One little sin brings many more— It pushes through the half-closed door Of careless minds and hearts; The host of other sins come, too, They find the door and scramble through. Then trouble quickly starts.
King Saul had allowed the sin of jealousy to creep into his heart. Then the sin of hate pushed its way in and threw the door wide open to the terrible sin of murder. What a wicked heart Saul carried about with him! No wonder he felt unhappy.
After David went away from Gibeah, Saul tried very hard to find him. But no one seemed to know where David had gone. No one seemed ready to help the unhappy King. Even Jonathan, the King’s son, was David’s friend.
About this time a message came to the King telling that David and a small army were living in the great cave, Adullam. Because Saul was’ seeking to kill David, he supposed at once that David was trying to kill him. “Why should he have a hand of soldiers with him if he were not trying to plan a way to take the kingdom?” reasoned the unhappy man. And Saul began to pity himself. He began to feel so sorry for himself because none of his soldiers would help him capture David.
One day while Saul sat under a tree near his palace in Gibeah he thought about his troubles and wondered what to do. He spoke to his servants and told them how distressed he felt because none of them would help him. He told them that even Jonathan had refused to defend his own rights, but was letting David have the first place in the hearts of all the people of Israel.
Doeg, the man whom Saul had appointed to be chief over all his herdmen, was there that day, and he stepped up boldly and told the King that he had seen David at the tabernacle, in Nob, talking with the high priest. He told how Ahimelech had given food to David, and also the sword that once belonged to Goliath.
Saul felt sure that Ahimelech, the high priest, had tried to help David get away to a safe hiding-place. He sent quickly for Ahimelech and for all the priests who lived at Nob, and they came wondering what service they might do for their King. They knew nothing of the whereabouts of David; they did not even know that David had run away from the King.
When the priests came, Saul called Ahimelech and spoke sharply to him. He asked why Ahimelech had given food and a weapon to an enemy of Israel.
How surprized Ahimelech was to hear these words! He answered, “Who is so faithful among all your servants as David, your own son-in-law? Does he not go wherever you send him? and is he not loved by all your people?” Ahimelech did not know that the evil spirit of jealousy had driven the King to hate David for these very reasons.
Now Saul’s anger grew fierce, and he cried, “You and all the other priests have helped David to get away from me, and you shall be punished for this act. You must die.” Saul did not stop to think that these priests were God’s men, the very ones whom God had chosen to care for the tabernacle. Even if he had thought of this he would not have checked his wicked anger. He commanded his soldiers to kill Ahimelech and all the other priests who were standing by.
But Saul’s soldiers feared God more than they feared to disobey their kicked King, and they said, “We can not kill the priests of the Lord.” Then Saul turned to his wicked servant, Doeg, and told him to kill the priests. And Doeg obeyed. Not only did he kill the priests, but he hurried away to Nob and killed every man, woman, and child whom he could find in the city.
But one of Ahimelech’s sons, named Abiathar, fled from the city and came to David, bringing the sad news of Saul’s command and the cruel way in which it had been obeyed. And David took Abiathar and kept him safely from the fate of his brothers. Afterwards Abiathar became the high priest, and he was with David through all the years of trouble until David became a very old man.