The Wilderness of Paran

David could not be present at the burial of Samuel, but he mourned for him as deeply and tenderly as a faithful son could mourn for a devoted father.

He knew that Samuel’s death had broken another bond of restraint from the actions of Saul, and he felt less secure than when the prophet lived.

While the attention of Saul was engaged in mourning for the death of Samuel, David took the opportunity to seek a place of greater security; so he fled to the wilderness of Paran. It was here that he composed the one hundred and twentieth and twenty-first psalms.” The wilderness of Paran and the wilderness of Zin are well named.

The desert landscape stretches south from Judah into the Sinai.

Here nomads follow their flocks of sheep and goats, looking for pasture in the barren wastes. “Since the tribes inhabiting this region were predatory in nature, David would find a very cold reception as he fled to Paran, and doubtless recognized his mistake. This reception, together with the knowledge that Saul’s enmity would be more bitter after the death of Samuel, made David sense the need of definite help from on high.” Among the tablelands and the sand dunes, rainfall is scarce, and springs of water are valued like gold.

The Amalekites and Edomites both sought to control the caravan routes.

David’s men numbered only around six hundred, yet they were a formidable force that would cause raiders to think twice before attacking.

Even so, David felt the need to be constantly on guard.

With Samuel dead, David realized he needed an even closer connection with his Maker. “When death claims esteemed friends and valued counselors, then it is that men realize anew that their trust must not be placed in princes, but in the ever-living, ever-watchful Lord. Though the voice of earlier advisers seemed indispensable and the watchful warnings invaluable, they cannot be compared with the promised guidance by One who never slumbers or sleeps.” “God is as desirous of manifesting His beneficent guidance today as He was in David’s day.”