Then it happened during one of Saul's endless peregrinations that he found himself for a second time at the mercy of his hated rival.
Saul,to the end of his days,remained at heart a simple Jewish farmer.He hated cities and refused to live in a house.Whenever he could,he spent his days in the desert.Once more he left his village to enjoy the peace and quiet of the wilderness.During the afternoon when it was very hot he had fallen asleep underneath a high rock,which was often used by David when he wanted to listen to the voice of the sun and the wind,that they might tell him those strange secrets which afterwards he repeated in his songs.
Abner,a cousin of Saul and commander-in-chief of his armies,slept by his master's side.
David had seen the two men when they approached.Noiselessly he climbed down the steep path which led to the foot of the rock.He took Abner's sword and spear,and returned whence he had come.
Then he shouted:“Oh,Abner!Abner!”
When the soldier awoke,David upbraided him for his neglect of duty.The man who was called upon to protect the King allowed a casual stranger to steal his arms.He was a faithful servant indeed!And more words to that effect.
Even Saul,in the tortured agony of his stricken soul,was forced to recognise the generosity of David's heart.For a second time,David had spared his life.He now told David that he was sorry for the cruel way in which he had treated him and asked him to come back.
And so David gathered up his few belongings and returned to the court,but not for long.
Saul was steadily growing worse.After a few weeks,everything was as it had been before and it was no longer safe for David to be seen around the royal buildings.
Of course,he could have insisted upon his rights as the only truly anointed ruler of the Jews.But he knew that the days of Saul were numbered and he did not force the issue.
He went away and never saw his old enemy again.
After a while he settled down in the village of Ziklag.It belonged to Achish,the King of Gath,and was situated on the border.
Here David's position was far from pleasant.
He had a way of attracting men.He was forever surrounded by adventurous young fellows who hoped to make their fortune as his soldiers and servants.
It had been that way in the wilderness where David at one time had commanded no less than four hundred volunteers.It does not sound like a very large number to us,because we are accustomed to armies of millions,but in the eleventh century before our era,four hundred men were a formidable army,and David had been the undisputed ruler of almost an entire province and many stories of his strange exploits have survived until this day.
David seems to have hired himself out to the farmers of that neighbourhood as a sort of private policeman to protect them against robbers.At least,we know of one occasion when a certain Nabal,the Sheik of Carmel,had refused to pay him for his services.David,according to the story,was so angry at this injustice that he gathered all his men and was about to kill the entire Nabal tribe,when Abigail,the wife of Nabal,rushed forth to meet him and appeased the wrath of the great Philistine fighter with presents and fine promises.
Incidentally,when Abigail returned home,she found that her husband was in such a state of drunkenness that he could not be told of the events of that afternoon.The next morning,when he was told of the danger which he had just escaped,he had a fit,of which he died ten days later.
This left Abigail a widow.During her short interview,she made a deep impression upon David.When he heard of her husband's death,he asked her to become his wife,and she accepted.
He had apparently grown tired of Michal (Saul's daughter)for he gave her to a friend who lived in the village of Gallim,and then he married Abigail and took her to Hebron,and there a son was born to them who was called Chileab.
This new marriage,however,did not in any way settle David's other difficulties.He still had a faithful band of followers,but there was no police work to be done and it was hard to make both ends meet.And finally,the same man who a few years before had been the scourge of the Philistines was almost forced to enter their service.
It happened this way.King Achish,his host,informed him suddenly that the Philistines were going to make war upon the Jews.He,Achish,was bound by treaty to offer his help and as David enjoyed his hospitality,he expected him (David)to take part in the campaign on the side of his country's enemies.
David was at his wit's end.He gave an ambiguous answer,and sparred for time.As nothing happened,he finally marched to the Philistine camp.The Philistine commander,however,had wisely decided that help from such a source would be of very doubtful quality.He quietly allowed David to return to Ziklag and did not bother him.
When he got back he found that during his absence the village had been plundered by the Amalekites.He followed the robbers,attacked them,defeated them,killed them all (with the exception of four hundred)and once more returned to the peaceful ways of a Simeonite village.
The Philistine campaign took place as it had been planned.
It had a very unexpected result.When Saul was told of the approaching danger of a new invasion,he fell into an abysmal gloom.
He felt that the end of all things had come.
He was so desperate about the future of himself and his family,that he decided to consult a sorcerer.But all the magicians either were dead or had left the country.They had been driven away from the country by Saul's own edict.
At last,however,the King was told that there was an old witch who lived in Endor,the village near which Sisera had been murdered by Jael.
In the middle of the night (for he felt ashamed of what he was doing)Saul went to see the witch.The woman,however,was afraid to receive him.She knew the terrible punishment for sorcery and refused to open her door to the King.
Saul reassured her.