I Samuel 20:1-8

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? (KJV)

After studying the scriptures for over fifty years I realize that our own live experiences can open up the scriptures to a deeper understanding than we studied them as a young student. As I approach this study of David’s life I can now understanding the deep feelings that he expresses in his writings of the Psalms. As I study David’s live I must realize that he had deep family relationships as well as deep relationships with those in the court of Saul. Having work for twenty years for one retail company, and then twenty eight years for a school system as a support person for all the schools and working at the same time for thirteen years at another retail company I realized that you develop wonderful relationships with the people around you. I see this in David’s life.

Here in I Samuel 20 we see David fled Naioth in Ramah and returned back to Gibeah, Saul’s home base as well as David’s home. In these verses David has returned to try to understand why Saul was so intent on killing him. He meet with Jonathan to expressed his deep fear of Saul’s continual attempts on his life. Jonathan assure David that Saul would not do anything great or small without letting him know. Jonathan was sure that his father does not hide anything from him. However, David told Jonathan that Saul knew Saul wanted him dead, but hide this from Jonathan. Jonathan then agreed with David to test his father, by Jonathan supporting and giving his permission to miss the feast of the new moon. If Saul agree than all is well but if he s wroth then David’s life is in danger. This test will determine David’s future in Saul’s court.

David was probably not in Ramah when Saul was there but had return home since Saul was away. David probably heard about Saul’s behavior at Ramah but, did not trust a change of heart in his desire to kill him when Saul returned to Gibeah. So, David was probably come home to put things in order just in case he would have to leave and start his life over. Being unsure of the future can make a person uneasy around others even those to whom he has a close relationship. David must had been concern about his future at this time since we know that from this point on he would be running and hiding from Saul.