God of the Secret, Present, Necessary Rescue
And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi. 1 Samuel 23:24–29 ESV
This section happens when David is the not-yet-king and Saul is still the shouldn’t-be-king. Saul is chasing David all over the land trying to kill him while David is laying low and hiding out with about 400 fighting men. After a period of waiting, Saul finds out where David is, sends spies to double check, and then launches a chase.
David knows he is being pursued, and leaves the camp and the hiding place he has held and moves out. He and his men have been hiding in caves, in forests, and now in a wooded mountainous area.
One can only imagine the strain that David is under. He knows he has been anointed king, he has spent time living in the King’s palace, and now he is running around in the wilderness wondering what will happen next and how his destiny will ever be fulfilled!
The events in the Bible are true, and they really happened, so to say they are symbolic of things doesn’t discount them to be a fairy tale or a parable. God used real people and events to teach His own people lessons. Several times in scripture there are people that hear from God and have a clear understanding of His call and His plan, but then the whole thing is sidetracked. Most of them end up in the wilderness for a long time! (Moses the shepherd, Jesus fasting, Paul at home for 14 years)
In this scenario, David is fleeing yet again from death by Saul, and I’m sure it feels like near miss number 400, but he doesn’t know or plan on the news about the Philistines that will make Saul flee. David can plan and strategize all he wants, but it is God who brings the rescue. Can you imagine David fleeing and then all of a sudden seeing Saul’s army run away in a different direction?
While God sometimes doesn’t act on us accomplishing the thing we want, He is daily with us, caring for us, providing for us, nurturing us right where we are. God will be with you some day when you have all these dreams and plans and yada yada, but pay attention to God right now. He loves to hang out with His kids in the wilderness.