Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.” And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”
When we are on the run and out of sorts we resort to very bad behavior. That is the lesson taught from this section of David’s life. David is on the run. Saul the king is out to kill him. Twice David was able to kill Saul but would not do so. Here is what closed out the last chapter:
1 Samuel 26:22-25 (ESV)
And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’S anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Even though he could kill Saul he did not. Even though Saul finally admits that David is blessed and will succeed in much, David, runs. This time he runs to the Philistines. He makes them believe he is working against Judah and Israel, but instead he is actually raiding the villages of the Philistines and killing all their men and women and children. This is not a behavior we can defend, but it was David’s behavior. He not only did all this but would lie to the King Achish, the Philistine king, about it. God will use all this, of course, for His glory. But it does raise a question9 for us about David’s character. He feared for his life and even though God told him he would be king over Israel, David’s fear caused him to act in this immoral way. God is not favoring David’s behavior, but will use it later to bring Him glory. When we live in fear we do bad things. Rather than turn from evil because he feared the Lord, David turns to evil because he feared mankind. Those who fear the Lord do not turn to evil they turn from evil. David’s future son, himself, will write out this truth:
Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)
25 The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Proverbs 8:13 (ESV)
The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 14:27 (ESV)
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Proverbs 16:6 (ESV)
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
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