When We Call Out, God Shows Up

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” 9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.” – 1 Samuel 30:7-15  ESV

David had returned home to Ziklag to find it had been plundered and all the women and children taken captive by the Amalekites. With all that had happened over the last few days, David’s men were fed up with his leadership and threatened to stone him. Yet, in the middle of a potential revolt, “David drew strength from the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:7 NET). With his wives missing and his life threatened by his own men, David turned to God for help. This was not the first time David sought God’s will in a matter, but more recently, he had tended to make decisions without God’s input. That’s how he and his men ended up living in Ziklag, a city in the middle of Philistine territory. David had fled to Philistia to escape Saul’s ongoing pursuit. But there is no indication that David sought or received God’s approval to live among the enemies of Israel.

Yet, when the time came and David found himself between a rock and a hard place, he cried out and God heard. When he ran out of options and had no more tricks up his sleeve, he turned to God and found his heavenly Father to have a receptive ear and a heart willing to step into the mess David had created. All David had to do was reach the end of himself and cry out to the one who was willing and capable of doing something about his predicament: Jehovah.

There is something about despair that makes us more dependent upon God. Our moments of helplessness and hopelessness tend to drive us to God and play a big part in releasing His faithfulness. He is always ready, willing, and able to save His people, but it requires that we call out to Him. We are reminded of this fact in the story of God’s rescue of the people of Israel when they were living as slaves in Egypt.

Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. – Exodus 2:23-25 NLT

I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. – Exodus 3:7 NLT

I have seen. I have heard. I am aware.

Those three statements from God should create a sense of relief and calm in us as we recognize His care and concern for His people. Nothing happens in or around our lives that God does not see. When we cry out, He always hears, and there is nothing we can tell Him of which He is not fully aware. Our prayers are not meant to inform God of our predicament but to invite His involvement.

God knew what David was facing. He was completely aware of the problem David had created for himself and already had a plan in place to deal with it. So when David sought God’s guidance, he received it. Using the Urim and Thummim, which were kept in the high priest’s ephod, David sought God’s input, asking him two questions:

“Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” – 1 Samuel 30:8 NLT

First, David wanted to know if he was to pursue the Amalekites and secondly, if he did, would he find success in catching them. And God gave him the green light.

“Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” – 1 Samuel 30:8 NLT

Not only would David catch them, but he would recover everything they took, including all the women, children, livestock, and loot they had plundered. God was going to bless David – despite David. God would rescue David from the pit he had dug for himself and assuage the anger and resentment of David’s men. All David had to do was draw strength from the Lord. He had to place his hope in and seek his help from the Jehovah.

This would be yet another valuable life lesson for David and contribute to his ongoing education regarding the power and presence of God. He would later turn what he  learned into beautiful words of praise.

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
    yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
    my cry to him reached his ears. – Psalm 18:6 NLT

The following words from Psalm 18 could have been penned as a direct result of this very circumstance in David’s life.

I chased my enemies and caught them;
    I did not stop until they were conquered.
I struck them down so they could not get up;
    they fell beneath my feet.
You have armed me with strength for the battle;
    you have subdued my enemies under my feet. – Psalm 18:37-39 NLT

God is always there when we call. The problem is that we don’t call on Him enough. We tend to try and solve our problems on our own. We tend to doubt that God can or will intervene on our behalf. Somehow we convince ourselves to believe that our solution will be just as effective as anything He comes up with. But when we finally reach the point where our circumstances cause us to give up and cry out, God hears and answers. And when He does, we end up singing His praises just like David did.

The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
    May the God of my salvation be exalted! – Psalm 18:46 NLT

God has a habit of showing up when we call out. He wants to rescue and redeem. He desires to shower His children with His blessings and poor out His grace and mercy on their behalf. David had tried living according to his own faulty plans; now he was ready to rely upon the Lord. God had a plan for David's life and as soon as David let go of his agenda, God was ready to implement His.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the LORD. – Jeremiah 29:11-14 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Oh, the Tangled Webs We Weave

1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. – 1 Samuel 30:1-6  ESV

In his epic poem, Marmion, Sir Walter Scott first penned the now-famous words: “Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” No other story reflects the veracity of those words quite like the one recorded in 1 Samuel 30. In this chapter, David and his men return to their home base at Ziklag after having been sent home by King Achish. Undoubtedly, David felt relieved after having narrowly escaped going to war against his own people as an ally of the Philistines. For over a year, David had managed to convince the Philistine king that he and his men had been occupying their time in Ziklag by attacking the enemies of the Philistines. In reality, they had been raiding the enemies of Israel.

David never should have been in Philistia in the first place. He had received no direction from God to take his two wives along with all his men and their families and seek refuge among the dreaded Philistines. But he had, and now his life of deception came back to haunt him as he encountered a less-than-happy reception on his return home.

David and his men discovered that their town had been raided by Amalekites while they were away. Believing that their wives and children would be safe, David and his men had mustered for battle, under the pretense of aiding the Philistines in their war against the Israelites. It is doubtful that David would have raised his sword against Saul or his kindred. More likely, he and his men would have turned against the Philistines as soon as the battle started, but his presence on the battlefield would have exposed him to the wrath of Saul, his mortal enemy.

David’s rejection by the Philistines had been a godsend. He was given a divine reprieve by God and allowed to go home without having to risk his life and reputation in a battle between Israel and the Philistines. But what he found when he arrived home was devastating. Ziklag had been burned to the ground and every person in it had been taken captive by the Amalekites, including David’s two wives. But David was not the only one to suffer loss. Each of his men returned to find their families had been taken captive and they blamed David. It was all his fault.

It’s likely that these loyal servants of David had questioned the wisdom of his plan to hide among the Philistines. When David mustered them to join the Philistines in a battle against their own people, these same men must have grumbled and complained about David’s poor decision-making. But upon returning home and finding their loved ones missing, their frustration reached a breaking point. We’re told that “they wept until they could weep no more” (1 Samuel 30:4 NLT). Then their sadness turned to anger.

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. – 1 Samuel 30:6 NLT

David had been in difficult circumstances before, but nothing quite like this. His two wives were gone, and his men wanted to stone him. Things could not have gotten much worse, and all of it was David’s doing. He had been the architect behind this fiasco. It had been his decision to seek refuge among the Philistines. It had been his idea to use his base in Ziklag to launch raids against the enemies of Israel. He may have fooled King Achish, but he obviously had not fooled the Amalekites. When they saw David and his men march off to battle, they took the opportunity to raid and sack Ziglag. This was payback for all the deadly raids conducted by David’s men in Amalekite territory. Chapter 27 records how David and his 600 fighting men had left a wake of destruction and death as they raided the villages of their enemies, including the Amalekites.

Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. – 1 Samuel 27:8-9 ESV

In attacking the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, David had been carrying out the will of God. He was doing the very thing God had commanded the Israelites to do when He gave them the land of Canaan. Upon their entrance into the land God had promised as their inheritance, they were to completely destroy all the existing inhabitants. But why? Because God knew that if they failed to do so, the Israelites would succumb to the influence of these pagan nations. The inhabitants of Canaan were not only idolatrous and immoral but they were powerful. Their continued presence in the land would become a constant threat to Israel’s physical safety and spiritual purity. God’s command to eradicate them was to keep the Israelites from becoming like them. However, the Israelites failed to do what God commanded them to do.

But while David’s attacks against the Amalekites had been in line with God’s earlier command to cleanse the land of its pagan occupants, there is no indication that God commanded David to carry out his raids from the safety of his headquarters in Ziklag. David was attempting to do God’s will his own way. He had been trying to remain faithful to God while, at the same time, failing to trust God to keep him safe in the land of Judah. Like Abraham seeking relief from the famine by seeking refuge in Egypt, David discovered that making plans apart from God’s input always produces unsatisfactory and uncomfortable consequences.

Facing the loss of his two wives and the wrath of his 600 men, David could have allowed his emotions to get the best of him and marched off in an anger-infused search for the Amalekites. As a man of action, David must have been tempted to assuage his men’s anger by ordering an attack against their enemies but instead, it states that “David found strength in the Lord his God (1 Samuel 30:6 NLT).

This is a key moment in David’s life. During one of the most difficult moments of his life, David turned to God. The Hebrew word translated “strength” is chazaq and it carries the idea of encouragement or finding courage. Devastated by the news of his wives’ capture and facing a mutiny among his men, David found courage by turning to God. He had made a mess of his life, but he knew he could turn to God for strength, support, and the boldness he would need to handle the situation. With his men seeking to stone him, David sought solace and strength in God, and he would learn a valuable, life-changing lesson from this experience. This watershed moment in David’s life would have a lasting impact and instill in him a growing dependence upon God. Years later, that same Hebrew word, chazaq, would appear in some of David’s psalms.

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong [chazaq], and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord! – Psalm 27:14 ESV

Be strong [chazaq], and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the Lord! – Psalm 31:24 ESV

We can weave some very tangled webs in our lives. Like David, we have the unique capacity to get ourselves in all kinds of predicaments, through disobedience to God’s will or our stubborn insistence on self-sufficiency. It is so easy to leave God out of our decision-making and then wonder how things got so screwed up. But in those moments of confusion and weakness, we must follow David’s example. Rather than making matters worse by taking matters into our own hands, we must turn to God. We must recognize Him as our sole source of strength, comfort, encouragement, and courage.

David could have easily followed up one bad decision with another one. He could have begun scheming and planning, trying to figure out how to get himself out of the jam he had created. But instead, he turned to God. He found strength in the Lord his God. Despite all David’s mistakes and miscues, he knew he could depend upon God. David was confident that God would come through and prove Himself faithful yet again. Only God could untangle the web that David had weaved. David had chosen to rely upon deceit and deception rather than divine guidance and, yet, God would graciously clean up his mess and provide him with the courage he needed to face his fears and fight the battles ahead.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Self-Delusion of Self-Preservation

1 Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. 2 As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, 3 the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? 5 Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. 7 So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” 8 And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.” 11 So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel. – 1 Samuel 29:1-11  ESV

While Saul was busy consulting with a witch, David was consorting with the enemy. According to 1 Samuel 27:7, David had been living in the land of Philistia for 16 months, and he had pulled it off by living a lie. He had deceived King Achish into believing he had turned his back on Israel and had chosen to join forces with the Philistines. Evidently, David had been convincing. If there had been an Academy Awards that year, David would have won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Drama. He had completely fooled Achish into believing he was a faithful friend and ally. David’s performance had left Achish fully convinced and willing to defend him to the rest of the Philistine commanders.

“This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.” – 1 Samuel 29:3 NLT

Even after Achish heard the concerns of his fellow officers, he refused to buy into their fears and expressed to David his unwavering confidence in his faithfulness.

“I swear by the Lord that you have been a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with me into battle, for I’ve never found a single flaw in you from the day you arrived until today” – 1 Samuel 29:6 NLT

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re as perfect as an angel of God.” – 1 Samuel 29:9 NLT

But while David’s performance had been convincing, it didn’t come without a cost. The longer he stayed in Philistia and kept up his ruse, the more dangerous his predicament would become. It was only a matter of time before David found himself in the awkward and unenviable spot of having to display his true colors. He couldn’t keep up this charade forever. In time, the nations of Israel and Philistia would find themselves at war and David would be caught in the middle. That is exactly the scenario recorded in chapter 29.

The Philistines had gathered all their troops to do battle with the Israelites. King Achish and his men arrived at Aphek on Philistia’s northern border with Israel. Bringing up the rear of his column was none other than David and his 600 fighting men. The significance of this moment is monumental. Here is David, the God-appointed, Spirit-anointed future king of Israel, riding among the forces of the Philistines, one of the greatest enemies of the people of God. This was no longer one of David’s cleverly disguised raids against Israelite enemies (see 1 Samuel 27:8-12). An all-out war between the Israelites and the Philistines was about to take place and David would have to make a decision. Would he fight with the Philistines and risk the wrath of God? Or would he do exactly what the Philistine commanders feared and turn against them in battle and become their adversary (1 Samuel 29:4)?

Without reading ahead, it’s easy to assume that David would have chosen the latter path. After all, he had passed up two opportunities to raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:6; 1 Samuel 26:9); so why would he suddenly change course and wield his sword against God’s chosen people?

If he did, he would find himself facing two foes: Achish and Saul. For the last 16 months, Saul had abandoned his hunt for David but his hatred for him remained undiminished. He most likely believed David was a traitor who hoped to steal the crown of Israel with the aid of the Philistines. So, if Saul met David on the battlefield, he would see him as an enemy, no matter which side he chose to fight for.

David was in a predicament. His plan to escape Saul’s wrath by living among the Philistines seemed like the logical thing to do at the time, but it appears that he made his decision without input from God. There is no indication that God directed David’s actions or ordered his escape into Philistine territory. Now David was faced with the inevitable consequences of his Godless decision. But while David had left God out of his plan, God had not left David. The Almighty may not have approved of David’s strategy, but He was committed to David’s well-being and future.

Despite David’s actions, God knew David’s heart. Years earlier, when Samuel the prophet was surveying the sons of Jesse looking for the next king of Israel, God told him, “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:9 NLT). While David’s decision-making may have been suspect, his motivation was not, and God knew it.

David had been trying to do the right thing. He was still a faithful servant and all the while he lived in Philistia, he continued to fight against the enemies of Israel. But his self-inspired strategy for self-preservation produced a less-than-ideal outcome that only the sovereign hand of God could resolve.

As David and his men arrived at the Philistine camp at Aphek, the other Philistine lords were furious that Achish had brought this former Israeli commander and his men into battle with them. They questioned his reasoning and intelligence. Who in his right mind would allie himself with the man who killed the Philistine champion, Goliath? And, to make matters worse, Achish was the king of Gath, the hometown of Goliath. Yet here he was riding into camp with the man who had songs written about his military exploits against the Philistines.

Their disagreement with Achish’s decision was unanimous and unwavering.

“Send him back to the town you’ve given him!” they demanded. “He can’t go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by handing our heads over to him?” – 1 Samuel 29:4 NLT

They saw David as a threat and Achish as a fool. To them, everything about this scenario was wrong and David had to go. Outnumbered and unable to defend his decision, Achish reluctantly gave in to their demands. Always the performer, David reacted with surprise when Achish ordered him and his men to return to Ziklag.

“What have I done to deserve this treatment?” David demanded. “What have you ever found in your servant, that I can’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?” – 1 Samuel 29:8 NLT

It’s interesting to note that David used similar words when questioning Saul’s unjust treatment of him.

“Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true.” – 1 Samuel 24:9-10 NLT

“Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime?” – 1 Samuel 26:18 NLT

David couldn’t understand why Saul was out to kill him. But he knew exactly why the Philistines were suspicious of his motivation and worried about his allegiance. Ever the dedicated thespian, David feigned surprise and did his best to act offended by the assertions of the Philistine commanders.

But in reality, this was the best thing that could have happened to David and his men. God had intervened and spared them from having to go into battle. At the very last minute, God stepped in and providentially protected David from the mess he had created. But as the next chapter will reveal, God’s timely rescue of David would not prevent him from experiencing the fruit of his godless decision-making. David had determined to make plans without God’s input and he would have to suffer the consequences. God protected David from having to go into battle with the Philistines, but David would not escape the discipline of God.

God had plans for David that included the years he spent hiding and wandering in the wilderness. God could have put David on the throne the very day Samuel anointed him, but David was not yet ready to be king; he needed to be prepared for the role. He had to learn the lessons God had for him, and a big part of God’s preparation for David would be found in his failure to trust God.

His tendency to make decisions without God’s input would teach him the danger of autonomy in the life of the servant of God. Decisions made apart from God will never result in the blessings of God. Trying to do God’s will his own way would never produce God’s results. This phase of David’s life would provide yet another valuable opportunity for him to learn to trust God, rather than himself.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” – 1 Samuel 28:1-7  ESV

The last few chapters have featured a series of repetitive encounters between Saul and David, providing a stark contrast between the lives of the two men. The back-and-forth nature of the narrative repeatedly shifts the focus from one man to the other, revealing aspects of their lives that set them apart. One minute we’re given a look into the life of David, and then the scene shifts to that of Saul. Sandwiched in between were two awkward face-to-face encounters between the two men in which David had been given the opportunity to take Saul's life but refused to do so.

In this chapter, the two men appear together but not physically. The opening verses of the chapter provide a brief but sobering look into what happens when someone decides to disobey God and take matters into their own hands. While the author has gone out of his way to contrast David and Saul, this preface to chapter 28 appears to make both men responsible for the events about to unfold. Both men have created unnecessary and uncomfortable circumstances for themselves because they have chosen to disobey God.

David is living with the Philistines. Granted, his troops and their families occupy the city of Ziklag, in a more remote area within Philistia but they are still considered vassals or servants of the Philistine king, Achish. In fact, because of David’s deception, King Achish had the false impression that David and his 600 men were actually fighting against Israel on his behalf. Where would he have gotten such an idea? From David himself. Each time David and his troops went on a raid, they would attack the enemies of Israel. But when they returned, they would report to Achish that they had been raiding areas within Judah (1 Samuel 27:8-12). So Achish believed that David, because of Saul, had switched his loyalties and was now a faithful servant of the Philistines.

David must have considered himself some kind of genius. By moving to Philistia, he had escaped the constant pursuit of Saul and found a safe haven from which to continue his attacks against the enemies of Israel. David’s plan seems to have turned out well, but his reliance upon deception was about to blow up in his face because the inevitable happened. The Israelites declared war on the Philistines and King Achish demanded that David and his men accompany him in battle against the Israelites.

King Achish told David, “You and your men will be expected to join me in battle.” – 1 Samuel 28:1 NLT

The dream scenario David had created was about to turn into a nightmare. If he refused to fight alongside the Philistines, King Achish would question his loyalty and, perhaps, renege on his offer of hospitality and protection. Worse yet, the king might realize that David had been deceiving him all along and turn against him.

If David agrees to fight with the Philistines, he will be forced to attack his own people and forfeit any right to the crown of Israel. Maintaining his cover in Philistia would require David to be a traitor to his people. So, in the heat of the moment, David gave Achish an ambiguous commitment.

“Very well!” David agreed. “Now you will see for yourself what we can do.” – 1 Samuel 28:2a NLT

David is forced to continue his deception of King Achish, delaying the inevitable decision he must make. The king assumes that he has David’s full support and allegiance and gives him a promotion.

Then Achish told David, “I will make you my personal bodyguard for life.” – 1 Samuel 28:2b NLT

David, who once served as the personal bodyguard of King Saul, now finds himself offering his services to the king of the Philistines (1 Samuel 22:14). Imagine David’s embarrassment at having to try and explain this promotion to his men. This was a predicament to end all predicaments. David was between a rock and a hard place and it was all his fault; he had no one to blame but himself.

What about Saul? He faced a war against the Philistines and was missing one of his best warriors and 600 of his most battle-hardened soldiers – all because he had chosen to make David and his men outlaws. His obsessive attempt to take David’s life had forced David to switch sides (or so Saul had concluded). In addition, Saul was operating without the aid of a prophet of God because Samuel was dead. To make matters worse, God had removed His Spirit from Saul, leaving him without divine direction. He was a king without a Sovereign to whom he could turn for help and guidance. But this didn’t prevent Saul from attempting to seek God’s help.

When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. – 1 Samuel 28:5-6 NLT

God had gone silent, the prophet was dead, David was AWOL, the Israelites were vastly outnumbered, and Saul was scared out of his wits. But this desperate situation had been of his own making. He is the one who disobeyed God and failed to wipe out the Amalekites. He is the one who refused to wait for the prophet and offered sacrifices to God in direct disobedience to the law of God. He is the one who refused to accept God’s decree for David to be the next king of Israel. Instead, he had repeatedly attempted to take David’s life. Now David had sided with the enemy and Saul was facing consequences that were a direct result of his disobedience and poor decision-making. Like David, Saul found himself between a rock and a hard place, and in a last-gasp attempt to solve his predicament, he would make one more ungodly decision he would live to regret.

Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” – 1 Samuel 28:7 NLT

Because God refused to answer him, Saul decided to turn to a witch for help. His desperate need for guidance drove him to disobey the will of God. Saul knew what he was doing was wrong because God had clearly communicated His policies concerning witchcraft and the occult.

“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” – Leviticus 20:6 ESV

“There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead,  for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 18:10-12 ESV

Saul had even banned from the land of Israel “all mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead” (1 Samuel 28:3 NLT). But, as Saul felt the walls closing in on him, he denied his own edict and disobeyed the command of God.

Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.”

His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.” – 1 Samuel 28:7 NLT

Two men. Two different circumstances. But both found themselves in a predicament of their own making and all because of their disobedience to God. Rather than seeking and submitting to the will of God, they had determined to take matters into their own hands. Now they were faced with the consequences of their Godless decision making. Thomas L. Constable provides us with a sobering summary of what is going on here.

“This whole pericope illustrates that, when opposition from ungodly people persists, God’s people should continue to pray and trust Him for protection rather than taking matters into their own hands. If we initiate a plan without seeking God’s guidance, we may remove one source of aggravation and danger only to find ourselves in another. Such plans may result in some good, but they may also put us in situations where we find it even more tempting to disobey God (cf. Jacob). We should, instead, remember God’s promises (e.g., 1 Pet. 1:3-9; 2 Pet. 1;2-4) and pray for His guidance (cf. Phil. 4:6-7). – Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on 1 Samuel, 2009 Edition

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where There’s a Will, There’s God’s Way

1 Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 So David arose and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow. 4 And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

8 Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. 9 And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.” 11 And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.” – 1 Samuel 27:1-12  ESV

David was human. He was a flesh-and-blood man who had a sinful nature like anyone else and had to constantly struggle with his own inner fears, feelings of doubt, and the nagging questions regarding his fate. David loved God and wanted to be obedient to His will but he was also driven by an innate desire to stay alive. And the longer his feud with Saul continued, the more he must have struggled to believe that God would make him king one day.

This chapter provides a glimpse into one of David’s weaker moments. The text never mentions God and at no time is David shown to be seeking the will of God. In fact, it would appear that David’s decision to find refuge in the land of the Philistines was made without any input from God. He might have received well-meaning advice from his men but his choice to seek refuge among the Philistines does not appear to be God-ordained. It seems unlikely that God would have instructed David to return to Gath, the very place where he had been forced to feign madness just to save his life (1 Samuel 21:10-14). That far-from-flattering moment in David’s life had been a poor decision and an unmitigated disaster that almost ended in his death.

Yet, in an attempt to escape the wrath of King Saul, David makes the same mistake again and heads to the land of the Philistines. Not only that, he returns to Gath, the scene of his earlier episode of humiliation and near-death. But it’s easy to understand the logic behind David’s decision. He reasoned, “Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe” (1 Samuel 27:1 NLT).

It all made sense to David because he was convinced that Saul would never stop pursuing him. There was no safe place for him to hide within the land of Judah so seeking refuge from Israel’s mortal enemy seemed like the only logical decision to make. But, once again, David would find that his human intelligence was no match for God’s wisdom. Yet, despite David’s best-laid plans, God would prove Himself to be sovereign and in complete control of every aspect of his life. David would discover the truth of the proverb: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21 ESV).

David’s last journey into Philistine territory, recorded in chapter 21, nearly got him killed. To escape the pursuit of Saul, David showed up in Gath, seeking refuge from Achish, the king of the Philistines. It just so happened that David was carrying the sword of Goliath, the Philistine champion he had defeated in battle. When the Philistine officers questioned the wisdom of providing sanctuary to David and hinted to the king that he would be better off dead, David “pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard” (1 Samuel 21:13 NLT). Unwilling to kill a lunatic, Achish allowed David to escape with his life.

Now, years later, David once again seeks refuge among the Philistines. His doubt and fear cloud his thinking and erase from his memory all that happened the last time he attempted to use this particular strategy.

This time, David is welcomed by Achish with open arms and even given his own city, Ziklag, within the territory of the Philistines. David relocates his 600 men and their families to their new base complete with houses, walls, and protection from Saul. This would have been a welcome upgrade from the caves they had been hiding in for so long.

While living in the land of the Philistines, David employed a strategy that allowed him to go out and attack the enemies of Israel, of which there were many. The text mentions the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. All of these nations occupied the land of Canaan and were part of the people groups that God had commanded Joshua and the people of Israel to completely remove from the land when they occupied it. The Book of Joshua reveals how dismally they failed at keeping this command.

But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day. – Joshua 15:63 ESV

However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor. – Joshua 16:10 ESV

Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. – Joshua 17:12 ESV

Their unwillingness or inability to drive out the inhabitants of the land left them with a constant threat of war and the ongoing temptation to commit idolatry. These nations would prove to be a constant source of temptation and trouble. So David used his new headquarters in Ziklag as an outpost from which he sent raiding parties against these enemies of Israel. His strategy included the complete annihilation of every man, woman, and child so no word of his genocide could reach the ears of Achish.

This clandestine military operation allowed David to attack Israel’s enemies from the safe confines of Philistia. When returning from these excursions, David covered up his activities by lying to King Achish.

When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.” – 1 Samuel 27:10 ESV

David wanted Achish to believe that his forays were directed at the enemies of Philistia. But it was all a matter of subterfuge and sleight of hand.

So what do we do with all of this? David appears to have gone to the land of the Philistines, seemingly without God’s permission. Yet, while he was there, he continued to fight the enemies of Israel, clearing the promised land of the nations that Joshua and the people of Israel had failed to remove. But to do what he did, David lied to King Achish. Everything he did while living in Ziklag was based on deception. So was he within the will of God? Was he doing what God would have him do? The text doesn’t provide an answer but the next chapter will reveal how David’s plan eventually placed him in a difficult and potentially deadly position. It would seem that David’s decision to seek refuge among the Philistines was not the will of God, but it did not thwart or derail the plan of God. The Proverbs have much to say about our plans and God’s will.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. – Proverbs 16:9 NLT

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? – Proverbs 20:24 NLT

The prophet, Jeremiah, prayed these powerful, self-disclosing words to the Lord:

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Correct me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. – Jeremiah 10:23-24 ESV

Years later, even David would pen these words:

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand. – Psalm 37:23-24 NLT

We can’t thwart God’s plan, but we can certainly cause ourselves a great deal of pain and suffering when we attempt to replace his plan with our own. We can unnecessarily complicate our lives by introducing detours that are not part of His divine will for us. Abraham and Sarah came up with the idea to use Hagar as a means to fulfill God’s promise to give them a child. But in doing so, they were attempting to do God’s will man’s way. Saul tried to seek God’s aid by offering sacrifices to him but he failed to do it God’s way. He mistakenly took on the role of the priest and brought down God’s wrath rather than His blessing. Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from fulfilling God’s will that He die, by forbidding Him to do so. But Jesus accused Peter of siding with the enemy by seeking the will of Satan rather than that of God.

We must refrain from letting our will take precedence over God’s. We can’t improve or impede God’s will for our lives, but we can certainly make the path more difficult that He has laid out for us. Like a driver who refuses to use his GPS, we can wander off the prescribed course and find ourselves seemingly lost and delayed in our journey. But God continues to recalculate the directions for our life, graciously providing us with another way to reach the destination He has in store for us. Thankfully, many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

From Madness to Gladness

10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands’?”

12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” – 1 Samuel 21:10-15  ESV

When reading these verses, the first question that should come into your mind is, “What was David thinking?” There seems to be nothing rational or logical in his behavior. Why in the world would David, the very man who killed Goliath, who was from Gath, choose to seek refuge in Gath, all while carrying the sword that once belonged to their fallen champion? What kind of flawed logic led David to believe he would be welcomed with open arms by the people of Gath? After all, it was David who, in an act of over-achievement, killed 200 Philistines to obtain the 100 foreskins Saul had demanded as a dowry for his daughter, Michal. It was David who had served as a commander in Saul’s forces and won great victories over the Philistines. So what did David think would happen when he showed up in Gath unannounced and uninvited?

From what we know of David’s faithfulness to God and his hatred of the enemies of God, it seems quite unlikely that David had gone to Gath to offer his services as a warrior to King Achish. In other words, David was not considering switching sides and fighting for the Philistines against his own people. So why did he go? The text doesn’t tell us. We can only conjecture that David was desperate to get away from Saul and any troops that may be out to seek him. He knew the last place Saul would look for him was in the land of the Philistines. But David didn’t fully think his strategy through; he made a rash decision under duress and now found himself in a very dangerous predicament.

The Philistines immediately recognized David. It's interesting to note that they referred to David as “the king of the land” (1 Samuel 21:11 ESV). They had heard about the songs sung about David that celebrated his military exploits and lauded him as greater than Saul. It’s doubtful that they knew of David’s anointing by Samuel, but they most likely viewed David as the true leader of the Israelites. At the battle in the Valley of Elah, Goliath had challenged Saul and his men to send a champion to face him in hand-to-hand combat, but no one would step forward. Day after day he taunted them, but Saul remained in the background, afraid to take up the challenge and take on Goliath. At that moment, the Philistines most likely lost all respect for Saul as a king, and when David ended up slaying Goliath, they viewed him as the true king of Israel. But whatever the case, they knew that the man standing before them was an enemy and a threat.

The text rather matter-of-factly states, “And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath” (1 Samuel 21:12 ESV). It was as if David woke up from a bad dream and realized the gravity of his situation. The stupidity of his decision to go to Gath suddenly dawned on him and he was “much afraid.” He was petrified, terrified, and mortified that he had ever come up with this doomed plan in the first place. So, finding himself in a difficult situation, David resorted to deceit. Here was the man who killed Goliath, defeated hundreds of Philistines in battle, and slaughtered 200 Philistines just to pay the dowry for his wife, choosing to feign madness rather than trust God and fight his enemies. David somehow forgot all about his anointing and the fact that God had been by his side during all the conflicts of his life.

The young man who once shouted, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:27 ESV), and then took the life of Goliath with nothing more than a sling and a stone, was now so fearful in the face of his enemies, that he resorted to acting like a madman. The Message paraphrases verse 13 this way: “So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard.”

What a sad scene. The man after God’s own heart and the God-ordained successor to the throne of Israel is reduced to acting like a drooling madman in a desperate attempt to keep from being killed by his enemies. The man who killed Goliath with nothing more than a sling is holding the slain Philistine’s sword but never thinks to use it against his enemies. Instead, he chooses to feign insanity and hope for the best. This is the very same man who would later write:

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me. – Psalm 144:1-2 ESV

He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. – Psalm 18:34 ESV

This ill-timed, poorly conceived plan of David would be used by God to teach His young king-in-waiting an invaluable lesson about faith. From this painful experience, David would learn to place his trust in God rather than his own rash plans and flawed attempts at self-preservation. Despite his poor planning and pitiful acting, David would escape with his life, if not his dignity. He would never forget that day. In fact, he ended up penning a psalm as a result of this encounter with King Achish.

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
    He freed me from all my fears. – Psalm 34:4 NLT

In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
    he saved me from all my troubles. – Psalm 34:6 NLT

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
    He rescues them from all their troubles. – Psalm 34:17 NLT

The righteous person faces many troubles,
    but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
    not one of them is broken! – Psalm 34:19-20 NLT

It’s interesting to read these statements in light of what actually happened that day. There are no prayers recorded in 1 Samuel 21 and there is no indication that God intervened. David didn’t take the sword of Goliath and slaughter King Achish and all his soldiers. No lightning bolt came down from heaven and struck the Philistines, allowing David to walk away safe and secure. There is no mention of any miraculous displays of God’s power on David’s behalf.  But David did survive and not as a result of his stellar dramatic skills.

While no prayers are recorded, it is safe to assume that David was silently calling on the Lord throughout his ordeal. Even as he resorted to acting like a madman, complete with drool dripping from his beard, David was issuing impassioned pleas to the Almighty to deliver him from the hands of his enemies. Faced with the prospect of death, David had taken matters into his own hands and escaped with his life because he was willing to throw away any sense of pride or dignity he had. Yet, when looking back on that day, David viewed his deliverance in a different light. Despite his actions, God had rescued him. While it had been his idea to run from the land of God to the city of Gath, Jehovah had never abandoned him. Even in the middle of one of his worst moments, God was still with him. Regardless of how badly David’s poor attempt at self-preservation turned out, God rescued David from himself because that is what God always does for His own.

God had declared that David would be the next king of Israel and nothing was going to prevent that plan from taking place. Even David couldn’t screw up what God had drawn up. He could make things harder on himself, but nothing he did would make it too hard for God to fulfill His divine plan for him. Poor decision-making and panic-induced problem-solving could not derail the plans of God. Nothing, including a bout of temporary insanity, was going to keep the sovereign God of the universe from carrying out His divine will for David’s life.

This experience would have a lasting impact on David’s life. He would never forget that humiliating and heart-pounding moment when he was forced to play the part of a madman so that he might live to be God’s man. He put his own life at risk but learned the invaluable lesson that God was always in control. He could screw up but God would never give up. He could fall but God would never fail. This awakening awareness of God’s providential power over his life led David to later pen the following words:

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand. – Psalm 37:23-24 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

There When You Need Him.

And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.” – 1 Samuel 30:7-15 ESV

David had returned home to Ziklag to find it had been plundered and all the women and children taken captive by the Amalekites. His men, fed up with all that had happened over the last few days, were fed up with David’s leadership and threatened to stone him. But we are told, “David drew strength from the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:7 NET). With his wives missing and his life threatened by his own men, David turned to God for help. This was not something unique for David to do, but more recently he had tended to make decisions without God’s input. That’s how he and his men had ended up living in Ziklag, a city smack-dab in the middle of Philistine territory. David had fled to Philistia in order to escape the ongoing pursuit of Saul. But there is no indication that David had sought or received God’s direction or approval to live among the enemies of Israel.

And yet, when the time came and David found himself between a rock and a hard place, he cried out and God heard. When he ran out of options and had no more tricks up his sleeve, he decided to turn to God and found his heavenly Father to have a receptive ear and a heart willing to step into the mess that David had created. All David had to do was reach an end of himself and cry out to the one who was willing and capable of doing something about his predicament: God.

There is something about despair that makes us more dependent upon God. Our moments of helplessness and hopelessness tend to drive us to God and play a big part in releasing His faithfulness. He is always ready, willing and able to save His people, but it requires that we call out to Him. We are reminded of this very fact in the story of God’s intervention on behalf of the people of Israel when they were living as slaves in Egypt.

Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. – Exodus 2:23-25 NLT

I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. – Exodus 3:7 NLT

I have seen. I have heard. I am aware. Those three statements from God should create in us a sense of relief and calm as we recognize His care and concern for His people. There is nothing that happens in or to our lives that God does not see. When we cry out, He always hears. And there is nothing we can tell Him of which He is not already fully aware. Our prayers are not meant to inform God of our predicament, but to invite His involvement. God knew full well what David was facing. He was completely aware of the problem David had created for himself and what needed to be done to fix it. So when David sought God’s guidance, he received it. Using the Urim and Thummim, which were kept in the high priest’s ephod, David sought God’s input, asking him two questions:

“Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” – 1 Samuel 30:8 NLT

David wanted to know if he pursue the Amalakites, and, if he did, whether he would be successful in catching them. And God gave him the green light. 

“Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” – 1 Samuel 30:8 NLT

Not only would David catch them, he would recover everything they took, including all the women and children, as well as all the livestock and loot they had plundered. God was going to bless David – in spite of David. God was going to rescue David out of the pit he had dug for himself and assuage the anger and resentment of David’s men. And all David had to do was draw strength from the Lord. He had to place his hope in and seek his help from the Lord. This would be yet another valuable life lesson for David and would contribute to his ongoing education in the power and presence of God. He would later turn what he had learned in moments like this into beautiful words of praise.

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
    yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
    my cry to him reached his ears. – Psalm 18:6 NLT

He went on to write these words which could have been penned as a direct result of this very circumstance in David’s life.

I chased my enemies and caught them;
    I did not stop until they were conquered.
I struck them down so they could not get up;
    they fell beneath my feet.
You have armed me with strength for the battle;
    you have subdued my enemies under my feet. – Psalm 18:37-39 NLT

God is always there when we call. The problem is that we don’t call on Him enough. We tend to try and solve our problems on our own. Either we doubt that God can or that He will intervene on our behalf. Or we have somehow convinced ourselves to believe that our solution will be just as effective as anything He comes up with. But when we finally reach the point where our circumstances cause us to give up and cry out, God hears and answers.

The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
    May the God of my salvation be exalted! – Psalm 18:46 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Oh, What Tangled Webs.

Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. – 1 Samuel 30:1-6 ESV

It was in his epic poem, Marmion, that Sir Walter Scott first penned the now-famous words: “Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” And no story proves the veracity of those words quite the one concerning David as he returned to Ziklag after having been sent home by Achish. No doubt, David was feeling a bit relieved after having narrowly escaped having to go to war with the Philistines and risk exposing the subterfuge behind his whole scheme. He had deceived Achish into believing that he was on his side. He had convinced the Philistine king that he and his men had been occupying their time attacking the enemies of Philistines, when in reality, they had been raiding the enemies of Israel. David never should have been in Philistia in the first place. He had received no direction from God to take his two wives along with all his men and their families and seek refuge among the enemies of Israel. But he had. And now, his life of deception was going to result in a less-than-happy reception when he returned home. 

David and his men discovered that their town had been raided by Amalekites while they were away. Believing that their wives and children would be safe, David and his men had mustered for battle, under the pretense that they were going to aid the Philistines in their war against the Israelites. It is doubtful that David would have ever raised his sword against Saul or his kindred. More than likely, he and his men would have turned against the Philistines as soon as the battle started, but he would still have had to deal with Saul, his mortal enemy. David’s rejection by the Philistines was a godsend. He was blessed to have been given a reprieve by God and been allowed to go home. But what he found when he arrived was devastating. Ziklag had been burned to the ground and every person in it had been taken captive by the Amalekites, including David’s two wives. And we don’t have to imagine how David’s men reacted to the scene. They blamed David. It was all his fault. No doubt, they had questioned the wisdom of David when he first came up with his plan to hide among the Philistines. They had probably grumbled and complained as they made their way to the front lines, facing the prospect of having to fight against their own people. But now, their sorrow and frustration overflowed. We’re told that “they wept until they could weep no more” (1 Samuel 30:4 NLT). And then their sadness turned to anger.

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. – 1 Samuel 30:6 NLT

David had been in difficult circumstances before, but nothing quite like this. His wives were gone. His men wanted to stone him. Things could not have gotten much worse. And all of it was David’s doing. He had been the architect behind this fiasco. It had been his decision to seek refuge among the Philistines. It had been his idea to use his base in Ziklag to launch raids against the enemies of Israel. He may have fooled King Achish, but he obviously had not fooled the Amalekites, who made it a point to raid and sack the very town in which David and his men lived. All the way back in chapter 27, we read:

Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. – 1 Samuel 27:8-9 ESV

In attacking the Geshurites, Girzites and Amalekites, David had actually been doing the very thing God had commanded the Israelites to do when He gave them the land of Canaan. He had commanded that they completely destroy all the inhabitants of the land. Why? Because if they didn’t, He knew the Israelites would find themselves being negatively influenced by their presence. In a way, these pagan nations represented sin and ungodliness. They practiced idolatry and their societies were marked by immorality and godless behavior. God’s command to remove them was in order to keep the Israelites from becoming like them. But the Israelites had failed to do what God had commanded them to do. So, David’s attacks against the Amalekites had been in obedience to God’s professed will for the people of Israel, but there is no indication that God had commanded David to carry out his raids from the safety of his headquarters in Ziklag. David was attempting to do God’s will his own way. He had been trying to remain faithful to God while, at the same time, failing to trust God to keep him safe in the land of Judah. Like Abraham seeking relief from a famine by seeking refuge to Egypt, David had discovered that his plans, made apart from God’s input, had resulted in some very unsatisfactory and uncomfortable consequences.

But David found strength in the Lord his God. – 1 Samuel 30:6 NLT

This is a key moment in the life of David. In the midst of one of the most difficult moments of his life, David turned to God. The Hebrews word translated “strength” is chazaq and it carries the idea of encouragement or finding courage. David, at a very weak moment in his life, found courage by turning to God. He had made a mess of his life, but he knew that He could turn to God for strength, support, and the boldness he would need to handle the situation. With his men seeking to stone him, David sought solace and strength in God. And he would learn a valuable, life-changing lesson from this moment in his life. He would later use the very same Hebrew word when penning the words of his psalms.

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord! – Psalm 27:14 ESV

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the Lord! – Psalm 31:24 ESV

We can weave some very tangled webs in our lives. We, like David, have the unique capacity to get ourselves in all kinds of predicaments, through disobedience or our own stubborn self-sufficiency. It is so easy to leave God out of our decision-making and then wonder how things got so screwed up. But in those moments of confusion and weakness, we need to do what David did. Turn to God. Seek strength, comfort, encouragement and courage in Him. David could have easily followed up one bad decision with yet another one. He could have begun scheming and planning, trying to figure out how to get himself out of the jam he had created. But instead, he turned to God. He found strength in the Lord his God. And in spite of all that had happened and all that David had done, God would come through. He would prove faithful yet again. And God would untangle the the web that David had weaved. He would graciously clean up the mess created by David’s choice to rely on deceit rather than divine guidance.

 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Saved by the Bell.

Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.” But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands’?”

Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.” So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel. – 1 Samuel 29:1-11 ESV

While Saul was busy consulting with a witch, David was consorting with the enemy. According to 1 Samuel 27:7, David had been living in the land of Philistia for 16 months. And he had pulled it off by living a lie. He had deceived King Achish into believing that he had turned his back on Israel and had chosen to join forces with the Philistines. And he had been convincing. If there had been an Academy Awards that year, David would have won an Oscar for best actor in a drama. He had completely fooled Achish into believing that he was a faithful friend and ally. Just look at what Achish had to say about him:

“This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.” – 1 Samuel 29:3 NLT

“I swear by the Lord that you have been a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with me into battle, for I’ve never found a single flaw in you from the day you arrived until today” – 1 Samuel 29:6 NLT

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re as perfect as an angel of God.” – 1 Samuel 29:9 NLT

But David’s performance, while convincing, had also costly. The longer he stayed in Philistia, and the more he kept up his ruse, the more dangerous his predicament would become. It was only a matter of time before David found himself in the awkward and inevitable spot of having to display his true colors. He couldn’t keep up this charade forever. In time, the nations of israel and Philistia would find themselves at war and David would be caught in the middle. And that is exactly the event recorded for us in chapter 29.

The Philistines had gathered all their troops in order to do battle with the Israelites. King Achish and his men arrived at the Aphek, on Philistia’s northern border with Israel. Bringing up the rear of his column was none other than David and his 600 men. Don’t let the significance of this moment escape you. Here was David, the God-appointed, Spirit-anointed future king of Israel, riding among the forces of the Philistines, one of the greatest enemies of the people of God. This was no longer one of David’s cleverly disguised raids against Israelite enemies that he could cover up (see 1 Samuel 27:8-12). This was going to be an all-out war between the Israelites and the Philistines and David was going to have to make a decision. Would he fight with the Philistines, and risk the wrath of God? Would he go into battle and then turn against the Philistines, revealing to Achish and his men his true colors? If he did, he would find himself facing two foes: Achish and Saul. For the last 16 months, Saul had given up his hunt for David, but he had not given up his hatred for him. He most likely saw David as a turncoat, having switched alliances to the Philistines. Most likely, Saul believed David had allied himself with the Philistines in order to defeat him and take the crown from him. So, if Saul met David on the battle field, he would see him as an enemy, no matter which side he chose to fight for.

David was in a predicament. His little plan to escape Saul’s wrath by living among the Philistines had seemed the right thing to do at the time, but he had made his decision without input from God. There is no indication that God had directed David’s actions or commanded his escape into Philistine territory. And now, David was faced with the inevitable consequences of his God-less decision. But while David had left God out of his planning, God had not left David. The Almighty may not have approved of David’s strategy, but He had His hands on David. He knew David’s heart. David had been trying to do the right thing. He was still a faithful servant and all the while he had lived in Philistia, he had continued to fight against the enemies of Israel. But his self-inspired attempt at self-preservation had left him in a very bad spot. And it was going to take the sovereign hand of God to rescue him.

As David and his men arrived at the Philistine camp at Aphek, the other Philistine lords were furious with King Achish at having brought this former Israeli commander and his men into battle with them. What was he thinking? How stupid could he be? This was the same David who had killed the Philistine champion, Goliath, and who had songs written about his military exploits.

“Send him back to the town you’ve given him!” they demanded. “He can’t go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by handing our heads over to him?” – 1 Samuel 29:4 NLT

They saw David as a threat and Achish as a fool. To them, everything about this scenario was wrong. David had to go. And their anger convinced Achish to reluctantly give in to their demands. And always the actor, David feigned surprise, doing everything in his power to appear hurt and a bit offended at the news.

“What have I done to deserve this treatment?” David demanded. “What have you ever found in your servant, that I can’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?” – 1 Samuel 29:8 NLT

But in reality, this was the best thing that could have happened to David and his men. God had intervened and spared them from having to go into battle. At the very last minute, God stepped in and providentially protected David from the mess he had created. But as we will see in the very next chapter, God protected David, but would still allow him to reap the results of his determination to plan his life apart from the input of God. David would escape having to go into battle with the Philistines, but he would not escape the discipline of God.

God had plans for David. He had chosen him to be the next king of Israel. And part of those plans included the years that David spent hiding and wandering in the wilderness. God could have put David on the throne the very day Samuel anointed him, but David was not yet ready to be king. He had to be prepared for the role. He had to learn the lessons God had for him. And a big part of God’s preparation for David would be found in his failure to trust God. His tendency to make decisions without God’s input would teach him the danger of autonomy in the life of the servant of God. Decisions made apart from God will never result in the blessings of God. Trying to do God’s will our way will never produce God’s results. This phase of David’s life would provide yet another valuable lesson in learning to trust God, rather than himself.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson