1 Samuel 22:1-23
David escapes the tyranny King Saul, and makes his way to the cave of Adullan. His brothers and all who are associated with his family find him there and join him. Not only that, but all the down-and-outs in the area seek asylum with David there in the cave. The town drunks, the whores, the homeless - four hundred people who are at the end of their rope join David.
Knowing
that Saul is doing anything he can to kill off David and his family, he
petitions the king of Moab to grant asylum to his parents. They stay
protected by the king until David is through hiding. Meanwhile, Saul is
conducting court with his officials, trying to figure how to seek David
out and destroy him. One of the officials standing there is Doeg the
Edomite. Doeg was the one taking the religious vow in the temple while
David was receiving food, guidance, and the sword of Goliath.
None of Saul's officials are buying what he has to offer. They have inwardly turned against him and he knows it. None of them are willing to hand over any information about David's whereabouts, except Doeg. Doeg speaks up and tells Saul about his sighting of David and Ahimelech. Saul is furious. He orders his officials to retrieve Ahimelech and all eight-five priests who are in Nob.
When they arrive, Saul puts Ahimelech on trial. He is his own judge and jury. He's a dictator. May I remind the audience that the people of Israel demanded a dictator, and they're getting what they asked for. Saul questions Ahimelech about why he didn't expose David's whereabouts at the time, and why he went even further and aided David in getting food, prayer, and weapons.
Ahimelech says, "Do
you think this was the only time I've ever prayed with David? Hardly!
David is your most loyal and most honorable servant, not to mention that
he's your son-in-law and captain of your personal bodyguard."
Ahimelech tells Saul he's done nothing wrong, and to leave him and his family alone. This sets Saul off. He orders his officials, "Kill them and every person in their families!"
The officials disobey orders. They aren't willing to follow the king's advice. So, Saul picks Doeg out of the crowd and tells him to do it. Doeg is more than willing. He's drank the Kool-Aid of the king, and will do whatever the king tells him to do. Doed leads the attack and slaughters all eight-five of the priests. Not only that, but he carries the slaughter into Nob, and commits genocide. He kills off all men, women, children, ox, sheep, and donkeys. He goes into Nob with the intention of leaving nothing alive.
Two men escape though. One is the son of Ahimelech, and one is Ahimelech's brother - Abiathar. Abiathar retreats to the place where David is staying and reports what has happened. David invites him into the party of misfits and tells him not to be afraid. There is power in a group of helpless and hopeless people working together.
In this story, there are two sides. The two sides are lopsided, but on paper it looks like the power is on the side of Saul. Saul is using every means of bloodshed he can render to kill off anyone connected with David and his family. The author tells us though that Saul is running out of support. He's got Doeg the robot and that's it.
Saul's own officials and the high priests have turned against Saul because he is asking them to compromise their belief systems. People are gravitating toward David because he is not a threat to them. He represents vulnerability. He represents meekness. He has no axes to grind or people to please, but is at the end of his own rope. There is power in a group of people who are at the end of their ropes.
Saul and David both represent power, but they are two kinds of power. Saul's power is about gaining more, getting even, and becoming stronger by his own willpower.
David's power is about seeking shelter with other people who are struggling. He knows that the kind of power Saul is displaying is not what he wants. He wants the kind of power found in powerlessness. Saul is promoting his own self-interest while David is seeking God's will.
There are two types of power struggles that we all face in life. One is the struggle to gain more power, to gain more control, and to gain more respect. The other power struggle is reducing power, letting go of control, and not caring about respect.
The characteristics of a person on the struggle to gain power are: seeking revenge, jealousy, feeling threatened by other people's success, reliance on self-importance, and seeing demotion as a threat. The characteristics of a person seeking to lose power are: seeking peace, interdependence, relying on the community, God, and self, and not just self.
Which power struggle are we in today? Are we going to any length to promote ourselves and gain more control of the world and people around us? Or, are we going to any length to reduce our power and loosen our desires to control the world and people around us?
David escapes the tyranny King Saul, and makes his way to the cave of Adullan. His brothers and all who are associated with his family find him there and join him. Not only that, but all the down-and-outs in the area seek asylum with David there in the cave. The town drunks, the whores, the homeless - four hundred people who are at the end of their rope join David.
None of Saul's officials are buying what he has to offer. They have inwardly turned against him and he knows it. None of them are willing to hand over any information about David's whereabouts, except Doeg. Doeg speaks up and tells Saul about his sighting of David and Ahimelech. Saul is furious. He orders his officials to retrieve Ahimelech and all eight-five priests who are in Nob.
When they arrive, Saul puts Ahimelech on trial. He is his own judge and jury. He's a dictator. May I remind the audience that the people of Israel demanded a dictator, and they're getting what they asked for. Saul questions Ahimelech about why he didn't expose David's whereabouts at the time, and why he went even further and aided David in getting food, prayer, and weapons.
Ahimelech tells Saul he's done nothing wrong, and to leave him and his family alone. This sets Saul off. He orders his officials, "Kill them and every person in their families!"
The officials disobey orders. They aren't willing to follow the king's advice. So, Saul picks Doeg out of the crowd and tells him to do it. Doeg is more than willing. He's drank the Kool-Aid of the king, and will do whatever the king tells him to do. Doed leads the attack and slaughters all eight-five of the priests. Not only that, but he carries the slaughter into Nob, and commits genocide. He kills off all men, women, children, ox, sheep, and donkeys. He goes into Nob with the intention of leaving nothing alive.
Two men escape though. One is the son of Ahimelech, and one is Ahimelech's brother - Abiathar. Abiathar retreats to the place where David is staying and reports what has happened. David invites him into the party of misfits and tells him not to be afraid. There is power in a group of helpless and hopeless people working together.
In this story, there are two sides. The two sides are lopsided, but on paper it looks like the power is on the side of Saul. Saul is using every means of bloodshed he can render to kill off anyone connected with David and his family. The author tells us though that Saul is running out of support. He's got Doeg the robot and that's it.
Saul's own officials and the high priests have turned against Saul because he is asking them to compromise their belief systems. People are gravitating toward David because he is not a threat to them. He represents vulnerability. He represents meekness. He has no axes to grind or people to please, but is at the end of his own rope. There is power in a group of people who are at the end of their ropes.
Saul and David both represent power, but they are two kinds of power. Saul's power is about gaining more, getting even, and becoming stronger by his own willpower.
David's power is about seeking shelter with other people who are struggling. He knows that the kind of power Saul is displaying is not what he wants. He wants the kind of power found in powerlessness. Saul is promoting his own self-interest while David is seeking God's will.
There are two types of power struggles that we all face in life. One is the struggle to gain more power, to gain more control, and to gain more respect. The other power struggle is reducing power, letting go of control, and not caring about respect.
The characteristics of a person on the struggle to gain power are: seeking revenge, jealousy, feeling threatened by other people's success, reliance on self-importance, and seeing demotion as a threat. The characteristics of a person seeking to lose power are: seeking peace, interdependence, relying on the community, God, and self, and not just self.
Which power struggle are we in today? Are we going to any length to promote ourselves and gain more control of the world and people around us? Or, are we going to any length to reduce our power and loosen our desires to control the world and people around us?
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