Chased by Enemies
Notes
Transcript
1 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10 When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’ ” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.”
No Win Situation
No Win Situation
An aspect I appreciate about the Bible is that it’s gritty.
It doesn’t pretend that the heroes are perfect.
It shows us their sins, their foibles, their weaknesses, and the humanness of the decisions they often have to make.
If we lived in a clean and straightforward world, we wouldn’t need a gritty Bible.
We could have a book that provides easy scenarios with easy answers, and could give perfectly straightforward paths.
I’m guessing all of you have been faced with scenarios where you’ve had to choose between two bad options.
Today we look at David, who is faced with two bad options.
Option one: He remains in Israel and has a bounty placed on his head by Saul.
Option Two: Go into the land of Philistines and become, essentially, a soldier of fortune .
We start in verse one.
Escape
Escape
1 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
For backstory, Saul pursues David out of fear and jealousy.
God removed his hand of blessing from Saul, and David is the next in line.
Saul is worried about losing power, so he wants David killed.
Several times David has show Saul that he means no harm.
Still Saul pursues, and David knows he won’t stop.
Now, escaping into the land of the Philistines is a less than desirable option, as well.
Last week, Pastor Lynne preached on slaying giants, and focused on David slaying Goliath.
Goliath was a Philistine.
So, we read in verse 2.
2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath.
Soldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune
This is where things take an interesting and violent turn.
Because David has, in the past, been an enemy to the Philistines, he decides he has to find a way to earn trust.
At the same time, he’s an Israeli and he is loyal to Israel.
So, he raids neighboring cities and lies about who he raids.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
10 When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’ ” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.”
To be clear, David is not raiding Israelite towns and villages
He is instead raiding smaller villages near the Philistines.
The benefit is twofold.
Firstly, he is able to fake loyalty to Achish.
Secondly, Saul won’t pursue him. David is safe.
He also learns Philistine military tactics and ways
And he remains faithful to Israel.
Note what David has to do to make all this work, though.
He lies, deceives, and even kills.
The thing we least like to say about David is that he was a violent man.
He loved the Lord, but he was not afraid to take up the instrtuments of war to achieve his end.
I ask you, what would you have done if you were David?
Saul wanting you dead in Israel?
A Philistine King needs your proof of loyalty.
How would you choose?
Could you imagine making bad decisions along the way?
David’s Story, Our Story
David’s Story, Our Story
David’s challenge in today’s story is is also like decisions we must sometimes make in a sinful and broken world.
Sometimes we aren’t even looking for a battle, but the battle comes to us from all around.
We don’t always have the option of the easy path, or the straightforward Godly path.
We can think of our own military actions as a nation.
Just war theory is built around the idea that there are no good wars, but sometimes a nation is just for going to war.
More locally, sometimes a family member or relative must practice some form of tough love with a family member.
The irony is that it may not feel like love at all, and we may alienate the person we love.
Grace More Than Sin
Grace More Than Sin
Friends, it’s always grievous when we have no truly holy path...
How much better would it be if all that was ever placed before us were purely virtuous scenarios.
Even so, Christians believes more in the eternal grace of God than the temporary consequences of sin.
David’s story gives us a picture of that sort of grace.
Throughout his life, David will have many reasons to repent.
The overarching story is that David is to be king.
The smaller narratives are that the current king wants him dead.
The Philistines are enemies.
David has killed a giant.
David will be an adulterer and murderer.
Saul has killed his thousands.
And David his tens of thousands.
We will find times like that in our lives.
Where there is no perfect solution to a difficult situation.
Repentance and Forgiveness
Repentance and Forgiveness
We not, though, that David is referred to as a man after God’s own heart, in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22.
What does that mean for us?
Firstly, we believe more in God’s grce than our sin.
Secondly, we acknowledge and confess the sin we’ve commited, even if we were put in a bad situation.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Secondly, we trust that the forgiveness of Christ is true forgiveness.
7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
When we repent, our sins are no longer counted against us.
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
When it’s over in the eyes of God, it’s over.
Making it Right
Making it Right
It also means that, insofar as we are able, we should make every effort to make right whatever we’ve made wrong.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Best of All...
Best of All...
The grittiness of scripture reminds us that when we are pursued by evil, and we sin, there is forgiveness.
If we could see clearly and know with authority, none of us would ever sin.
We don’t live in a world like that.
We are imperfect people who live in an imperfect world.
On the last day, when Christ returns, there will be no need for repentance.
No need to make the best of a bad situation.
There will simply be us, Christ, our Heavenly Father, and the perfection of eternity.
Until then, we have grace, so lean into the grace of God knowing that it is enough, and you are forgiven.
Amen