THE
BOOK OF 1 SAMUEL
Living on
the edge may be necessary to accomplish the will of God
1 Samuel 27 SCC
4/26/15
Conventional teaching is that David made a huge mistake here acting from
discouragement and unbelief. Clues in the text however, indicate David acts
based on courage and faith in the will of God.
UNAVOIDABLE
(UNEXPLAINABLE; UNANTICIPATED) CIRCUMSTANCES MAY FORCE US INTO AN INGENIOUS
COURSE OF ACTION
David hatches a
plan to fix his circumstances 1
Verse
1: Was it God’s will for David to leave Israel and move to
Philistia? The text does not say, but
there is
the statement that David consulted with himself when he had previously on
various occasions asked God for guidance in prayer. However, there were many occasions
when David did not pray and so with us. David thought he would die if he
remained in Israel. Yet Samuel had anointed him as Israel’s next king. Jonathan
had said twice that David would be king, as had Saul, and so had Abigail. So
David’s kingship had been authenticated. Yet, like Abraham waiting for the
promised child, David is waiting for his Kingship. It’s a long wait! It seems
David is on his own to act out a plan in response to Saul’s continuous attempts
to assassinate him. David says ‘escape’ twice and this is obviously on his
mind.
David’s plan is a
desperate attempt to survive 2-3
Verse 2-3: David, who in the
previous chapter said it was Saul who would perish now
says it is he who will perish. And David, who pleads with Saul that he not be forced
to leave the land, now feels compelled to leave even though Saul has given him
some assurance of safety cp. 24:16-22; 26:21. It has not been that long ago
since David sought sanctuary in Gath the first time 21:10. That was a miserable
disaster for David. He did survive, but he was driven out as a scribbling,
slobbering lunatic. This time, David has his 600 followers, plus all their
wives and families.
David’s plan
accomplishes his immediate goal 4
Verse 4: David is right
about one thing. When Saul hears that David has fled to Gath, he no longer
searches for him. Does this mean Saul would have tried to hunt David down had
he remained in Israelite territory? It isn’t really surprising that Saul would
not seek to capture David in Philistine territory. After all, he was never
really aggressive in fighting Philistines anyway.
NB: We often must act
on our own with action and a plan to secure a future that is consistent with
the revealed will of God in spite of threats to the contrary. Everything though
has to be weighed as we do. Working for an unjust boss; living in a bad
marriage; handling sexual orientation; living within our financial means. We do
not want to secure the revealed will of God on our own. God has a plan. So
surveying the situation and determining an ingenious plan of action is a godly
thing to do.
AN INGENIOUS
COURSE OF ACTION CAN CUNNINGLY BE USED TO OUR ADVANTAGE
David requests a
place of his own 5-7
Verse 5: David calculates
that escaping to enemy territory is a way to turn events into his favor. David
approaches Achish with a request. He asks if he can
be given a city in the countryside where he and his followers and families can
live that is not under foot. The request is in the form of David willing to
serve as a vassal under the tutelage of the Philistine, Achish.
Verse 6: It seems a
reasonable request, and so Achish gives David the
city of Ziklag. This city is 25 miles or so to the
south and east of Gath. It is somewhat out of the way, from a Philistine
perspective, and not all that distant from Israelite cities in the south
(Bethel, Ramoth, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal etc.,). It gives
David and his followers a “place of their own,” in an area where David’s
activities will not be monitored by Achish. This
location takes advantage of David’s strengths and covertly provides a base of
operation for him and his band.
Verse 7: David dwelt in
Philistia a year and four months, but the town of Ziklag
becomes a permanent possession of the Israelite kings. David continues to wait
for the moment when he will take the throne of Israel. God has his timetable
and David was responding to his circumstances in the meantime with ingenious
strategies that keep him waiting without waffling.
David covertly
uses his location to ingratiate himself to the people of Judah 8-9
Verse 8: David’s solution
to this problem is ingenious. David uses Ziklag as
his headquarters to fan out across the desert south and raid enemies of Israel
that have been a constant bother to the southern frontier. From here, David and
his men go about the area raiding the cities and camps of Israel’s enemies. We
know some of these people, such as the Amalekites.
But of others, like the Girzites, we know nothing. We
do know in a generic sort of way that these are the peoples who inhabited the land from ancient times. It may be
safe, therefore, to conclude that all of these peoples are “Canaanites,” who
are under the ban.
Verse 9: David
used the opportunity that his location afforded to defeat and to annihilate the
common enemies of Israel and the Philistines that lived to Israel’s southwest.
David did not leave any survivors. He took away
the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. It
is a bloody business he has gotten into but his entire career is bloody. He was
clearing the Promised Land of foreign foes (Canaanite and otherwise) so the
Israelites could occupy it ingratiating himself to the southerners of Judah’s
tribe (30:26-31).
PT:
Israel is a tribal nation. The tribes have individual and regional interests
that may conflict with the other tribes. We do know that it took years for
David to consolidate his power base as king because of tribal rivalry in Israel
between those devoted to the house of Saul and others of David. David does this
instead of taking matters into his own hands to become king. He had already
refused to kill Saul to do so on two occasions.
David
utilizes the enemy to buy time for himself 10-12
Verse
10: David walked a thin line of deception but was able to convince Achish that his victories were for the welfare of the
Philistines. Really he was conquering Israel’s surrounding enemies, but he gave
Achish the impression that his raids were against the
southern portions in Judah and they were but just not against the Israelites. David
continued to subdue Israel’s enemy neighbors later when he became king.
Verse 11: Although David
kills all of the people whose villages he raids he does not kill all of the
cattle. It is possible that David also attacks these peoples for pragmatic
reasons, such as providing food for their families. He kills all the people,
leaving no survivors either because it is the only way he can continue his deception
or it is an ingenious plan to wipe out the Canaanites and use this as an
opportunity to curry the Judean cities favor. David’s plan may not be wise to some in fleeing to the Philistines for
safety, but he is certainly cunning and clever and
utilizes his decision making to stay focused on surviving.
Verse 12: David’s presence
among the Philistines looks like a real asset to Achish.
After all, from all appearances David is fighting for the Philistines against
the Israelites. This must mean the Israelites would never take David back, and
certainly not as their king. Rather than consuming the resources of Achish, David is a contributor. After every raid, David
seems to come to Achish to report and give a portion
of the spoils. Achish
believed that David had alienated himself from the Israelites and would
therefore be loyal to him from then on. The truth is he is killing the enemies of
the Israelites, and then sharing the spoils with them, making frequent visits
to their cities (30:31). David is
ingratiating himself with the Israelites, while living under the protection of
the Philistines.
Conclusion
1. When unexplainable circumstances seem to conflict with the revealed
will of God, instead of waiting for some sign from God to act we should take initiative to formulate a response on our own
without violating that will of God.
2. Do not leave the clear revealed will of God behind when strategizing
your decision making in unexplainable or unavoidable circumstances. David is
the benefactor of ministry to him by others. There was Samuel, who not only anointed him as Israel’s next king, but to
whom David could flee when Saul was pursuing him. There was also Abiathar, the
only surviving heir of Ahimelech, who joined David,
along with the ephod. Then there was Jonathan,
who constantly stood beside him, assuring David he would be the next king. And
there was also Abigail, who encouraged
David to do right as Israel’s next king. God invests a lot of ‘flesh and blood’
capitol on David’s career and development. David’s plan was ingenious and
cunning—he still acted in anticipation of the will of God not against it. He
did not kill Saul for instance.
3. You can calculate how you will manage your unusual situation so the will of God is not violated but you cannot control events that may result from that decision. David had to act ‘on the fly’ while his plan was in motion. He did so with cunning all the while calculating the outcome for the best possible advantage while waiting on God for his will to be accomplished. He had no idea how God would do this or when but he was responsible to manage his situation with the will of God in mind. He did so by utilizing his strengths and maneuvering himself to be prepared for his role as king of Israel.