In John 8:44, Jesus said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for
he is a liar, and the father of it.” Satan
has no qualms about lying, and thus, those who allow him to influence or
control them don’t hesitate to lie and Saul was under the influence or control
of a demonic spirit.
Though he had promised not to harm him, David didn’t dare
trust him. As much as David believed
God, even he became discouraged over the constant attacks by Saul, and concluded
he would be safer in Philistine country, where Saul would not dare to
come. The first time he had gone to
Gath, he had tried to go in secretly, in hopes he would not be recognized. This time, he knows the philistines are aware
of the conflict between himself and Saul, and went openly, in hopes they would
welcome him as the enemy of their enemy, in I Samuel 27:1-3. “And
David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there
is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of
the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast
of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and he passed over with the
six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he
and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives,
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.”
To invade the Philistine lands in an effort to capture David
might well precipitate a war, so Saul stopped chasing him, in I Samuel 27:4. “And it was told Saul that David was fled to
Gath: and he sought no more again for him.” It was the first time in several years David
and his men had been able to let down their guard. David requested permission to live in some
small town where they wouldn’t be causing conflict, and was given the village
of Ziklag, where they would remain for the next sixteen months, according to I
Samuel 27:5-7. “And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes,
let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there:
for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day:
wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. And the time that David dwelt in the country
of the Philistines was a full year and four months.”
Israel had never completely eliminated the original inhabitants
of the land, and there were still Gesurite and Amalekite communities in Israel’s
territory, along the southern border of Judah.
When other groups attacked Israel, these would often side with them and
attack Israel internally. David took
advantage of his Location in Ziklag to attack and destroy these pockets of
enemy forces, as I Samuel 27:8-9 describes.
“And David and his men went up,
and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those
nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even
unto the land of Egypt. And David smote
the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and
the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and
came to Achish.”
When king Achish asked where they had been raiding, David
told him it had been in southern Judah, but he didn’t tell him that it was
against those enemy settlements. Since
David had left no survivors to tell them different, Achish assumed he was
raiding Jewish settlements, which would weaken Israel, and guarantee David
would be viewed as a traitor, according to I Samuel 27:10-12. “And
Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the
south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the
south of the Kenites. And David saved
neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should
tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he
dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. And Achish believed David, saying, He hath
made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant
for ever.”
It is important to note that David had received no special
sign or revelation from God to go to the Philistines for help. Instead, he had made a decision based on the
wisdom God had given him. God gives us
the freedom to make choices, and we do not need to fear he will be angry about
what we choose if he has not given specific instructions. In fact, God blessed David’s choice, giving
him the title to the city of Ziklag for a permanent possession. God
gave us a brain, and the Holy Spirit to guide us, so that we do not need a
special sign for most things.
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