When by the jealousy of Saul driven a fugitive into the wilderness, David, cut off from human support, leaned more heavily upon God. The uncertainty and unrest of the wilderness life, its unceasing peril, its necessity for frequent flight, the character of the men who gathered to him there,--"everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that was discontented" (1 Samuel 22:2),--all rendered the more essential a stern self-discipline. These experiences aroused and developed power to deal with men, sympathy for the oppressed, and hatred of injustice. Through years of waiting and peril, David learned to find in God his comfort, his support, his life. He learned that only by God's power could he come to the throne; only in His wisdom could he rule wisely. It was through the training in the school of hardship and sorrow that David was able to make the record--though afterward marred with his great sin--that he "executed judgment and justice unto all his people." 2 Samuel 8:15.

Da David på grund af Sauls skinsyge blev jaget ud i ørkenen som flygtning, var han afskåret fra menneskers bistand og støttede sig mere inderligt til Gud. Usikkerheden og uroen under tilværelsen i ørkenen, den ustandselige fare, nødvendigheden af ofte at måtte flygte, de mænds karakter, som samledes om ham der»alle slags mennesker, som var i nød, ..... forgældede mennesker og folk, som var bitre i hu,« (1Sam. 22,2) alt dette gjorde en streng selvtugt til en nødvendighed. Disse erfaringer vækkede og udviklede evnen til at omgås mennesker, medfølelse med de undertrykte og had til uretfærdighed. I de år, hvor David ventede og var udsat for fare, lærte han at finde sin trøst, sin støtte og sit liv i Gud. Han lærte, at han kun ved Guds magt kunne bestige tronen; at han kun ved hjælp af hans visdom kunne herske viist. Det var gennem oplæringen i modgangens og sorgens skole, at David blev i stand til at få dette ry skønt det senere blev skæmmet ved hans store synd at han»øvede ret og retfærdighed mod hele sit folk.« 2Sam. 8,15.