaks off his pursuit, just seconds away from success. He orders his men to turn around and go back down the mountain to assemble to march out to confront the Philistine army.

The suspense is so intense, so thick, one could almost cut it with a knife. David and his men look like goners, but God spares them. The irony is that while Saul is David’s enemy, the Philistines are unwittingly his allies. Their attack is God’s means of delivering His anointed king, David, from the grasp of King Saul.

Conclusion

Who would ever believe it? Who would imagine that Saul could get so close to killing David, and then turn back at the last possible moment? Who would have believed a hostile attack against Israel would be God’s means for preserving the life of her next king? Those who know God believe it. In fact, we should almost expect it. God’s resources are so infinite, He is not forced to deliver His chosen ones in the same boring fashion, endlessly repeating one miracle over and over. God often saves when all human hope is gone, and then in ways we would never have predicted or expected. He does so because He is God, because His resources are unlimited, and because His way of doing things is beyond our wildest imaginations.

Not only does God deliver David in a most unusual way, He also encourages him in a unique way. God encourages David by an unexpected visit in a remote, hard-to-find spot. This is not on Jonathan’s way to somewhere else. It is a place where David intends not to be found, and yet he is. And the one whom God chooses to encourage David, hotly pursued by King Saul, is none other than the king’s son, Jonathan.

We must close this lesson with the words of Scripture which say it better than we ever could:

6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:6-11).

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36).