I Samuel 29
Philistine leaders see David in the campverses 1-3
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek
and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel
And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds
and by thousands
BUT David and his men passed on the rereward with Achish
Then said the princes of the Philistines
What do these Hebrews here?
And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines
Is not this David – the servant of Saul the king of Israel
which has been with me these days – or these years
and I have found no fault in him
since he fell to me unto this day?
Leaders ask King Achish why David is with themverses 4-5
And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him
and the princes of the Philistines
said to him
Make this fellow return – that he may go again to his place
which you have appointed him
and let him not go down with us to battle
lest in the battle he be an adversary to us
for wherewith should he reconcile
himself unto his master?
Should it not be with the heads of these men?
Is not this David – of whom they sang one to another in dances
saying
Saul slew his thousands
and David his ten thousands?
Achish sends David awayverses 6-7
Then Achish called David
and said to him
Surely – as the LORD lives – you have been upright
and your going out and your coming in with me
in the host is good in my sight
For I have not found evil in you since
the day of your coming to me to this day
nevertheless the lords favor you not
Wherefore now return – and go in peace
that you displease not the lord of the Philistines
David asks what is wrongverse 8
And David
said to Achish
But what have I done?
What have you found in your servant so long as I have been
with you to this day – that I may not go fight
against the enemies of my lord the king?
Achish tells of the fear of the other Philistinesverses 9-10
And Achish answered
and said to David
I know that you are good in my sight
as an angel of God
Notwithstanding – the princes of the Philistines have said
He shall not go with us to the battle
Wherefore now rise up early in the morning
with your master’s servants
that are come with you – and as soon as ye be up early
in the morning and have light depart
David heads away from the Philistinesverse 11
So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning
and the Philistines went up to Jezreel
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish. (314 “rereward” [ʾacharown] means last, end, utmost, hindermost, behind, or the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer)
DEVOTION: The battle between the Philistine’s and the Israelites was about to take place again. The men of Achish were together behind him while the other leaders brought their troops into view. Once all the other armies when before the king, the king brought his army into view.
Well, this was a real problem because at the end of all of his troops was David and his men. The other leaders didn’t like seeing David in his group. They complained to him and told him that David would start fighting with the Israelites once the battle began which would have enemies in front of them and behind them. This was unsatisfactory.
So, we find that before the battle there was strife in the camp. What was going to happen? We know that David and his men had been going out and killing other nations that were occupying the land that was promised to the children of Israel.
When a group comes into the church from another church, what are the people going to think, about them regarding their involvement in the outreach of the church. It is hard to blend two churches together or even a large group from one church coming from another. There are people who don’t trust the new group in the church.
So today it is no different than what the Philistines were facing here. However, this was a mix of followers of a false god or gods and a group that was following the one true God of the Bible.
It shouldn’t to be hard to blend two groups who are worshiping the same God and studying out of the same Bible. However, we know that it is not always easy for two group to blend together without fiction.
God want us to be able to blend only those who believe the same about God and the doctrines that are taught in the Word of God.
Many churches are not followers of the same God who have a Bible but don’t teach it the same way regarding proper following of the LORD. It takes a lot of prayer and seeking the will of God to blend two churches together.
CHALLENGE: With all that is happening today in our churches we need real wisdom from God to know what to do when groups try to blend together.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to this day? (3972 “fault” [mauwmah] means anything, ought, harm, something, indefinite entity, or nothing at all)
DEVOTION: In our state we have no fault insurance, and no fault divorce. It seems that an accident can be no bodies fault even when it seems that one person went through a red light to hit another person if no one comes forward as a witness then the police have to take the word of each person involved and if both blame the other it is a no fault accident.
Here we have a Philistine king telling the other kings of Philistine towns that David has been causing him no harm while he stayed with him for over a year.
He knew that he was a servant of Saul who had a falling out with him and he trusted David to be his own personal bodyguard but the rest of the lords of the Philistines wanted to have nothing to do with him.
We know that David was not telling King Achish the truth about where he was going and who he was conquering while he lived with him. He knew that David wanted to come with him but didn’t know that David really didn’t want to go against the Israelites in battle.
The LORD provided a way to escape for David from having to go to battle against the Israelites or fellow Hebrews as the Philistines called them. The LORD caused the lords of the Philistines not to trust that David would fight his own people. They were right.
Sometimes when we get ourselves into a corner that we don’t want to be in the LORD gives us a way to escape so that we don’t face the consequences we should because of our actions. This was an occasion in the life of David.
However, the LORD didn’t allow David to get away with his sin of lying completely as we will find out in the next chapter. The LORD gave him lighter consequences but there were consequences to his actions.
We all have to learn the hard way that we need to live a life that is pleasing to the LORD on a regular basis. We need to be keeping short accounts with the LORD regarding our lives for HIM to bless us.
CHALLENGE: We can fool some of the people around us some of the time but we NEVER fool the LORD regarding our actions. HE us omniscient!!!
: 5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another, in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? (4246 “dances” [mâchowlah] means taking a series of rhythmical steps and movement in time to music, circle-dance, or processional dance)
DEVOTION: Once they made a song about David and his battles against the Philistines the song traveled around the country. Even the lords of the Philistines had heard the song.
Today we have many singers singing songs about people in our society. Some are songs that lift people up to be praised and some are sung to put people down. These songs travel around the world today.
What we say about people travel further than we would like to have them travel sometimes as well. We can tell a friend what we think about someone and they can put our comments on Facebook or some other media and then everyone knows what we have said about someone. That is not good especially if we wanted to be friends with that individual.
Once something is out in print it is hard to take it back. We need to watch what we say because it can be used against us. Also we can have people make up things about us and spread them and people will believe what they read rather than what is the truth.
Remember to check out what we believe about anyone by going to them and asking them what is going on. Do this before you spread it to others. Once the hurt happens it is hard to regain a friendship again.
David was one who had killed many Philistines. It was the truth regarding the song that was sung but it influenced the Philistines to not want him by their side in battle.
Who do you want by your side in the battles that you fight?
CHALLENGE: Remember to check out the truth about someone who is a friend before believing a rumor.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 6 Then Achish called David, and said to him, Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright and your going out, and your coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day: nevertheless the lords favor you not. (3477 “upright” [yashar] means straight, just, right, correct, or level)
DEVOTION: The Philistines go to war against the children of Israel. They gather together at Aphek. The children of Israel gather at Jezreel. Remember that Saul has been told that he and his sons were going to die in this battle. David showed up with Achish in the camp of the Philistines to fight with the children of Israel. The Philistine leaders see David in the camp with Achish. The lords of the Philistines didn’t want David in the camp. They ordered Achish to send him away. They are afraid when the battle starts that David will change sides and fight against them.
This verse deals with this event. When the two of them met, Achish tells David that he has been straight with him. The Bible does not hide the truth of the relationship between the two men. David was in a position of trust but used it to deceive the king. It was good that he was sent away because he would have been in a quandary on whither to fight or not. David was in a position that was a problem. The decision of the lords of the Philistines helped David, leave the area.
We find ourselves in some situations that find us on the wrong side of a fight. The LORD sometimes protects us from wrong decisions. Sometimes HE does not. Here we see the LORD protecting David from a wrong fight. Again, we have a learning experience in the life of David.
As we see David get closer to being king, we see all the lessons that he had to learn. The LORD is teaching us lessons all along the paths of this life. Some lessons we have to learn repeatedly.
Pray that we can mature in our relationship with the LORD to the point where we can be more consistent in our walk with HIM. Pray that we don’t have to deceive those who are around us, especially those who don’t know Christ as their Savior.
We have the responsibility of being a good witness to those who are in our world. We have the responsibility to tell them about our Savior. Achish seems to know who God was but still did not believe. We will have many of those people in our world. Let us win them by our life.
CHALLENGE: Praise the LORD for HIS protection of HIS own. HE is protecting us from ourselves many times. Thank HIM for this blessing.
: 9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. (4421 “battle” [milchamah] means hand to hand fighting, a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war, shoving, combat, or battle line)
DEVOTION: David complained to the king that he had been faithful to him during his stay with him. This was not a true statement but he wanted the king to think that he was offended that he couldn’t go to battle with him. He wanted the king to think that he was genuine in his intention to fight with the Israelites.
King Achish insisted that he agreed with David regarding his loyalty to him. He thought that David was perfect. He compared him to an angel of God who was sinless. Remember there are two types of angels. One group sinned with Satan and became his army of demons throughout the history of mankind. The other group stayed faithful to the LORD and HIS messengers to HIS people at times.
So David was compared to a good angel.
None of us are angels and we never will be angels. Angels are created beings that serve the LORD. We are human beings that serve the LORD. We are two different types of individuals. Angels can appear as men but they are never men like humans. Humans will never become angels. Angels don’t receive their wings after they do a good work toward humans. Many are the fault teachings regarding the difference between humans and angels in our society. Check out the Word of God regarding what the LORD says about this group of created beings.
David’s deception to the king is recorded in this passage to show that humans can deceive other humans into believing some things that are not true. God is never deceived with our actions.
CHALLENGE: Our actions are seen and judged by the LORD. HE is never fooled by us.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 6
God – Elohim (Creator)verse 9
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Angel of Godverse 9
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Philistinesverse 1
Gathered armies to Aphek
Lords of the Philistinesverses 2, 7
King Achishverses 2-10
Talks with David
Princes of the Philistinesverses 3, 4, 6, 7, 9
Wanted David to go back
Afraid David would reconcile with Saul
Enemiesverse 8
Land of the Philistinesverse 11
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Evilverse 6
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
No faultverse 3
Reconcileverse 4
Uprightverse 6
No evilverse 6
Peaceverse 7
Goodverse 9
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Israelites verse 1
Pitched by fountain of Jezreel
Davidverses 2-11
Servant of Saul
adversary of Philistines
Hebrews = David’s men
Song regarding him
He killed 10,000 enemies
He and his men left the battle
Saul – king of Israelverses 3-5
Killed his thousands
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Unconvinced, the Philistine commanders demand that Achish “send” David “back” (v.4), a verb (šwb) repeated in various forms and to the same end throughout the rest of the chapter (vv.4 [“return”], 7 [“turn back”], 11 [“go back”]). They insist that he return to “the place (Achish) assigned him”—that is, Ziklag (see 27:6 and comment), to which David indeed eventually goes (vv.11; 30:1). They do not want David to go with them “into battle” (vv.4, 9) for fear that he will turn against them “during the fighting” (same Heb. for both expressions). They are concerned that he might “turn against” them (lit., “become an adversary against”; the word for “adversary” [śāṭān] was later specialized to refer to “the Adversary [par excellence]”—namely, “Satan” [cf. Job 1–2; 1 Chronicles 21:1]; for the idiom used here, cf. Num 22:22 [“oppose”]; 2 Sam 19:22). As a potential fifth column in the Philistine ranks, David might kill some of them and take their “heads” as trophies of war (cf., ironically, 31:9; see also comment on 28:2). In so doing he would regain “his master’s” (i.e., Saul’s; cf. v.3) favor. (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, pp. 787–788). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
The leaders couldn’t argue with their king, but they could suggest a safety measure. They remembered that in a previous battle, some Hebrew soldiers in the Philistine army had deserted their posts and fought for Israel (14:21), and David and his men might do the same thing. True, Saul was David’s enemy, but they might be reconciled and fight together. After all, the people used to sing, “Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (28:5; 18:7; 21:11), which suggests that they were once fighting together. The safest thing to do was to send David back to Ziklag, far from the battle, and let him carry on his own military attacks elsewhere.
The king gave the message to David, who continued his deception by appearing to be deeply hurt by the order. Had he not proved himself to his king? He wanted to go out and “fight against the enemies of [his] lord, the king,” another ambiguous statement that the king would interpret in his favor. But who was David’s “lord and king”—King Saul (24:8; 26:17), Achish, or Jehovah? And who were David’s enemies—the Jews or the Philistines? But Achish assumed that he was David’s king, so he ordered him to quietly leave Gath and go back to Ziklag and not to upset the commanders in any way. They had a demanding battle ahead of them and Achish wanted them to be at their best. David obeyed and returned to Ziklag.
Though the Lord was gracious to deliver David and his men from participating in this battle, He isn’t obligated to step in and extricate His people from situations caused by their own sinful decisions. We reap what we sow, and in later years, David suffered from being deceived by members of his staff and even of his own family. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2001). Be successful (p. 149). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications.)
29:4 he may become an adversary. The Philistine lords were not as willing as Achish to give favor and trust to David. Being very shrewd in their estimation of potential hazards, they realized that he might be feigning loyalty to the Philistines in order to seize a strategic moment in the battle when he could betray and fight against them. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Sa 29:4). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 4. And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him, &c.] With Achish, for giving such a character of David, and taking his part, in order to detain him, if possible: and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, make this fellow return: they speak of him with contempt, and insist on it that Achish order him to turn back, and go no further with them: that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him; to Ziklag, the place that Achish had given him for his residence; they did not desire to have him sent to his own country, and to Saul, since should a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great service to Saul against them: and let him not go down with us to battle; into the valley of Jezreel, where the Israelites had pitched: lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: and fall upon them behind, being in the rear, whilst they were engaging in the front with Israel: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? to Saul he had offended, and fled from: should it not be with the heads of these men? the Philistines; or unless by the heads of these men; he had no other way of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the battle. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 556). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
29:4 Unlike Achish, the other Philistine commanders mistrusted David, fearing that he would seek to regain the favor of Saul (his lord) by presenting to him the heads of the men here (probably meaning “our heads”). One can see the hand of the Lord working even through the Philistine commanders to keep David from fighting the Lord’s people, which he had managed to avoid doing so far. That would probably have shut him off from being accepted by Israel as king (27:8–12) and would have been a terrible evil (see note on 25:32–35). (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 537). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Luke gives his account of Jesus’ birth and early life.
INSIGHT
To Jesus, nothing is more important than doing His Father’s will, even at the age of 12. When His parents miss Him on the trip home from the Passover, they return and find Him in the temple. “Did you not know that I had to be about My Father’s business?” He asked. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me,” He later said in John 4:34. Absolute single-mindedness!
We are to have the mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus. We are to have absolute single-mindedness about doing the will of the Father. Most of us don’t feel very single-minded. We feel distracted and pulled in the direction of the world, the flesh, and the enticements of the devil.
But the goal remains unchanged: absolute single-mindedness in serving the Father. Make that your purpose and your prayer. (Quiet Walk)
Who Knows?
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
According to Chinese legend, when Sai Weng lost one of his prized horses, his neighbor expressed sorrow for his loss. But Sai Weng was unconcerned. He said, “Who knows if it may be a good thing for me?” Surprisingly, the lost horse returned home with another horse. As the neighbor congratulated him, Sai Weng said, “Who knows if it may be a bad thing for me?” As it turned out, his son broke his leg when he rode on the new horse. This seemed like a misfortune, until the army arrived at the village to recruit all able-bodied men to fight in the war. Because of the son’s injury, he wasn’t recruited, which ultimately could have spared him from death.
This is the story behind the Chinese proverb which teaches that a difficulty can be a blessing in disguise and vice versa. This ancient wisdom has a close parallel in Ecclesiastes 6:12, where the author observes: “Who knows what is good for a person in life?” Indeed, none of us know what the future holds. An adversity might have positive benefits, and prosperity might have ill effects.
Each day offers new opportunities, joys, struggles, and suffering. As God’s beloved children, we can rest in His sovereignty and trust Him through the good and bad times alike. God has “made the one as well as the other” (7:14). He’s with us in all the events in our lives and promises His loving care. (By Poh Fang Chia – Our Daily Bread)
OUR LORD’S CARE FOR HIS FOLLOWERS
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. John 17:6
Observe our Lord’s care for His followers. He reminds His Father that He kept them while He was in the world. How easy it is to read the Gospels without seeing that all the while He is watching them and keeping them and shielding them against the enemy. But now He is going out of the world, and in John 17 He is praying to His Father to keep them. He pleads with Him to look after them and commits them to His care. They are His Father’s, but they have been given to Him, and He gives them back: “keep them from the evil” (John 17:15).
If we but realized the concern of our Savior for us as we are tried and tempted and beset by sin and Satan, it would revolutionize our whole attitude toward everything. We should also note His loving attitude toward His followers. Some astounding things are said here. Indeed we would almost be right to query them when we read what He says of these disciples: “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world.” Then notice: “Thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word” (John 17:6). How can He say that?
As we read the Gospels and look at these disciples, we see them quarreling with one another, we see their jealousy of one another and their desire for preeminence over one another, and finally we read how at the end they all forsook Him and fled. Yet He said about them, “they have kept thy word.” He did not criticize them; He prayed for them. I thank God for this above everything else.
A Thought to Ponder: He did not criticize them; He prayed for them.
(From Safe in the World, pp. 18-19, by Dr.Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
One God
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
This great verse has been recited countless times by Israelites down through the centuries, setting forth their distinctive belief in one great Creator God. The Jews had retained their original belief in creation, handed down from Noah, while the other nations had all allowed their original monotheistic creationism to degenerate into a wide variety of religions, all basically equivalent to the polytheistic evolutionism of the early Sumerians at Babel.
But along with its strong assertion of monotheism, there is also a very real suggestion that this declaration, with its thrice-named subject, is also setting forth the triune God. The name “LORD,” of course, is Yahweh, or Jehovah, the self-existing One who reveals Himself, while “God” is Elohim, the powerful Creator/Ruler. “Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah” is the proclamation. A number of respected Jewish commentators have acknowledged that the verse spoke of a “unified oneness” rather than an “absolute oneness.” The revered book called the Zohar, for example, even said that the first mention was of the Father, the second one the Messiah, and the third the Holy Spirit.
The key word “one” (Hebrew achad) is often used to denote unity in diversity. For example, when Eve was united to Adam in marriage, they were said to be “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Similarly, on the third day of creation, the waters were “gathered together unto one place,” yet this gathering together was called “Seas” (i.e., more than one sea, Genesis 1:9-10).
Thus, Israel’s great declaration should really be understood as saying, in effect: “The eternally omnipresent Father, also Creator and Sustainer of all things, is our unified self-revealing Lord.” (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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