1 Samuel 22:5-23

And the prophet Gad said unto David.

A friend and a foe

I. The visit of Gad the seer. David had been brought very low through his own mistakes. God proved him in the hold. Then He sent to him. Wherever you are, wait for a message from God before you move,

II. Saul’s appeal to his servants. No one answered it but the alien Doeg. Notice, Herod was an Edomite. The race always conspicuous for hatred to Israel. What circumspection is necessary in God’s children! Always a Doeg looking on! (Exodus 23:13; 1Pe 2:12; 1 Peter 2:15.) False witness, often nearly true. “A lie that is half a truth is ever the worst of lies” (Mark 14:55; Matthew 26:61). Built on supposition (Acts 21:27).

III. “God fulfils Himself in many ways.” The massacre of Nob, though unjustifiable in Saul, was God’s sentence on Eli’s house (1 Samuel 3:12; Isaiah 5:7, etc.)

IV. Security with david (1 Samuel 22:23). This was beautiful faith. The outcast promising protection because the Lord was with him. He was willing to protect him with his life. So was Jesus. He was not only willing, but He did it (1 John 3:8; 1 John 3:16). (R. E. Faulkner.)