DAVID AMONG THE PHILISTINES

1 Samuel 27:1-28:2; 29:1-11          Lesson 16

Key Verse: 29:7      Kevin E. Jesmer 8-30-09

^“Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.” (NIV)

David decided that he was safer with his Philistine enemies than in his own country. So David and his men took their families and lived there in Philistine territory for a year and four months. David found himself in a dilemma. He had left Israel, but he was not an enemy of Israel, nor of Saul. Yet he was living among the enemies of Israel.  David’s crisis came to head. When the Philistine kings marched out to fight Israel, the Philistine king had included David and his men in the Philistine forces because he trusted him. David had gotten himself into an impossible situation. But our faithful God intervened in a miraculous way. It is true, that because of our human calculations, we get ourselves into situations that we can’t get out of. But through this passage may we learn not to panic, but to wait on God, who is sure to intervene. May we also learn to be faithful to God and to God’s people in any circumstance, as we live by faith.

 Part l: David Among The Philistines (27:1-12)

For the second time, David sought refuge from Saul in Philistine territory. (21:10-15) Look at verses 1-2, “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 Maoch king of Gath.” Nabal died quickly, but Saul never died. And so David decided to go to Gath, in the land of the Philistines for refuge. Gath is one of the five capital cities of the Philistines. It seemed that David’s plan worked. Saul finally stopped pursuing David. His army was not strong enough to invade Philistine territory just to seek one man. David and his people dwelt in the land of the Philistines. There were 600 men and their immediate families and some extended family.  It could have been 2, 000 people.  It was like a refugee village.

But one thing stands out in this passage… in making this decision to live in the land of the Philistines, there is no indication that David prayed to God. Rather he seems full of human reasoning. David was thinking of a quick way of escaping his serious problems. We are reminded of Abraham who escaped to Egypt during a famine (Gen 13). Sometimes we seek an immediate solution to solve our problems of life, but later we place ourselves in a situation where we can actually loose everything. We need to not live by expediency. Think about how your choices can affect your life 5, 10 or even 15 years from now.

David wanted to place himself and his people in the most strategic situation. Look at verses 5-7, “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.” Gath was one of the five main cities in Philistia. David may have wanted to move out of this important city to be away from the prying eyes of the Philistine rulers.

Why did Achish accept him? He heard of David and his exploits and yet he trusted David. Achish thought that he could get some benefit from having David around, possibly some military advantage by bolstering his army with Saul’s enemies. There is a saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But, later we will find that Achish underestimated David.

While living in Ziglag, David and his men kept themselves busy. Look at verses 8-12, “ 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 odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever.’”

     We find that David raided only Philistine areas, but he left no one alive to tell of him. Then he lied to Achish, saying that he was attacking Jewish towns. Why would he go on raids like this instead of living a peaceful, quiet life? He did this for several reasons: First, David was fulfilling the judgment of God. The raids were aimed at finishing the work that Joshua had left undone 400 years previous. Second, David was expected to aid Achish in the military campaigns and pay tribute to the Philistines. It was better for the tribute to be obtained from the Philistine’s than from the David’s own people. Third, David could have been protecting his people, who were being raided right before David’s eyes. Forth, he could have been building up his own political base for when he returned to his people he would be seen as a protector. Fifth, his men needed to do something. They were warriors. They were used to fighting. The constant raiding would have kept his 600 men a formidable fighting force instead of becoming soft through gardening and sheep herding. And David got away with all of this, for he left no survivors to tell of his activities.

The main point here is that David was always loyal to the God of Israel and to the people of God, the Israelites. The king of Israel, Saul and the armies of Israel were constantly pursuing David and his men. David could have said to himself, “I am through with you all. I am going to be where I am wanted.” But he never turned his back on his people. He always prayed for them and longed to be their king. It is so easy to be discouraged by the words and actions of other Christians. But we must realize that we are all part of God’s family. Many Christians are the very ones that we have been called to serve Jesus with. Christians are not perfect, only forgiven. We can not judge, criticize, disown and betray each other. We need to be loyal and faithful  as we co-work together to serve Jesus.

David’s plan seemed to work. Look at verse 12, “Achish trusted David and said to himself, ‘He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever.’” Achish did not know that David was still loyal to his own people.

Was David wrong in falsely reporting his activities to Achish? No doubt David was lying, but what could he do? He could have not raided anyone and lived there quietly as long as he could. But no matter what he did, eventually he would be found out to be one who was still loyal to Israel. Sometimes we find ourselves in between a rock and a hard place. This is the best place to cry for we must cry out to the Lord in faith.

Though the events seem to be result of David’s wise decisions, God was in working every thing out according to his perfect plan, I ways David could never expect. Look at verses 28:1-2, “ In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, ‘You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.’  ² David said, ‘Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.’  Achish replied, ‘Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.’” David was in a real dilemma, a problem that seems to defy a satisfactory solution. To refuse to help Achish fight the Israelites would give away David’s loyalty to Israel and endanger the lives of his soldiers and his family. But to fight his own people would hurt the very people he loved and would soon lead. We are beginning to see, that no matter how wise David might have been, it could not get him to avoid the trouble he was now facing.

God was about to teach David a life changing, faith lesson. When we open our spiritual eyes, we can see God leading David to this impossible situation. Humanly, there was no way out. God had to intervene. Remember Moses, when he and the Israelites had their backs to the Red Sea? The Egyptian army was bearing down on them. They appeared to be in a dilemma. Should they back into the Red Sea and drown, or stand and fight the Egyptians, or submit and go back to slavery after a deadly march back to Egypt? Moses encouraged his people to stand firm and see the deliverance that God was going to bring about for his people. Exodus 14:13 reads, “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” And God did deliver them through the parting of the Red Sea. God wanted to teach David absolute faith and teach him how to pray unceasingly and pray first, even in the face of incredible impossibilities.

Another side point is that, instead of complaining about these dilemmas we put ourselves in and blaming God for them, we need to thank God. We need to see what God wants us to see. We need to experience God’s deliverance. Then we can learn to trust God time and time again.

David remained cool, calm and collected, so it seemed. Verses 2a reads, “David said, ‘Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.’…”  Actually David did not know how things were going to work out. He was probably praying in his heart, “Oh God. Help me out of this one.”God gave him a slight reprieve in verse 2b, “…Achish replied, ‘Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.’” In this way Achish could keep David under constant surveillance. The pressure was off for a short time. But only for a short time.

Part ll: “Turn Back And Go In Peace” (29:1-11)

      The hour of decision was about to arrive. Look at 29:3. “The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”  Achish replied, ‘Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.’”  Achish was still confident of David’s loyalty. In verses 6-7, “ ^…Achish called David and said to him, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. ⁷ Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.’”  

     Achish may have felt that David was like an angel, but the Philistine commanders were not so convinced. They knew the lore of David, as revealed in verses 4 and 5, “But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? ⁵ Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:  ” ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

David and his men finally found themselves in an impossible situation that they could not get out of. Let’s think about his options. Possibly, David could have ran, trying to avoid the wrath of the Philistine armies. But even if he escaped the army, his people in Ziglag could have been annihilated. He would have no where to flee to for he would have been a fugitive in both Israel and Philistia. He could have stood and fought the whole Philistine army, but that would be suicide. He could have fought his people along side the Philistines. Then he would have ruined chances of gaining the support of these people when he returned to be their king. He would have been killing his own brethren. This would have brought inconsolable guilt on him. He had to do something? But what? All he could do is pray for a miracle.

     When all seemed lost, God intervened in a very unexpected way, through someone you would have never expected? Look at verse 7, “Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.” It was through Achish himself! He sent David home. The decision was taken right out of David’s hand. We can learn more about how God works. For those who know him, God usually intervenes at the last moment. Why? It is to teach us something we need to learn as we live by faith in this world. What is that lesson?

David reveals, in his psalms, the major spiritual lessons that he learned after experiencing God deliverance time and again. Listen to what he says in Psalm 38:15; “I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.” And in Psalm 91:14-15, “¹⁴ ‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him;  I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  ¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;  I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”  And in Psalm 56:3-4 which reads, “ When I am afraid,  I will trust in you.  ⁴ In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” To make it very simple…God helped David, even in awkward situations and David never forget this life changing lesson.

We need to have eyes to see God’s hand in all affairs of our lives. God knows and understands what is going on moment by moment. You may not think that he understands, but he does. We just need to see God’s hand and learn faith when he puts us in impossible situations. Learn the lesson well. Never complain. Thank God for his difficult lessons. They are good lessons. They will strengthen you in the future. Never panic…simply wait on God.

Part l: David Among The Philistines (27:1-12)

1. What motivated David to go to Gath? (27:1,2) Why did Saul stop pursuing him? (4) Who

went with him to live among the Philistines? (3-4)

2. How did he come to live in Ziklag? (27:5– 7) Why did Achish allow this? Why did he not

want to stay in one of the five principle Philistine cities? How long did he live in Ziklag? (2

Samuel 2:1)

3. What was his awkward situation there, and how did he handle it for the time being?

(27:8–12) How could he think that he could get away with this? Did his plan work?

(12)What was wrong with this?

4. What trap did he fall into? (28:1–2) Explain the dilemma that David found himself in?

How did David respond? (2a) What was to be the role of David and his men in the battle?

(2b)

Part ll: “Turn Back And Go In Peace” (29:1-11)

5. How did Achish feel about David? (3, 6-7, 9a) What did the Philistine commanders know

about David? (17:32-54; 18:27; 21:11) Describe the impossible situation that David and

his men found themselves in. (1-5)

6. How did God intervene? (7) How can we see God’s hand at work here? What did God

want David to learn through this experience? (Romans 8:28; Psalm 38:15; Psalm 91:14-

15; Psalm 56:3-4) Can you think of situations in your own life where God worked in

similar ways?