1 SAMUEL 29
Read 1 Samuel 29:1-11
The writer of 1 Samuel cranks up the tension. We left the last chapter with the Philistines gathering to attack Saul, King of Israel. Saul was out of favour with the Lord for his constant headstrong disobedience. And the last straw was that Saul, against all the laws of the Lord, had consulted a medium and discovered that the Israelite army will be defeated by the Philistines and he and his sons would both be killed (28:16-19). Rather than describe the battle, the writer now takes us to the Philistine army and their preparations.
The Philistine commander, King Achish, has treated David fairly in the past and continues to do so as David and his troops march with the Philistines towards the battle ahead. Perhaps understandably, Achish’s generals are a little nervous that there is an Israelite contingent in their own army as they go to fight the Israelite army, especially with David having such a reputation as a warrior (v5). The worry was that David and his troops will turn against the Philistines and join Saul and help him in the battle, so the generals want Achish to send David away. Achish trusted David and argued his case, but eventually Achish bowed to their pressure and with apologies to David sent him away.
This is all very interesting in terms of the storytelling of ancient warfare, but does it have anything to say to us today? I think one thing that comes out of this is the difference between Saul, one of the people of God, and Achish, who is not one of the people of God. Achish related to David a lot more positively than Saul did. Achish trusted David in a way Saul did not. Achish was on friendly terms with David, Saul was not. Achish protected David from Saul. There is a reminder here that sometimes the secular world can behave in a much better way than the people of God. I can remember going to two meetings on consecutive nights, one Christian and one secular. There was far more grace, care and love shown in the secular meeting than in the Christian one which was full of animosity, backbiting and one-upmanship. As Christians we are called to a higher standard – we are called to follow the Lord Jesus Christ who has done so much for us, and to reflect his light into this world in which we live.
And where is God in all this, we might ask? He does seem to be keeping a low profile. But again we see his providence at work. David has ended up in a slightly awkward position. Because Saul has been pursuing him and Achish has given him refuge, he is now part of the enemy army attacking his own (and God’s people). He is honour bound to Achish because Achish has helped him and trusted him, but surely it can’t be right for David to fight for the Philistines and against the Israelites. Thankfully, God’s providence is at hand and God, as he so often does, used the unlikeliest of people – his enemies, the Philistine generals – to bring about his desired outcome and to give David a way out of this dilemma.