1 Samuel 22

9–13 Doeg the Edomite⁸⁷ then told Saul that he had seen David come to Ahimelech at Nob (see 1 Samuel 21:7), and that Ahimelech had helped him in various ways. At once Saul concluded that Ahimelech and his family had joined David’s rebellion. He then sent for Ahimelech and his family, all of whom served as priests at Nob, and accused them of conspiracy.⁸⁸

14–17 Ahimelech defended David before Saul; he also assured the king that he had no knowledge of any conspiracy. (This was true; David had told him nothing.) But Saul would not listen. He ordered his men to kill Ahimelech and his family. Saul’s men, however, refused; they were not willing . . . to strike the priests of the LORD (verse 17).

18–19 Doeg, on the other hand, was more than willing; being an Edomite, he had no qualms about killing Israel’s priests. He not only killed Ahimelech and the family members with him—all of them priests who wore the linen ephod⁸⁹—but he then went to Nob and killed everyone else living there, including their animals!

In this horrible manner, the earlier prophecy given by the man of God against the house of Eli was fulfilled (1 Samuel 2:27–33); Ahimelech was Eli’s grandson (1 Samuel 14:3). However, the final fulfillment of the prophecy was still to come; one member of Ahimelech’s family escaped Doeg’s sword (verse 20).

20–23 Abiathar, one of Ahimelech’s sons, somehow escaped and fled to join David. Abiathar would serve as high priest during all of David’s reign. Only after David’s death would Abiathar be removed from office by King Solomon and replaced with the faithful priest concerning whom the man of God had prophesied (1 Samuel 2:35–36; 1 Kings 2:35).

In this way God provided David with a priest who could “inquire of the Lord” for him and thus provide David with divine guidance. Abiathar had brought the high priest’s ephod with him (1 Samuel 23:6), and using the Urim and Thummim he would inquire of the Lord many times on David’s behalf (1 Samuel 23:2,4,9; 30:7–8). So now the future king and the future high priest were fellow outlaws together. Because David felt responsible for the massacre of Abiathar’s family, he was more than happy to take Abiathar into his band and provide for his protection.

David was indeed ultimately responsible for the murder of those eighty-five priests; it was because of his lies to Ahimelech that the priest did not realize what he was doing when he assisted David. Yet David was always ready to confess his sins, as he did on this occasion to Abiathar (verse 22). This readiness to confess sin was a hallmark of David’s life. Yes, he sinned many times, but he always confessed. Surely this was one of the main reasons he was a man after [God’s] own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 7:22).