Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(1 Samuel 29:1) Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.
In the last chapter, before Saul consulted the medium, the Philistines had been at Shunem, and Saul's troops were at Gilboa with the valley of Jezreel between them. Now it appears the Philistines had moved to Aphek, and the Israelites were camped by a fountain that was in Jezreel. This map borrowed from here was the best I could find to show these locations:
The five lords of the Philistines marched as heads of groups of hundreds and thousands of Philistine soldiers, and David and his men brought up the rear with Achish.
(3) Then the princes of the Philistines said, "What do these Hebrews?" And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to this day."
The lords of the Philistines asked Achish what the Hebrews were doing with them. The king reminded them that they were with David who had been with him for many days, in fact a year and part of another year, and he had not yet found any fault in him ever since he came to him.
(4) And the princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and the princes of the Philistines said to him, "Make this fellow return that he may go again to his place which you have appointed him and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us. For with what should he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? (5) Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying, 'Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"
The Philistine princes were angry with the king and told him to send David back to the place he had appointed for him, Ziklag, and not to let him go to battle with them. After all, they reasoned, what better way to reconcile himself to Saul than to bring him the heads of the Philistines? Wasn't this the same David of whom the people sang to one another, that Saul had killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7)?
(6) Then Achish called David, and said to him, "Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day; nevertheless, the lords do not favor you. (7) Therefore now return and go in peace, that you do not displease the lords of the Philistines."
So Achish called David to him. It's interesting to note that Achish, a pagan Philistine, spoke of the Lord as surely living. So he certainly had knowledge of the Lord. Perhaps he just wanted to swear to David by David's Lord so that he would pay greater regard to what he had to tell him. He told David that he had been upright with him in all his comings and goings ever since he first came to him until that very day. However, the Philistine princes did not favor him, so he asked David to return to his place in peace so that he did not displease them.
(8) And David said to Achish, "But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant so long as I have been with you to this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord, the king?"
Achish had already told David that he had done nothing wrong as long as he had been with him. It was very deceitful for David to push to go to battle against the enemies of the Philistines since he most assuredly would not have defended the Philistines against the Israelites, and most likely, would have killed them.
(9) And Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God; nevertheless, the princes of the Philistines have said, 'He shall not go up with us to the battle.' (10) Therefore now, rise up early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart."
Achish repeated that David had always been good in his sight, however, the lords who were also commanders in the upcoming battle, had declared David was not to go with them, so Achish told David and his men to leave at first light the next morning. Once again, Achish had spoken of God. He had been very gracious to David and had perhaps learned about David's God through David's actions. It's the way Christians ought to live so as to bring non-believers to their Lord, their only salvation. It would have been very detrimental to David's witness and testimony to be found as such a conniving deceiver. I believe that God, in His mercy, protected Achish at this moment in time from David's betrayal, and He protected David from further sinning.
(11) So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
So David hearkened to the king, and he and his men rose up early the next morning to go back to Ziklag in the land of the Philistines. The Philistines went to Jezreel where the Israelites were encamped.
(1 Chronicles 12:19) And there fell of Manasseh to David when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle, but they did not help him, for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, "He will fall to his master Saul against our heads."
Some of the tribe of Manasseh had fallen in with David when he had come with Achish and the Philistines to fight against Saul, but they had not helped him because the king and the lords of the Philistines had sent David and his men away fearing wisely that he would fall in line with Saul against them.
(20) As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh. (21) And they helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were captains in the host.
As David went back to Ziklag, more from the tribe of Manasseh fell in with him, namely Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zilthai, who were captains of the troops of thousands that were of Manasseh. There must have been two Jozabads, as that name is mentioned twice. These men went on to help David against a band of raiders that I believe speaks of a future event. These were all mighty men and were captains in David's army.
(22) For at that time, day by day, there came to David to help him until a great host like the host of God.
It seems that day by day David's army grew until it was a great army like the army of God, which it surely was, as God was undoubtedly implemental in bringing these mighty men to help David.
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