Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(1 Samuel 27:1) And David said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me anymore in any coast of Israel; so shall I escape out of his hand."
In the last chapter, David had just spared Saul's life a second time. Although Saul had said he would no longer seek to harm him (1 Samuel 26:21), David had true reason not to trust him. It appears here that David feared that Saul would kill him someday and that he must escape to a place where he thought Saul would not desire to pursue him. How could he believe this when God had so protected him and had promised he would be king of Israel? As happens to the best of us, our faith slips sometimes in the midst of troubles. As the father of the possessed son said to Jesus, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24), we all need supernatural divine help sometimes to have total faith. Oh, that we would learn to trust the Lord because He has always been trustworthy! Then again, could it be that this was just another of David's hiding places, that he might have always thought if he stayed where he was, Saul would surely find him and kill him, so he moved on to the next place? But again, then again, a prophet of God had told David to leave a pagan country, Moab, and go to Judah (1 Samuel 22:5), so surely God did not wish for David to go to another pagan land in which to dwell. However, as David had previously said when he blamed Saul for driving him away from his inheritance into the land of pagans serving false gods (1 Samuel 26:19), he believed he was being driven out again, and he decided to quickly escape to the land of the Philistines where he hoped Saul would not seek to pursue him.
(2) And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. (3) And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.
David and his six hundred men went to the king of Gath, Achish, the son of Maoch. He had fled to him before (1 Samuel 21:10) but he had cast him out when David feigned madness because he feared Achish. But now with his six hundred men with him, David must have appeared a safe bet; especially if he knew David to be an enemy of Saul's, he might feel better protected against Saul with David and his men in his city. So David and his wives, along with his men and their households, dwelt in Gath.
(4) And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, and he sought him no more again.
When Saul was told that David was in Gath, he did not try to go after him. Was it because he had indeed had a change of heart for David after he had spared his life twice? Or had David been wise in going there calculating that Saul would not want to pursue him there? I am certain that God would have protected him in Judah, and God through a prophet had sent him to Judah in the first place, so I don't believe it was God's will that David go to a pagan country, but it appears that God blessed and protected him, regardless.
(5) And David said to Achish, "If I have now found grace in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country that I may dwell there, for why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?" (6) Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag pertains to the kings of Judah to this day. (7) And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
David asked the king Achish to let him have a town in the country in which to dwell, rather than living in the royal city. Achish gave him Ziklag, twelve miles from Gath, which actually was originally Israelite land (Joshua 15:31) but must have come into the hands of the Philistines. But now David had it back, and it remained his at least to the writing of this account. It still makes me wonder if David had been wrong about going to a pagan land, and God blessed him anyway, or if this was a divinely inspired plan to retake some of their land. Most likely, God just used this opportunity, knowing that David would do what he did, but it would not have been His preferred will to have David live in a pagan land. David stayed with the Philistines for a year and four months.
(8) And David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, for those were of old the inhabitants of the land, as you go to Shur, even to the land of Egypt.
From Ziklag, David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, some of the old inhabitants of the land of Canaan that had not been expelled from the promised land. I can't say that I see any fault on David's part at this juncture, as God intended that these lands be possessed by the Israelites (Joshua 13).
(9) And David struck the land and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.
David struck those lands, killing everyone, man and woman, and took all the livestock, camels, and apparel, and went to Achish. According to the word of God, none of these pagan nations in the promised land were to be spared (Deuteronomy 7:2), so perhaps David felt he was finishing a job left undone. However, the Amalekites seem to have been spread far and wide, as they will rear their ugly heads again.
(10) And Achish said, "Where have you made a road today?" And David said, "Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites."
Achish asked where David had been that day. The original word "pashat" transcribed as "road" more completely meant "to strip, invade, spread out," so in that way David had made an inroad, and Achish wanted to know where. David told him that he had gone against people in the south of Judah, against the Jerahmeelites who were the descendants of Jerahmeel, the son of Hezron, the grandson of Judah, and the Kenites who were the posterity of Jethro, Moses's father-in-law. This obviously wasn't exactly true. Yes, he had been south of Judah, but not against the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites, but rather against the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites. This map borrowed from
Jesus Walk shows where David had actually been and where he told Achish he had been:
(11) And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, "Lest they should tell on us, saying, 'So did David, and so his manner all the while he dwells in the country of the Philistines.'"
David did not allow any man or woman of the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, to live, for fear that they would tell Achish what he had actually done. And of course, the king and the people would expect that to be David's behavior all the while he was in the country of the Philistines.
(12) And Achish believed David, saying, "He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant forever."
Achish believed David, supposing he had made his own people Israel to hate him, so he felt he was secure with a servant and ally in David. This made David's sin of lying all the more grievous. While Achish was a Philistine and an enemy to the Israelites, David used the king's gracious hospitality in giving him Ziklag and allowing him to stay in his country for a year and four months. That is certainly no way to make proselytes! Christians should always act Christ-like. To do otherwise is hypocritical and leaves a stain on Christianity in the eyes of non-believers. God would have certainly protected David had he stayed in Judah. At this point, I don't know of any definite negative effects of his lying, but at the very least, it had a negative impact on David's faith and closeness with his Lord and on his conscience as he later would plead with the Lord to remove from him the way of lying (Psalm 119:29).
(1 Chronicles 12:1) Now these were they who came to David to Ziklag while he kept himself close because of Saul, the son of Kish, and they among the mighty men, helpers of the war. (2) Armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left with the bow, of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.
1 Chronicles 12 tells of mighty men of war who joined David while he was at Ziklag hiding out from Saul. These men were skillful with bows and could use either hand which was an advantage to them. They were of Saul's tribe of Benjamin.
(3) The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite, (4) And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite, (5) Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite, (6) Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites, (7) And Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
It appears there were thirty Benjamite men who came to David at Ziklag even though only 23 are named. Ismaiah the Gibeonite appears to have been the commander over the thirty men. These particular men were not mentioned elsewhere in scripture, although some have the same names as others mentioned. The only exception might be Azmaveth, but he wasn't one of the men who came to David but the father of two of his sons who did.
At this point in his season of life, things seem to be going well with David. His plan had worked, and Saul no longer sought him. However, he had to lie to maintain his safety, and of course, that lie would have to be maintained for the sixteen months he lived in Gath. That would have to take a spiritual toll and cause some sort of separation from God. He had lost faith in God to protect him and bless him and had taken matters into his own hands. Probably the worst thing that could happen was that it had worked! It would keep him among his enemies, lying to have peace, separated from his people and most importantly from his Lord. Although the Lord seems to have still blessed David at this point, and perhaps even used him to conquer some territory the Israelites had failed to take, up to this point, his lack of faith and his deceits would have to take a toll and would have consequences as we will most likely see in coming chapters. God's commands are not about His being a dictator over us; they are designed to give us a perfect and peaceful life with all the blessings of the Lord. David could not enjoy perfect peace while living among the enemy and lying to cover his tracks. Only in complete faith in the protection and provision of our Lord may we find perfect joy and peace. But, as always, David's life gives us confidence that even when we sometimes fail Him, God still loves us and forgives us. Through Jesus our intercessor, He is able to still see us as pure. That's not to say that we have free reign to do as we want, but God knows our hearts, just as He knew that David was a man after His own heart, even though he often failed Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment