Leading Wisely and Well.

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.” – 2 Samuel 19:24-30 ESV

This short little vignette offers another example of David’s seeming inability to deal wisely and decisively with difficult situations. Here, he is confronted with a situation where he must discern the truth between what Ziba and Mephibosheth have told him. If you recall, when David was fleeing from Jerusalem, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth showed up bearing provisions. When David asked him where his master was, Ziba told him, “He stayed in Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 16:3 NLT). Then he added a bit of news that would condemn Mephibosheth in David’s eyes. He informed David that when Mephibosheth had heard that Absalom was taking over the kingdom, he had replied, “Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul” (2 Samuel 16:3 NLT). In other words, Ziba had inferred that Mephibosheth was siding with Absalom in the hopes of regaining the crown. But none of that should have made sense to David. Absalom was not going to hand the kingdom over to Mephibosheth, just because he was the grandson of Saul. And Mephibosheth had nothing to gain by Absalom becoming king. David had already given him all the land that had once belonged to Saul. Ziba and his 15 sons were ordered by David to care for the land on Mephibosheth’s behalf, while he ate all his meals with David in the palace. You can easily see why Ziba might want to paint Mephibosheth in a negative light and why he had showed up that day bearing gifts to David. And David had taken Ziba’s word concerning Mephibosheth as truth and rewarded him by giving him all of Mephibosheth’s property and possessions.

Then David returned to Jerusalem and found Mephibosheth in a disheveled state. When he questioned Mephibosheth about why he had not fled Jerusalem alongside him, Mephibosheth revealed that he had intended to, but had been betrayed by Ziba.

“My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?” – 2 Samuel 19:26-28 NLT

David was faced with a dilemma. He had already awarded all the property and possessions of Mephibosheth to Ziba, which may explain why Mephibosheth “had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 19:24 NLT). Now David heard the other side of the story and found himself needing to make a determination as to what would be the just and wise thing to do. And David’s decision?

“I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.” – 2 Samuel 19:29 NLT

Mephibosheth’s response speaks volumes and should have opened David’s eyes as to what was really going on. Mephibosheth didn’t argue or appear shocked. He simply replied, ““Give him all of it. I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!” (2 Samuel 19:30 NLT).

This whole exchange should bring to mind a similar story that took place during the reign of Solomon, David’s son. Renowned for his wisdom, one day he was confronted with a case involving two women who came to him for justice. It would require Solomon to determine the truth regarding which woman was the real mother of an infant boy. Here are the details provided by the women themselves, just as Solomon heard it:

“Please, my lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.

 “But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”

Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.”

“No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king. – 1 Kings 3:17-22 NLT

What would Solomon do? How would he decide which one was telling the truth. Interestingly enough, his initial decision was similar to that of David. He determined to divide the disputed “property” between the two of them.

Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.

Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!” – 1 Kings 3:23-25 NLT

And Solomon’s decision achieved exactly what he was looking for. The real mother, shocked at the thought of her son being put to death, pleaded with Solomon to let him live and to give him to the other woman. The other woman, driven by jealousy and not by love for the baby, callously replied, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!” (1 Kings 3:26 NLT). Solomon had heard all he needed to hear. He wisely ruled, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!” (1 Kings 3:27 NLT).

So, what does this have to do with David, Ziba and Mephibosheth? The responses of the real mother and that of Mephibosheth were evidence of the veracity of their story. Solomon was wise enough to see through the lies of the other woman. But David, having already given all of the land of Mephibosheth to Ziba without giving him the benefit of a doubt or having heard his side of the story, decided to split the difference and give each of them half. But one of them was lying. One deserved nothing. When Mephibosheth told David, “Give him all of it", he should have known who was telling the truth. He should have reinstated all the lands of Saul back to Mephibosheth. But instead, he rewarded Ziba for his deception.

David was in a conciliatory mood. He didn’t want to offend anybody. He was making peace with everybody. At this point in his life, just getting along was more important than justice. Winning friends and influencing enemies was first and foremost on his mind. But he was the king. It was his duty to dispense justice. It was his God-given responsibility to rule righteously and justly, not based on expedience or convenience. It would be David’s son, Solomon, who would later write these powerful words, that stand in stark contrast to the actions of David.

Give your love of justice to the king, O God,
    and righteousness to the king’s son.
Help him judge your people in the right way;
    let the poor always be treated fairly.
May the mountains yield prosperity for all,
    and may the hills be fruitful.
Help him to defend the poor,
    to rescue the children of the needy,
    and to crush their oppressors.
May they fear you as long as the sun shines,
    as long as the moon remains in the sky.
    Yes, forever! – Psalm 72:1-5 NLT

The prophet, Isaiah, speaks of a future day when a righteous king will reign. He tells of a king who will rule justly and righteously.

Look, a righteous king is coming!
    And honest princes will rule under him.
Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
    and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
    and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.

Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,
    and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.
Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.
    Those who stammer will speak out plainly.
In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.
    Scoundrels will not be respected. – Isaiah 32:1-5 NLT

That king will be Jesus. He will rule on this earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem. He will not be swayed by the lies of ungodly fools or motivated by the deceptive actions of scoundrels. He will be anything but politically correct. He will not rule selfishly or short-sightedly. He will always be concerned with the glory of God and the good of the people. David would ultimately prove to be a good king, some might even say, a great king. But he was nothing compared to the King to come. He was a man, marred by sin and easily influenced by the falsehood within his own heart and the deceptive motives of those around him. But what we can learn from the life of David is the desperate need we all have of God’s help in leading well. Without His assistance, we are easily deceived, by our own hearts and by the schemes of others. We are easy prey to the enemy. Only God can provide us with the wisdom we need to lead our families, employees, churches, and lives well.

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