David and the Philistines

Yeah, so we come this evening to not really quite the easiest of passages.

Graham this morning talked about how the passage he had was an ocean,

that there was so much, so much depth and riches in it.

And today we come to a passage that at first glance doesn't seem to much we can learn from it.

But some of our studies in 1 Samuel have been relatively straightforward.

Some have been a bit challenging to work out what's going on.

I particularly don't envy the speaker that's got the next passage in chapter 28

with all the strange supernatural goings on there.

But this chapter at first seems to have not much happening in it.

And then at a second look you realise, wait, what's going on here?

This is strange.

And then once you work that out it's, okay, what's really going on here?

In many of our studies recently we've been thinking of David as a type or a picture of Christ.

And legitimately so.

Later prophets and the New Testament writers frequently make much of the links between David

and great David's greater son.

But David is just a man.

A fallen man like the rest of us.

And in this passage we see him not so much as a picture of Christ,

but as a picture of us in all our weakness and folly.

I hope I'm not being too harsh on David.

But while some of his actions in this chapter may be debatable,

his motives certainly seem to be compromised.

So if we start at the beginning in the first four verses of chapter 28,

we find David in a low place.

Fear has overwhelmed him.

He's sure that it's only a matter of time until Saul kills him.

Saul promised in the last chapter that he would not try to harm him again,

but David knows that Saul can't be trusted.

But fear is nothing new to David.

Saul's been chasing him on and off for the last nine chapters,

probably about as many years.

In fact, if anything, we could say that David's written a textbook on fear

and on how to deal with it.

In Psalm 57, which he wrote while hiding in the cave at Adullam,

he writes in his desperation,

In the shadow of your wings,

I will take refuge till the storms of destruction have passed.

Or in Psalm 24, he writes,

So he knows fear.

But he knows that he can trust God to deliver him.

So what's changed?

Why has fear overwhelmed him now?

We're not told.

But I think there are two possibilities.

The first is that Samuel is dead.

We don't really know what interaction David and Samuel have had

over the last few years.

When Saul first tried to kill David,

David fled to Samuel,

but we don't hear of them together after that.

But still, David would have been aware

that there was this great prophet

who had anointed him king,

who was still around supporting him

and praying for him.

But Samuel is dead now.

And maybe he feels that the promise died with Samuel.

But the second reason,

and I think probably

most likely,

is just that the danger has been going on

for so long.

He knows God's promises to him,

but he's been waiting so long

and his focus has slipped.

It's dangerous for us to base too much

on what the passage doesn't say.

But I don't think it's insignificant

that God is not mentioned once

in this chapter.

In all the chapters before and after,

he's mentioned several times,

frequently explaining David's motives

or David seeking guidance from God.

But in this chapter,

God is not mentioned at all.

That obviously does not mean

he's not present

and not active,

but it does suggest

that he's not at the forefront

of David's mind.

But,

so instead,

David takes things

into his own hands

and comes out

with his own strategy.

Because living in Judah

under Saul

has become so dangerous

that David considers it safer

to go and seek shelter

with the Philistines,

Israel's enemy.

He goes by the logic

that the enemy of my enemy

is my friend.

And it seems

that Achish

is willing to go

by the same logic.

Unlike the previous time

that David had turned up

on his doorstep

as a lone fugitive

and had to feign insanity

to escape,

this time he's coming

with a large entourage.

he's got 600 fighting men

and their households.

And Achish decides

he can make use

of a band of warriors

with which they seem

to share a common enemy.

But we can already see

that this is going wrong.

In the last chapter,

David said to Saul,

they've driven me today

from my share

in the Lord's inheritance

and have said,

go serve other gods.

Now do not let my blood

fall to the ground

far from the presence

of the Lord.

He knows he should

not be going there.

He knows that's not

where he should be.

When David

was merely a boy

fighting Goliath,

everything was clear

to him.

These pagan Philistines

were God's enemies.

and here,

he's basically entering

into an alliance

with the Philistines.

He's been waiting

so long for God

to follow through

on his promises,

he's given up waiting

and has turned instead

to his own wisdom

and cunning

to save him.

Waiting can be difficult,

even for people like me

that give the appearance

of being so laid back

all the time.

I think there's

a good reason

why patience

or long suffering

is listed

in the fruit

of the Spirit.

It's not natural.

We naturally

struggle

to wait,

especially

when what we are

waiting on

is God's timing

because as Peter

would write,

the Lord

is not slow

in keeping

his promise

as some

understand slowness.

I.e.,

God's timing

is not ours.

God's plans

are not ours.

But there are

so many things

that we need

to wait for

in our lives.

Each of our lives

is different,

the challenges

are different,

but for many

of us

there will be

things that

don't happen

to the timing

that we would

like.

We would like

if things

happen now

to our

timetable,

but God

asks us

to wait.

And maybe

that waiting

like David

is full of fear,

fear about

health,

about family,

about employment.

we want

answers now.

But God

asks us

to wait.

And maybe

there are

things in our

church that

we need to

wait for.

We'd love to

see this or

that happen

now.

We'd love to

see much

greater impact.

We don't

want to keep

working away

and only

seeing little

fruit.

But God

asks us

to wait.

But waiting

can wear us

down.

We can

lose patience

and decide

to come up

with our

own plans

and our

own

clever

solutions.

I'm not

suggesting we

should just

sit back

and wait.

Let go

and let God

as the phrase

was.

Because we're

called to

action.

We're called

to fight,

to wrestle,

to endure.

But are we

fighting our

battles,

our gods?

But I

think we

also struggle

as the

church Peter

was writing

to,

in waiting

for our

future hope.

Peter was

writing in

the first

century to

people who

were then

questioning,

is this

ever going

to happen?

heaven.

And here

we are,

20 long

centuries

later.

And like

most things,

it seems to

be something

that the

church has

gone to

two extremes

on.

Either

it's front

and centre

in our

thinking,

almost to

the exclusion

of everything

else.

And life

here is

seen as

no more

than a

waiting room

for heaven.

Or

it's just

something

vaguely on

the edge

of our

consciousness

that doesn't

really affect

how we think

about our

day-to-day

lives at

all.

I wonder

if we're

at risk

here of

getting caught

up in the

challenges of

here and

now and

losing our

perspective.

I wonder

if possibly

that inhibits

our evangelism.

the promise

and threats

of future

realities seem

so distant

that it's

hard for us

to reconcile

them with

the people

that we meet

around us

day-to-day.

It seems

two very

different

things.

But in

Hebrews 11,

which the

first passage

I ever

actually spoke

on,

we read

of how

future hope

shaped the

lives of

those who

came before

us.

Because we

read there

that Abraham

was looking

forward to

the city

with foundations.

His architect

and builder

is God.

And all

these people

were still

living by

faith when

they died.

They were

longing for

a better

country,

a heavenly

one.

Therefore,

God is not

ashamed to be

called their

God,

for he

has prepared

a city

for them.

They were

living their

lives here

while waiting

for what

they knew

was to

come.

I've been

recommending

the songs

of Andrew

Peterson to

various people

recently.

And what I

really like

about them

is they're

so grounded

in the

joys and

sorrows of

life here

and now.

they're

also filled

with longing

for something

beyond.

One of

them says,

And I

know you

hear the

cries of

every soul

tonight.

You see

the teardrops

as they

roll tonight

down the

faces of

saints who

grow weary

and faint

in your

fields.

And the

wicked roam

the cities

and the

streets

tonight.

But when

the God of

love and

thunder speaks

tonight,

I believe

you will

come,

your justice

be done.

But how

long?

How long

until the

burden is

lifted?

How long

is this the

song that

we sing?

How long

until the

reckoning?

And as

our Bibles

would finish

in Revelation

22,

with that

cry,

come Lord

Jesus,

as we

wait for

that which

is to

come.

But before

we go off

on too

much of

that tangent

from what's

not said

in the

passage,

let's get

back to

the passage.

And

taking

most of

the rest

of the

chapter,

so from

verse 5

to 12

in one

section,

and here

we see

that at

first it

seems that

David's

strategy has

worked,

because Saul

gives up

searching for

him.

His

hatred for

David isn't

enough to

push him to

all-out war

with the

Philistines.

But as we

read on,

we see that

David's scheme

gets more

and more

cunning,

convoluted,

and

compromised.

Firstly,

we see

David in

apparent

humility

in

verse 5,

requesting

that he's

given a

place in

one of

the lesser

towns

instead of

in the

royal city,

making out

that he's

not worthy

to be in

the main

city,

along with

the king.

But when

we look at

how his

deception

develops,

we realise

this is not

about humility.

This is

about distance.

He wants

to be

somewhere

close enough

to be

under the

Philistine

protection,

but he

wants to

be far

enough away

that his

comings and

goings won't

be watched.

He wants

to pull the

wool over

Achishud's

eyes.

And so he's

given Ziklag

that he

uses as

a base

and he

carries out

raids from

there.

And this

is where

we start

getting

confused.

Is David

here carrying

out raids

against Israel?

Against his

own people?

Surely not.

But then

when you

read the

passage

carefully,

you realise

there are

two accounts

of what

he's doing.

In

verse 8,

read,

So David

and his

men went

up and

raided the

Geshurites,

the Gerzites,

and the

Malachites.

But then

in verse

10,

when Achish

asked,

where did

you go

raiding

today?

David would

say,

against the

Negev of

Judah,

or against

the Negev

of Jeremiel,

or against

the Negev

of the

Canaanites.

Verse 8

says what

David is

actually doing.

Verse 10

says what

he's reporting

to Achish.

The situation

he's got

himself into

is one

where he

has to

continually

lie about

what he's

doing in

order to

remain

welcome

there.

Because

Achish

believes he

is raiding

Israel,

while actually

he's raiding

Israel's

enemies.

Now,

it is

possible

that David's

not strictly

lying here.

The

Negev

was the

desert land

to the

south of

Israel.

Israel,

and so

it's

possible

that

although

this

is

within

the

borders

of

Israel,

that the

peoples he's

raiding

against are

in that

land.

So maybe

technically he's

speaking the

truth,

but certainly

he's intending

to deceive

here.

in fact,

the people

that he

claims that

he was

raiding,

we actually

will see

later in

chapter 30

that he's

giving the

spoils of

his raiding

to them.

He was

raiding

Israel's

enemies,

building up

his support

in Israel

by giving

them the

plunder,

meanwhile

making Achish

believe that

he was

becoming so

obnoxious

to Israel

that the

Philistines

would have

his loyalty

for life.

It's not

exactly clear

who the

Geshurites

and the

Gerizites

are,

various things

seem to

suggest

different

things,

but certainly

the Amalekites

are one of

the peoples

in the land

that Israel

should have

wiped out

when they

entered the

land several

centuries earlier.

Israel

compromised

and never

completed the

task.

In fact,

in the next

chapter,

one of the

things that

Saul is

accused of

is not

destroying

the Amalekites.

So,

is David

doing right

here?

It's not

totally clear,

but certainly

his motives

aren't godly.

His reason

for total

destruction

is not

because these

are the

enemies of

God,

or anything

like that,

but pragmatically

so he can

continue his

deception,

so they

can't report

back what's

happening,

so as to

save his

own skin.

He's got

himself into

such a

compromised

position,

and none

of his actions

seem clear

cut.

everything he

does is

tainted.

It's so

easy for us

to compromise.

It's so

easy for us

to look at

the challenges

we see

around us,

especially

when God

doesn't seem

to act to

our timetable,

and come up

with our own

solutions.

Sometimes we're

willing to be

flexible on

what we believe

to be right

and wrong,

because we

think it's

the best we

can do

under the

circumstances.

Yeah, we

might know

that technically

our actions

are wrong,

but we

don't think

we have any

other option.

Have we

forgotten God?

Have we

forgotten David's

words that we

read earlier?

Many are the

afflictions of

the righteous,

but the Lord

delivers him

out of them

all.

Or the words

that we sang,

where there

seems to be

no way,

you make

it possible.

It's often

interesting seeing

how people's

view on an

issue changes

completely when

it affects them

personally.

They have

very clear

views on

what's right

and wrong.

But when it's

no longer an

abstract issue,

they're willing

to come up

with excuses,

exceptions,

mitigating

factors,

why it's

okay for

them.

Now,

part of

this is

probably a

healthy

developing

of a

nuanced

view of

the complexities

of the

issues,

but all

too often

it's mere

pragmatism.

It suits the

situation they

find themselves

in,

and if that

means they

have to

slightly revise

their morality,

so be

it.

But I

think one

question that

must be

asked is

why is no

one giving

David advice

here?

Why is no

one saying

to him,

I think you're

making a big

mistake?

Remember God's

promises.

You can trust

him.

Hold on in

there.

Surely among

all these people

he had with

him,

there was

someone that

would have

had the

nerve to

say something.

Certainly

Abigail doesn't

seem one

who's likely

to keep her

opinion to

herself.

In the

book that

some of us

read with

Alistair

recently,

side by

side,

one of the

things it

challenged us

to do was

to confront

each other

with her

sin.

Now,

that of

course must

be done

carefully,

sensitively,

unlovingly.

But have

we got

people around

us that

know they

have our

permission to

challenge us

when they

think we're

making mistakes?

Or do we

surround ourselves

with people who

will just

politely agree

with us and

tell us what

we want to

hear?

Do we have

people around

us that will

remind us of

God's

promises?

Who will

remind us

that he is

so much

more glorious

than anything

we could

possibly put

in his

place?

And so

we get

to

essentially

the end

of our

passage,

the first

couple of

verses of

chapter.

After all

this fear,

this compromise,

are we

left on a

downer?

Is there

anything

positive?

in the

first couple

of verses

of chapter

28 here,

we see

just the

difficulty of

the situation

that David's

got himself

into.

After almost

a year and

a half,

the major

challenge

comes.

Dachish is

marching out

against Israel

and expects

David to be

there fighting

with him at

his side.

what's

David to

do?

Initially,

he digs

himself even

deeper into

the hole by,

in a rather

ambiguous manner,

pledging his

loyalty.

And Dachish,

who believes

the reports

that he's been

carrying out

raids against

Judah all this

time,

appoints him

to be his

bodyguard,

in a place

of honour,

but also a

place where

he can keep

his eye on

him.

David's not

going to have

an opportunity

to quietly

slip away,

or even go

over to the

other side

here.

But is

there any

hope?

Earlier

I said that

it's dangerous

to base too

much on what's

not said,

and in this

case there's

nothing in

this passage

to give any

hope.

But we'll

discover in a

couple of

chapters that

God does

intervene.

All this

time David

may have

been ignoring

God, but

God's not

been ignoring

him.

David may

have given

up waiting

for God,

but God

was still

going to

fulfil on

his promises.

As Paul's

devotion this

morning reminded

us, failure

isn't final.

And here

we see that

God gets

David out

of the

situation that

his own

foolishness had

got him

into.

And in

the meantime,

God has

continued to

bless.

In 1

Chronicles 12

we read of

all the

men who

came to

David while

he was at

Ziklag.

He started

with 600

men.

By this

point he's

got more

because they

keep hearing

about them,

they keep

hearing about

all he's

doing, and

they keep

coming to

him.

So his

army is

continuing to

grow, ready

for when it

would be

needed.

And one

day David

would sit

on the throne

of Israel

with a

glorious

reign.

And his

line would

be preserved,

and the

promised Messiah

would come

from it, and

we would be

here today.

He was a

fearful,

compromised,

broken man,

like the

rest of us.

But God

was faithful.

This wouldn't

by any means

be his last

mistake, or

even probably

his worst.

And yet God

could still

describe him

as a man

after my

own heart.

David may

have failed

repeatedly,

but he

came back,

and God

was still

there,

waiting for

him.

Because David's

the one who

would write

in the

psalm that

Graham

read for us

at the

beginning,

completely

unplanned.

as far as

the east

is from

the west,

so far

has he

taken our

sins from

us.

But also

in the same

psalm,

he knows

how we are

formed.

He remembers

we are

dust.

And so

as we go

from here,

let's not

be burdened

by our

regrets of

the past

and our

present

failures,

but let's

bring them

and leave

them at the

foot of the

cross,

knowing that

they have

been dealt

with there.

As we

head into

Holy Weekend,

the Easter

weekend,

let's make

extra special

effort to

take time

out to

remember what

we remember

every week,

in fact,

every day,

that we

have died

with Christ.

We have

been buried

with him

and we

have been

raised to

new life.

The waiting

may seem

a long

time,

but let

us have

confidence

in what we

have believed,

that Christ

has died,

Christ

has risen,

and Christ

will come

again.

And as

we wait,

let's pray

in the words

of our

final song,

Don't

Let My

Love

Grow Cold.

If someone

was to write

our biography,

would there

be chapters

in it where

God's not

mentioned?

As the

song says,

Don't

Let My

Love

Grow Cold.

I'm calling

out,

light the

fire again.

Don't

Let My

Vision

Die,

and calling

out,

light the

fire again.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.