Havasu Christian Church
Series in I Samuel
“Smart move, or copout?”
I Samuel 27:1-12
1 Samuel 27:1–12 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.
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.
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.”
INTRO: Have you ever just had enough? Maybe it was a job with a boss that treated you badly. Or maybe you were in a town where you knew that if you stayed there long enough, you’d be in trouble. Maybe you parted ways with a “friend” that was fickle or used you for their own good. I suspect we can all look back on our lives to a moment where we said, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!”
That’s where we find David today! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! That is a dangerous place to be!
- David is simply tired of running!
- David has had enough! Saul chases him all over creation, and then when David spares his life, Saul goes home. But he doesn’t stay there. Here he comes again, looking to kill David.
- I’m sure his army, and their families are tired of it as well.
- Camping out is fine for a while, but then….
When we moved to Tucson when I was a boy, we ordered a trailer house. The company didn’t build them till you ordered them, so we were stuck for a while. Our family lived in a small camper, probably 16 feet long, next to the church for about a month and a half. No air conditioner, you had to go into the church building to use the bathroom. The camper did have a tiny shower, but there wasn’t a wastewater hookup, so the water just ran out onto the ground. Small mosquitoes came in through the screen, suck our blood and then be too fat to get out again. We’d squish them every morning. We had a young woman living with us, so 5 of us were crammed into this small space. No one was happy!
- I’m sure David was hearing about the living conditions from both of his wives, and I’m sure David’s soldiers were hearing about it from their wives as well.
- So, David decides it’s time to stop running.
- He has a choice.
- He can fight Saul and his army, or he can leave Israel.
- He chooses to leave Israel.
- Was this a good choice?
- Even though David is “a man after God’s own heart,” he is still a man and can make mistakes.
- If he hadn’t ran off, God would certainly still worked out His will for David, and for Israel.
- David would have still become King.
- David takes his army and their families and goes to Gath; a city of the Philistines. Yes, the place where Goliath was from…
- Apparently, he offers his services and the services of his army in exchange for a place to stay!
- Achish, the king of Gath, accepts his offer.
- David and company live in Gath for a while, but then David asks for a place of their own…
- They are given Ziklag.
From: Biblicalwarfare.com David at Ziklag
David wisely perceived that it would be disadvantageous to remain at Gath. From the viewpoint of the Philistines who served Achish, David was a capable leader of dangerous men who came from enemy territory. It would only be natural for his presence to incite distrust in Achish’s court (a perception proven true in I Samuel 29). He did kill the Philistine Goliath after all.
David, therefore, requested permission to live in the outskirts, outside the city walls. Achish agreed and offered David the town of Ziklag, on the southern border of Philistine territory.
Although generous on the surface, his true intention was to use David’s military prowess and his small army to defend the Philistine southern flank.
Achish’s trust in David was rooted in the mistaken impression that the enemy of his enemy was his friend. David would play on that belief using deception to win the trust and support of Achish. While at Ziklag, David and his men were able to use Ziklag as a base of operations to attack nomadic tribes in the Negev. At the end of each raid, David would return to Achish, presumably with the spoils of his campaigns. However, he led Achish to believe that he was raiding areas within Judah. And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”
Clearly, Achish thought David was a trustworthy ally. It was a mistake he would eventually regret.
- David and Company “settle in.”
- They live in Philistia for a year and 4 months.
- We don’t know how long they were in Gath, but I suspect that they were in Ziklag for most of that time.
- They begin raiding the neighbors.
- This is expected.
- Much like it was in America with the Indian tribes.
- The only way to become a “brave” was to go out and prove you were brave by raiding an enemy tribe.
- Achish will expect tribute from David and there’s only one way to get it.
- David tells Achish he’s raiding in Israel, but he’s actually raiding the southern neighbors, who are also enemies of Israel.
- This helps keep David’s people safe.
- Achish thinks that David is just “digging a deeper hole” for himself and his soldiers with Israel.
- Achish now firmly believes that David is on his side for good!
- David is sending part of the spoils to leaders in the tribe of Judah.
1 Samuel 30:26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD:
- Hey, don’t forget about me! I’m still here, and I care about you guys!”
- David has already learned the art of being a politician!
- There’s a dark side to all of this.
- David is lying… again.
- He’s pretending to be a vassal of Achish.
- Raiding the enemy neighbors is one thing, but David is also killing whole settlements of people, not just the men who fight in him in battle. “Kill everyone! Take no prisoners!” is the motto.
- He does this so his lie to Achish will not be found out!
- It’s harsh, but the Bible tells the truth… even when it’s heroes aren’t very heroic!
Conclusion: The “big takeaway” for me today is pretty simple…. TRUST GOD!
- If David had trusted God, I believe he would have stayed in Israel.
- David said to himself “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul.”
- Was David expecting that God would go back on His promise?
- Did Jesus have this problem?
Matthew 8:23–27 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
- Jesus knew what job God had given Him to do, and He trusted God to carry Him through to the point where He could carry out that mission.
- Perhaps if he had been more trusting, David might have become king sooner, rather than later?
- If David had trusted God, he wouldn’t have formed a (phony) alliance with a great enemy of Israel.
- David knew better…
- He had fought the Philistines.
- He knew they were treacherous.
- “If your champion wins, we’ll serve you forever!” NOT!
- We know better two!
2 Corinthians 6:14–18 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.
- We usually talk about this in the context of marriage, but it’s wider than that.
- A partner in business who isn’t a Christian will draw you the wrong way.
- A pagan friend will draw you away from Jesus if you aren’t proactive!
- Draw him TO JESUS!
- We are “in the world, but not of the world.”
- But David let being TIRED of running get the better of him!
- Don’t let being tired lead you to do foolish or evil things.
2 Thessalonians 3:13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
- If David had trusted God, he wouldn’t have been lying to Achish.
- Lying is NOT “after God’s own heart.”
- Lying is sin, plain and simple!
- Be careful to live your life in such a way that lying won’t even be a temptation.
- Live as an “open book.”
- Don’t do things you will want to hide.
- When you do wrong, be honest..
- If David had trusted God, he wouldn’t have been murdering to cover for his lies!
- Lying can lead us to a lot of BAD places.
- Sadly, we see David do something similar to this later in his life.
- He sees Bathsheba bathing.
- He sends for her and has sex with her.
- A child is conceived.
- He calls for her husband Uriah to come from the battlefield, and tries to get him to have sex with his wife.
- Uriah is one of David’s most trusted soldiers.
- There are 37 “Mighty men.” Uriah is one of them.
- Uriah won’t even go see his wife while others are on the battlefield.
- If David had been where he should have been, with his men on the battlefield, none of this would have happened!
- David sends a note with Uriah to the commander of the army to get him killed!
2 Samuel 11:15 He had written in the letter, saying, “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”
- A lie can lead to some terrible consequences!
Neglecting to trust God will always end badly!
TRUST HIM!
