Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 23:25-29
David And His Men Have A Near Escape In The Wilderness of Maon (1 Samuel 23:25).
When intelligence reached Saul that David was now in the wilderness of Maon it probably caused him similar delight to when he had heard that he was trapped in Keilah, for he would know that the Wilderness of Maon provided little cover. Thus he would consider that if he moved quickly he would be able to take him. Humanly speaking David may have made one of his rare tactical mistakes by taking his men there, for it left them open to discovery, but of course in amelioration we must remember that he was running out of places to hide. The probably unexpected activities of the Ziphites had made things very difficult for him. What had been a safe hiding place had suddenly become a trap and a snare. What it was to prove in the end, however, was that YHWH was still with him, for when he came to the end of himself God stepped in. And it must be seen as ironic that the coming king of Israel who would finally destroy the power of the Philistines, was, (looking at it from a human point of view), saved from destruction by a Philistine invasion of Israel!
Analysis.
a And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David, which was why he came down to the Rock (sela), and abode in the wilderness of Maon (1 Samuel 23:25 a).
b And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon (1 Samuel 23:25 b).
c And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain, and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul (23:26a).
d For Saul and his men surrounded David and his men round about to take them (1 Samuel 23:26 b).
c But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, “Hurry yourself and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land” (1 Samuel 23:27).
b So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:28 a).
a Therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth (the rock of slipperiness or smoothnesses). And David went up from there, and dwelt in the natural strongholds (hillside caves) of Engedi (1 Samuel 23:28).
Note that in ‘a' David came down to the Rock (sela), and abode in the wilderness of Maon, and in the parallel as a result of what happened that rock was called the Rock (sela) of slipperiness, and David dwelt in the caves of Engedi. In ‘b' Saul pursued after David, and in the parallel Saul ceased pursuing after David. In ‘c' David was hastening to get away because of his fear of Saul, and in the parallel Saul was told to hasten for fear of the Philistines. Centrally in ‘d' is the fact that for the first time Saul almost had David in his grasp (only to be thwarted once again).
‘And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David, which was why he came down to the Rock (sela), and abode in the wilderness of Maon.'
Learning of the activities of the Ziphites and that Saul was coming with an army to find him David made for the wilderness of Maon south of the Dead Sea, where he knew of ‘the Rock', a large rocky eminence which would provide them with some kind of protection and cover, and could be defended. He no doubt hoped that once the Ziphites knew that he had gone they would forget about him and no longer help Saul. It was a slim hope but the only one that he seemed to have left.
‘And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.'
Saul, however, learned where he had gone and continued to pursue after him, confident that this time David would not escape his clutches. No doubt recognising that the Rock was one of the few places where David and his men could have taken refuge he and his army made for it.
‘ And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain, and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men round about to take them.'
David's lookouts had no doubt seen Saul and his army coming, so he moved his men to the other side of the Rock (a rocky eminence). But his heart must have sunk, for it would look as though at last they were approaching a final showdown. He would have had no doubt that his men would give a good account of themselves, but the question was, would it be enough against an army of the size that Saul had brought? He did not want to take the risk. As a good general he knew his men's limitations.
“For fear of Saul.” It is doubtful if David was actually afraid, for he would know that YHWH was with him. This ‘fear' is rather speaking of the awareness of a general for the difficult position his troops find themselves in so that he fears for their welfare and is making every effort to extract them from it, however hopeless it might seem. He was probably enjoying the excitement, but every nerve was strained. And how desperately he must have been praying.
But as he and his men moved round the cliff paths on their side of the Rock it must have looked more and more as though they would have to make a last stand, for part of the army of Saul were climbing the cliff paths on the other side, while the remainder had moved out to encircle the Rock where they were in hiding. The enemy were closing in and there seemed no way of escape. All they could do was make a last brave stand. Some might escape, but a lot of men would die.
‘ But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, “Hurry yourself and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” '
And then the miracle happened. The ram's horns sounded and to his surprise David recognised that they were signalling not the final charge but the call to assemble. And at that signal Saul's army ceased its steady and wary approach on the Rock, and began to muster and move away before their very eyes, leaving them looking at each other in wonderment. They did not know what had caused it, but the explanation was humanly speaking quite simple. A messenger had arrived with the urgent news of a Philistine invasion, with the result that Saul and his army were needed immediately to deal with it. Even a dictatorial Saul could not ignore a call like that when the facts were known to his commanders. The Philistines were always the prime enemy. So David would have to wait. We can imagine the chagrin in Saul's heart. In his view he had ‘almost had him'. But perhaps there was relief too? For who knew what David, who had won so many battles against the odds in the past, might have accomplished? It was an unknown quantity, and the Rock would certainly not have been easy to take against trained hill fighters with their backs to the wall.
David, however, would have known what it all meant, for as Jonathan had said at their earlier meeting in the wilderness, ‘the hand of Saul my father will not find you'. Thus he knew that it was YHWH Who had been watching over them and had delivered them at the last moment.
‘So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines.'
So as a result of the call of duty Saul returned from his hopeless task of pursuing the man whom YHWH did not want caught, and went against the Philistines. At least he could comfort himself with the thought that YHWH was not on the Philistines' side (even if He had used them in order to deliver David).
‘Therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth (the rock of slipperiness, or of smoothnesses).'
And the Rock where it all happened was given a new name. It was called ‘the rock of smoothnesses' or ‘slipperiness', because of the smooth way in which David and his men had slipped away from capture.
‘ And David went up from there, and dwelt in the natural strongholds (hillside caves) of Engedi (1 Samuel 23:29).'
David and his men then made for the caves of Engedi, which looked out from the limestone rock cliffs over the barren western bank of the Dead Sea. That barren and desolate area, (save only for the oasis of Engedi itself where there were palm trees and vineyards), was not a place that men frequented. And its multiplicity of caves mad it easier to hide in.