Day 1191: The danger of self pity - 1 Samuel 22 vs 3 -11

3-4 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7-8 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”

9-10 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, and he enquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” 11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 1 Samuel 22:3-11 English Standard Version

We're not told how long David stayed 'in the stronghold' before moving on at Gad's instruction, but we see how he made provision for his father and mother with the king of Moab. David knew they weren’t safe from Saul's hatred and wrath and perhaps remembered that Moab had been a country where Elimelech and Naomi found refuge during years of famine in Israel. Naomi's daughter-in-law, Ruth, subsequently gave birth to Obed, who fathered Jesse, and he was the father who David now left with his mother in Moab.

But David's whereabouts were made known to Saul, and we see how Saul was falling deeper and deeper into the terrible bondage of self pity. We find him sitting under a tamarisk tree, probably brooding about David. As was often the case, he had his spear in his hand! Notice how self pity plays on the emotions of others. He said to those gathered around him: “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me?” Self pity likes to transfer feelings of guilt to others.

Saul went on and said: “No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse.” He doesn't even call David by name, but refers to him only as 'the son of Jesse'. (This may show the wisdom of David taking his parents to the safety of Moab.) But what his self pity was leading to comes out in his final statement: “None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” Self pity inevitably seeks the company of others to grieve with them over imagined injustices that have come their way. Oh let us be fearful of this condition. Better to be like David, who with real injustice facing him, put his trust and his hopes in the Lord.

Yet even David hadn't been totally reliant upon God. He had been dishonest with Ahimelech the priest, and a man named Doeg had been present when David was given the sword that had belonged to Goliath. Doeg now speaks up to Saul, and Ahimelech and all his family, were called to give an account. But what it is to give an account to someone wallowing in self pity!

Let us be on our guard against self pity. The GotQuestions website says that “self pity is when we decide that life hasn't treated us as we have the right to be treated. It causes us to sulk and obsess over our hurts, real or perceived. And at the heart of self-pity, is a disagreement with God over how life - and how He - has treated us.” Let us rather praise God that He is someone who judges fairly, and mercifully. He is not peevish, or swayed by emotions.