Friend of StrangersSample

A great Biblical hero, King David, had to flee on several occasions; there are some interesting lessons to be learned from these events:

"David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.” (1Sa 22:1)

David had recently been anointed the future king of Israel, killed Goliath, became commander of the army, defeated the Philistines, married the king's daughter, and made a covenant with the king's son, Jonathan. The future certainly looked good! But as David's success grew, King Saul became increasingly jealous of David and conspired to kill him. David went from being a celebrated hero to having to flee for his life and hide in a cave.

The word Adullam means refuge. Perhaps David found these caves when he was herding sheep as a young boy and thought he could hide there if he ever found himself in danger. Now, these caves come in handy!

While hiding in the Cave of Adullam, David wrote Psalm 142, which gives us a poignant insight into what it means to be a refugee:

"A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. 1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice, I plead for mercy to the LORD. 5I I cry to you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." (Ps 142:1, 5)

When David found himself in a life-threatening and very vulnerable situation, he began his prayer by crying out to the Lord. David opens his heart to the Lord and tells of all his troubles, that his enemies are pursuing him, and that there is no longer any refuge for him anywhere, but that he trusts God as his refuge. Finally, David asks God to deliver him from his enemies.

There is much to learn from David's prayer in a difficult situation. When we are surrounded by enemies and must flee or retreat, where do we go? We can learn from David that we can hide with the Lord and pray for His help and deliverance. In response to prayer, God sends David's family and other people in need to him and develops David into a leader.