Is it true that the enemy of your enemy is a friend? When David seeks out refuge and shelter from Saul in the land of the Philistines why did Achish, the king of Gath, trust David? In 1 Samuel chapter 27 and 28 David, his men, and all their families take refuge in the land of the Philistines. David was the one who killed Goliath the champion of the Philistines so why are they now are willing to let him dwell in their land? Why do the Philistines allow David safe harbor? What was the catlyst of this unusual alliance of enemies?
Was the conflict between David and Saul common knowledge to the nations surrounding Israel? When hundreds of men run around after each other it is probably very apparent that something was happening within Israel. When David came to Achish it was beneficial to harbor David because he had six hundred fighting men with him. Did Achish start to have ideas of using David to conquer Israel?
When David is living among the Philistines he went out on raids against the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites but when asked by Achish about where he was raiding he implied that he was raiding against Israel. When David lies like this is it honoring to God? Does David use deception when his faith is strained and he lacks trust in God? I am having trouble seeing David’s actions as pure and just because of this deception. I do not know what God desired to accomplish through David’s deception but I trust that God is sovereign in these actions. David was a man who was prone to failure like every other person because he made some choices that honored God and at other times he disobeyed God. It can be easy to elevate the people of renown and faith in the Bible thinking that they were able to conquer their faults more easily than we can today but the truth is that we are all completely helpless to overcome our sinful nature. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can conquer the oppression of our sinful nature in our lives.
In 1 Samuel chapter 28 Achish gathers all of his men of war to fight against Israel. Saul is powerless to know what to do in the face of this overwhelming adversary because Samuel, the spiritual leader and final judge of Israel, was dead (1 Samuel 25:1), the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and Saul had killed the priests of the Lord leaving him full of fear and doubt, unaware of what to do. A woman, who was a spiritual medium, was found that was able to bring forth the spirit of Samuel from beyond the grave to speak with Saul. Samuel tells Saul everything that he already had heard about his unfaithfulness to follow God’s command and Saul is told that the following day he and his sons would be dead. I am thankful that I have the indwelling Spirit of the Lord within me because I cannot fathom the despair and fear that must have gone through Saul’s heart, mind, soul, and strength when he realized he had come to the end of his life without the support of God. Is this the same emotions that people experience when they die without the security and hope of trusting Jesus Christ as their savior?
In your moments of fear and doubt I encourage you to seek out your strength from Jesus Christ alone. Do not give into the lie that you can accomplish everything in life through your own strength like Saul did. There will come a day when you will die and you do not want to reach the end of life without an advocate. Place your trust in the death of Jesus Christ and you can have the peace and hope necessary for today and eternity.
