1 SAMUEL 27
Read 1 Samuel 27:1-12
For all of their parting on reasonably good terms at the end of Chapter 26, David evidently did not trust Saul’s promise to ‘not try to harm you again’ (26:21) and he and his band of 600 or so warriors took refuge with King Achish of the Philistines again – see Chapter 21. David gets rest in the land of the Philistines. Saul does not pursue him and King Achish is happy to protect him.
One thing that is noticeable in this chapter is who does not appear. We see David, we see King Achish and we even have a brief mention of King Saul. But we do not see God. God is completely absent from the narrative. David, in verse 1 ‘thought to himself’ (literally, ‘he said in his heart’) in making his decision to stay in Philistia for a while, but he did not think to speak to God about it. Isn’t it odd that someone who has a living relationship with the Lord should choose to ignore him and look for his security in his own decision making and in another human being (Achish)? But if we are honest, this is how we often operate ourselves. How many decisions do we make using our own reasoning and brainpower and leave the Lord out of it? How often do we not rely on the Lord?
David spends his time doing what he wants and hoodwinking his host Achish. He asked if he could settle with his men in an outlying town on the pretext of not being a burden on the royal household, but really to escape close scrutiny. And from this base he attacked Israel’s traditional enemies (v8). When King Achish asked him where he had been, David said that he had been raiding Israelite cities (v10) so that the king would think that David was serving him in the long-standing Philistine-Israel war. And Achish could never check what David had done because he left no survivors after his raids. But Achish was happy because he thought that David was fighting the Israelites, and that the Israelites would hate him for it and never take him back.
Where does this leave us? Do we approve of what David was doing? After all he was carrying out the mandate that God had given his people when the entered the Promised Land all those years ago. But it all seems a bit underhand, a bit sneaky. David lied to Achish. Is it alright to lie to you enemy? Even if you are under his protection? Does the greater good overcome the lesser evil? And what about David going on these raids where, ‘he did not leave a man or woman alive, a detail that was important enough to be mentioned twice (v9 and v11), so that he could continue to deceive Achish and not be found out. The Bible here simply reports what happened and gives us no moral guidance. And we have noted that David left God out of the decision making progress. Life does get messy sometimes and we can have divided loyalties. This might mean that we do things that we would not normally do; things that we know are not right but which we think might be better for the bigger picture. Best thing: at all times consult God – discern his will and ask him for clarity.