1 - 4 To the Land of the Philistines
1 Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” 2 So David arose and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each with his household, [even] David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. 4 Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.
In this chapter David does what he mentioned in the previous chapter as a goal of the people who chase him: he resorts to “other gods” (1Sam 26:19b). Verse 1 contains his motivation. There is no consultation with the LORD, but consultation with himself. He says in his heart that he will have to resort to the Philistines for his safety, because Saul will certainly not chase him there.
The deliberations of the human heart lead to a wrong path. He has always managed to keep himself out of Saul’s hand, but that ‘luck’ once stops. This is the way to reason when God is no longer standing before the attention, but man. Who does not know that? Abraham and Elijah also reasoned like this and went their own way. Unbelief looks at the current circumstances full of danger, while no thought is given to God’s salvations in the past. We do so when we think that we can no longer withstand the constant pressure and are on the verge of collapsing.
David turns the word into the deed and goes to Achish. It is the second time he flees there. The first time he was there for a short time, because when he feels discovered, he gets scared there too. He behaved like an insane and was sent away by Achish (1Sam 21:10-15). Now he goes there again. It will have become clear to Achish in the course of time that David is the archenemy of Saul. He lets David live with him.
When Saul hears that David has fled to Gath and that he has got a shelter there, he leaves David alone. It seems that David’s plan succeeds. The problems are over. However, this is only an illusion. He gets more and more entangled in the nets of Achish. David must gain this experience so that he may learn that his kingdom will be based on grace.
5 - 7 David in Ziklag
5 Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.
David does not want to live too close to Achish anyway. He hypocrites that he is but a servant of Achish and therefore cannot dwell in the royal city. Achish allows him to live in Ziklag, a city he even gets as property and which also remains the property of the kings of Judah. Thus, Ziklag in the land of God remains a reminder of this wrong way of David.
David will spend a year and four months in the land of the Philistines. No word of the LORD is heard all this time.
8 - 12 David’s Double Life
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 David attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. 10 Now Achish said, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so [has been] his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”
David is behaving here in accordance with what Saul said of him. For he acts very cunningly (1Sam 23:22). He not only goes to the enemies to live there, but he behaves as if he were an enemy of his own people. David can no longer go his way straightforward. His life consists of deceiving Achish, in whom he creates the false confidence that he has “surely made himself odious among his people Israel”.
The longer one propagates the lie, the more one believes in it oneself and is distorted by it in one’s character. What a misrepresentation! This false and hypocritical behavior becomes a habit of this man after God’s heart. How is it possible he perseveres in it? It is necessary that we pray: “Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Your law” [that is, God’s Word] (Psa 119:29).
If the conscience of God’s servants tells them that they are in a wrong position, one of their excuses is that they are dedicating themselves with new energy to a certain good thing. In so doing, they make themselves believe that such a thing will silence their conscience. Thus David is committed to fight against the enemies of God and His people. For the Amalekites must be eradicated by order of God and Saul has failed to do so. David makes up for that omission. He goes there and defeats them, apparently because the LORD is with him.
However, we should not focus on success. This is what happens frequently in professing Christianity. It is not asked whether a particular matter is in accordance with the Scriptures or not, but whether something produces results. Result is the only thing that counts. The advice of the world is sought to make a ‘church’ attractive. Evangelists use worldly methods to offer the gospel. If only souls are saved, that is the justification. However, we should not judge things by what we see, but by whether something is according to Scripture and reject everything that contradicts it. It is a walk in faith, not a walk guided by what we see.