1 SAMUEL 22
It is really disheartening to see just how sick and twisted Saul became. How irrational. How unreasonable. And since Ahimelek, the high priest, had helped David (even unwittingly), "the king said, 'You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.'" (vs 16) Wow. This is a far cry from the king who refused to hurt those who spoke against him. This a complete 180—the willingness to destroy not only an innocent man, but his entire family as well.
Yet, even though Saul was, by this time, so far gone down the path of rebellion, God was still trying to get through to him: "Then the king ordered the guards at his side: 'Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.' But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord." (vs 17)
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These men defied the king’s orders right to his face. That must have floored Saul! At the very least, you might think it would have given him pause to reconsider his actions. Hmmm... perhaps I shouldn’t be so eager to strike the priests. But it didn’t seem to faze him at all. He turned right to Doeg (the Edomite) and ordered him to do the dirty work. And he did.
I’m amazed at how God is always trying to get through to us. Even when it seems that we are so far gone, He continues to give us evidence of where we’re going wrong. He never stops coming to us. He never stops talking to us. He never stops trying to get through to us!
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