Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 22

The prophet Gad

1 Samuel 22:5

Gad and Nathan were the two most important prophets during David’s rule. A prophet was a holy man who spoke messages from God.

David was himself a prophet (Acts 2:29-30). He therefore respected very much the prophets whom God had sent to him. He listened carefully to their messages; he obeyed the instructions that God gave him by means of them.

1 Samuel 22:5 is the first mention of Gad in the Bible. Probably, he was one of the men who joined David at Adullam. Perhaps Gad went there because, like David, he had to escape from King Saul. Gad may have spoken a message from God that Saul disliked.

David could have stayed in the caves near Adullam for many years. It was a safe place. However, God told him, by means of the prophet Gad, to go further into Judah. So David found another safe place in the forest there. It was probably not far from Adullam because Keilah (23:1) is in the same region as Adullam.

Gad continued to serve as a prophet during much of David’s rule. In 2 Samuel 24:11-14, Gad declared David’s punishment after David counted Israel’s men. David’s action had been wrong, against God. In 2 Samuel 24:18, Gad directed David to the place where the temple (God’s house) would be. We learn from 2 Chronicles 29:25 that, with David and Nathan, Gad arranged the music for the temple.

1 Chronicles 29:29 tells us that the prophets Samuel, Gad and Nathan wrote the records of David’s life. That is, Samuel wrote the first part of the records. Then Gad wrote the next part. Finally, Nathan wrote the last part; he continued to serve as a prophet during the beginning of Solomon’s rule.

Next part: Saul’s speech (1 Samuel 22:6-8)

 

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© 2014, Keith Simons.