While
David was a man after God’s heart, he was also very much a man of dust in every
way. He was subjected to emotion and anxiety just like every one of us. The
record of this episode in his life affirms that the Bible describes the people
of God, their bravery as well as their failings, candidly and truthfully. It
doesn’t just tell us the positive and dismiss the negative of God’s people. The
Bible is absolutely honest and trustworthy in everything that it has recorded.
Here in 1 Samuel 27, we see a forthright portrayal of one of its greatest
characters. Here we will discover the wit of David and what he did for
self-preservation. We also see how he went to live among the Philistines
to keep Saul away. And to a certain degree, he seemed to be collaborating with
the Philistines, the enemy of God’s people. In the first four verses, we
are given the reason why he went and lived among the
Philistines.
So
far, much had happened to David. He had escaped from the hand of Saul twice.
Respecting the office of Saul, he did not kill him when the opportunities
presented themselves. Then he was prevented from shedding the innocent blood of
Nabal’s family by heeding the wise and discerning words of Abigail. In all
these, David recognized the hand of God and knew that he was protected by the
sovereign hand of the Almighty. He was sure that he had acted both righteously
and faithfully before God.
In
1 Samuel 27, David made a different decision. He decided to go and live among
the Philistines who were the enemy of Israel. Verse 1 made it clear that he did
not trust Saul to keep his word not to go after him anymore. He had to make a
plan to preserve his own life. Since he had experienced the protective hand of
God, what’s puzzling is why then did he feel so insecure? These words in verse
1 betrayed his anguish. Pandering to his anxiety, he entertained the thought
that Saul would catch up with him one day and destroy him. He felt that living among
the Philistines would be a safer place where he could hide until Saul had
become frustrated and would no longer search for him.
So
we are told in verse 2 that David and his 600 men crossed over to Achish, the
king of Gath. This cross over was not just about crossing a boundary, it
appears as if he had gone over to join forces with the Philistines. Why was
Achish so welcoming to him and his 600 men? Didn’t he even have a bit of
suspicion? Perhaps there was enough information about all that David had gone
through. The hostility that Saul had toward him could have been common news.
Achish could have adopted the common idea that the enemy of my enemy is my
friend. So he welcomed David and his wives, Abigail and Ahinoam, and
they lived among the Philistines. Though this was not a perfect arrangement, at
least he had a reprieve from Saul's relentless pursuit of him. So David has
successfully evaded Saul.
Admittedly
what he did was distasteful. Questions such as: How could a man who had
experienced the protective hand of God now choose to take matters into his own
hand? Had he pandered to his fear and anguish so much till he had lost sight of
God? We probably wouldn’t act that way, or would we? It is said that hindsight
is always 20/20. What David did serve as a call from God for us to trust Him
absolutely. There will be moments in our lives where we will be caught between
the devil and the deep blue sea. Will we stand firm and not pander to our
anguish? The question remains what would we do in life’s defining moment? We
need to trust the Lord absolutely and mustn't be too cocksure of ourselves.
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