The Cave at Adullam

David sought a remote area where he might take refuge.

The cave at Adullam is thought to have been one of many located near the eastern end of the Valley of Elah, where David had met Goliath.

Several caves are so located that they may be held with a small force against large numbers of assailants. Adullam was near Bethlehem, and David knew the ground.

Shepherds had kept their flocks in this area for years and used the caves for shelter. David’s family joined him in this mountain retreat.

“The family of David could not feel secure, knowing that at any time the unreasonable suspicions of Saul might be directed against them on account of their relation to David. They had now learned—what was coming to be generally known in Israel—that God had chosen David as the future ruler of His people; and they believed that they would be safer with him, even though he was a fugitive in a lonely cave, than they could be while exposed to the insane madness of a jealous king. . . . “It was not long before David’s company was joined by others who desired to escape the exactions of the king. There were many who had lost confidence in the ruler of Israel, for they could see that he was no longer guided by the Spirit of the Lord. ‘And everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that was discontented,’ resorted to David, ‘and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.’ . . . But even in his retreat in the mountains he was far from feeling secure, for he received continual evidence that the king had not relinquished his murderous purpose.” “While in the cave of Adullam David wrote the 57th psalm, according to its heading. Recovering his faith and courage, he now expressed his confidence in God’s deliverance, even though he found himself ‘among lions: and even among . . . men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword’ (Ps. 57:4).” “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).