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One of the most painful of the afflictions of David (suspicion, hatred, calumny, ingratitude, etc.) was treachery, such as he experienced at the hands of some of the people of Ziph. They were men of his own tribe, had witnessed his deliverance of Keilah from the common enemy, were acquainted with his character and relations with Saul, and might have been expected to sympathise with him when he sought refuge in their territory. But "those who should have rallied around him were his enemies and betrayers." They had "a panoramic view of the country from Tell-Zif, and could see from thence David's men moving about in the desert;" went and informed the king that he was hiding himself "in strongholds in the wood (Horesh), in the hill of Hachilah (south of Tell-Zif, which is four miles southeast of Hebron), on the right hand of the desert;" urged him to come down and accomplish his desire, and promised to deliver David into his hand. This new affliction came upon him almost immediately after he had been encouraged by the visit of Jonathan, and in it we see -

I. AN EXHIBITION OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY. There can be no doubt, after what had taken place, about the motives by which they were actuated. Underneath their apparent "compassion" for Saul (ver. 21) lay hatred of David, aversion to his principles, and the "evil heart of unbelief, departing from the living God," which exists in all ages, and manifests itself in an endless variety of ways (Psalm 14.; Romans 3:10; Hebrews 3:12). It appears in -

1. Unfeeling faithlessness; indifference to the claims of close relationship, superior worth, and valuable service; deficiency of compassion for the needy and unjustly persecuted; voluntary misuse of advantages, and abuse of trust.

2. Subtle selfishness, making some temporal good its chief aim; for its sake doing injury to others, eagerly seeking the favour of the wealthy and powerful, and disguising itself under professions of loyalty and public service; running "greedily after the error of Balaam for reward" (Jude 1:11; Matthew 26:14, 15).

3. Ungodly zeal. Any one at that time in Israel who feared God more than man could not lend himself to be made a tool of Saul's blind fury. God had already manifestly enough acknowledged David" (Delitzsch). Saul knew that it was the purpose of God that David should be king (ver. 17), notwithstanding his pious language (ver. 21), and the men of Ziph participated with him in his endeavour to defeat that purpose. Their character is described in Psalm 54., 'The Divine Helper against ungodly adversaries' (see inscription): -

"O God, by thy name save me,
And in thy might judge my cause.
For strangers have risen up against me,
And violent men have sought after my life;
They have not set God before them." They were strangers "not by birth or nation, but as to religion, virtue, compassion, and humanity" (Chandler); and in calling them such "there is a bitter emphasis as well as a gleam of insight into the spiritual character of the true Israel" (Romans 2:28, 29; Romans 9:6).

II. AN EXPERIENCE OF SEVERE TRIAL often endured by good men, who "for righteousness' sake" are betrayed by false friends, and even those "of their own household" (Matthew 10:36), in whom they have put confidence. The trial -

1. Causes intense suffering; grieves more than the loss of earthly possessions, and inflicts a deeper wound than a sword (Psalm 55:12).

2. Becomes an occasion of strong temptation; to indulge a spirit of revenge, to doubt the sincerity of others, to refrain from endeavour for the general good as undeserved and vain (Psalm 116:11). But when regarded aright -

3. Constrains to fervent prayer and renewed confidence in the eternal and faithful Friend.

"O God, hear my prayer;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
Behold, God is my Helper,
The Lord is the Upholder of my soul"

(Psalm 54:2, 4)

III. A FORESHADOWING OF MESSIAH'S SUFFERINGS, for the afflictions of David on the way to the throne of Israel were ordained to be a type of "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." "He came unto his own, and his own received him not," was persecuted by the rulers of the nation, and, after escaping many treacherous designs of his enemies, was betrayed by Judas (the only Judaean among the twelve) "into the hands of sinners." And his betrayal was necessary to -

1. The completeness of his experience as the chief of sufferers.

2. The setting forth of his example of spotless holiness and quenchless love.

3. The perfection of his sympathy as the Succourer of the tempted. "It became him," etc. (Hebrews 2:10, 18). "The end of Christ's incarnation was that he might draw up into his own experience all the woes and temptations of humanity, to draw around him all the swathings of our imperfect nature, and make our wants his own, till not a cry could go up from it which had not first come into his own consciousness" (Sears). - D.

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Parallel Verses

KJV: Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?

WEB: Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, "Doesn't David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert?