1 Samuel 27:8-12 – Learning to rest in God

For sixteen months, David lived among the Philistines. We are told that his reason for going there was to avoid Saul. He knew that Saul would get frustrated and stop searching for him and he was right. So David and his wives, Abigail and Ahinoam; and his 600 men settled there. David then diplomatically requested that a part of the land be specifically designated for him and his people to live and he was given Ziklag, a great distance south of Gath. We know his reason for going to live among the Philistines, and we also saw how well they were treated there. Now 1 Samuel 27:8-12 describe what they did while they were there.  

Verses 8-9 tell us that “David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt.” To be seen true to Achish, he targeted groups of people that were antagonistic towards the Philistines and not the Philistines themselves. Astonishingly, verse 9 said that he “…attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing.” David was brutal. He knew that dead men tell no tales. So he exterminated every man and woman. The groups of people he dealt with were those that the Israelites were instructed earlier to remove. Unwittingly, David was helping Israel in eradicating the enemy forces.  

When asked by Achish where he had been raiding, David would  lie and told him that he went up “Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites.” These areas that he mentioned were lands that were occupied by Judah or their allies. He lied to deceive Achish to secure his trust. He wanted to make it look as if he was going against Judah. And Achish was deceived. He believed David so he thought to himself that the way David was going, he would soon make “…himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.” Achish thought he could retain David for his service. David had successfully duped Achish.

Having read such an account, we are left struggling with some unsettling questions. Why did David do what he did? Didn’t he act righteously and faithfully earlier? Why then did he act so deceitfully here?  Well, this account is a timely reminder that though used mightily by God, David was still made of arms of flesh. He was also a man of like passion like Elijah. And like him, he too could succumb to weariness and stress and act carnally under duress. It shows us that the only trustworthy person in life  is God and we ought to always put our trust in Him. When we are weary and stressed by life, we must remember Jesus’ invitation to come to Him, to rest in Him and to learn from Him.