And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
All Commentaries on 1 Samuel 22:2 Go To 1 Samuel 22
Bede
AD 735
When Christ stays among the humble, all the elect come down to him by humbling themselves. They come whether they are men, who are his brothers because he himself was made man, or angels, who are most of all his father’s house and the place of the dwelling of his glory. Also they come who are pressed down by the awareness of their sin and long by their bitter tears of penance to be washed and freed from their debt, that is, the debt of sin which the devil bestowed on them. With Christ as their leader, they hope to be brought into the joys of the kingdom.
“And about four hundred men joined him.” All who stand in the faith cling to the Lord, as they behave bravely, strengthen their hearts and are called to hope for, seek and obtain the realms of heaven through the teaching of the gospel. This doctrine is sealed in the most beautiful unity of the four books. The number hundred is often sought as the first fruitful number after so many preceding fruitless numbers, just as it is said that when the labors here below have been completed, God opens the entrance to the kingdom above. It is well worth noting that the events in the cave of Adullum, which we have explained as we had the strength, can be applied to the early church. Consequently they are not unbecoming to be appropriated to the state of the whole church. For whatever things have special application to our age, that is, the age of the Gentiles, have a view to the church.
