1 Samuel 29 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence

           To escape the wrath of King Saul, David had left the land of Israel and settled among the Philistines for over a year in the city of Ziklag, which was given to him by king Achish, one of the five lords of the Philistines.  David had won the favor of Achish by raiding surrounding villages and giving the spoil to the king.  However, he told the king that he was raiding Israelite towns when, in fact, he was pillaging the Canaanites instead, so by his deceit, he ingratiated himself even further with the king.  Of course, the author of the book does not make any comment regarding the ethicality of David’s actions; he simply records what he said and did.  Did David have to lie to Achish?  Earlier on, did he have to feign insanity before him?  These are the types of questions that are often considered in seminary classes on Christian Ethics. 

           There are some who would follow the pattern of Corrie ten Boom and say that lying was justified for the preservation of life as during the time of the Holocaust.  Others would align themselves with the mentality of Brother Andrew who would never lie, even to an enemy of God, staying consistent with that philosophy even when being asked by the border patrol in the Soviet Union whether he had Bibles hidden in the trunk of his car.  But in this particular case, David did not have to live among the Philistines; rather, he chose to do so, which caused this ethical dilemma in the first place. 

           Personally, I think that David did not have to take this course of action and that his lies only complicated his situation all the more, for eventually his lies would be found out.  Nevertheless, the Lord had mercy upon David and his men when they were put in the very difficult position of having to choose to fight against their own people or else fight against their own benefactor.  For, although Achish had complete trust in David, the other lords of the Philistines were not so sure.  Rightly, they figured that David might turn his sword against them if given the chance, for what better way for David to reconcile with King Saul then to deliver the enemies of Israel into his hands?  

           Although the author does not tell us directly that the Lord’s hand was at work in this, surely this was another instance in which the Lord delivered David from a snare of his own making.  Of course, the Lord didn’t have to deliver him at this time.  The Lord would have been just to let the situation run its course and for David to suffer the consequences.  And sometimes the Lord does allow such things to happen to us when we have run headlong into sin.  But in this case, and at times in our own lives, the Lord takes pity upon his servants who have gotten themselves into a bind by their own sin and delivers them out of it so that they can live to fight another day. 

           In this case, David and his men are completely unaware that as they are lining up for battle against Israel, the Amalekites are burning their homes in Ziklag and taking their women and children captive.  So not only is the Lord showing mercy to David in delivering him out of the dilemma that was self-imposed, He is also sending him back home just in time to go after the Amalekites before their wives and children disappear forever. 

           It is events such as these that remind us not only of our weakness but also our own ignorance, and they encourage us to cry out to God each day for guidance, for wisdom, for protection and for deliverance.  For we just don’t know what this day will offer us, whether our enemies will attack us or whether we will need to be delivered from our own sin and failure.  But thank the Lord that He is patient with us and has made provision for us even before the sun rises each day.