DAVID STAYED WITH THE PHILISTINES

1 Samuel 27:1-12 / Keywords 27:7

David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

 

David Among the Philistines

27:1 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

10 When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.”

1. David knew he could not trust Saul’s momentary repentance (26:21). As the 600 men who followed him started raising their families, hiding in the wilderness became more challenging. He was in deep distress despite his spiritual victory of honoring God’s sovereignty over King Saul. He escaped to the Philistines’ territory to avoid Saul’s pursuit.

 

2. He had been faithful in believing in God’s protection and unfailing love (Ps 109:26). However, he also compromised in order to save himself. While he was staying in the territory with the permission of the Philistine king Achish, he pretended to raid the Israelite towns, making Achish think he was turning into an enemy of Israel. It earned David and his men a temporary shelter and fragile peace. Yet this chapter records meaningless massacres and lies.

 

3. David’s soul was distressed, living among the idol-worshipping enemies (Ps 120:5-7). Do you feel that it is wise to avoid a current conflict by running away? Turn to God, who holds all the wisdom and answers to your trouble. Trust in his perfect plan and almighty power to rescue and guide you through this difficult time (Isaiah 55:9)

 

Prayer Father, sometimes I feel too tired to keep fighting the troubles that do not go away. Please encourage my heart and guide me with your wisdom and power.

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