Day 80 – 1 Samuel 29:6-11
Scripture Review
1 Samuel 29:6-11
"Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not." (1 Samuel 29:6)
Achish tells David, in effect, I trust you completely. Achish is not an absolute monarch. The Philistine rulers can check him, and here they do. It seems all that time spent with David may have brought him before the LORD God of Israel.
"Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 29:7)
This is the dismissal, and it is gentler in tone than in effect. David is being rejected, yes, but by rejection he is being rescued. "Go in peace" The cord is cut. God sometimes cuts the knot instead of letting me manage it.
"And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" (1 Samuel 29:8)
This is where David does not come off well. I believe his answer is designed to confirm Achish's belief of David's fidelity, while also adding that he (David) can hardly have intended to fight his own countrymen and must have rejoiced inwardly that God had delivered him from the dilemma. Outwardly he protests, inwardly he has to know this is the exit he needed.
"the enemies of my lord the king." this wording can be heard more than one way. Is it Achish or Saul? That is classic political compromise speech. It is flexible enough to preserve appearances, slippery enough to avoid a clean confession.
Loyalty is proved by what we do, not by religious sounding words, and no flowery language can disguise rebellion. David's words to Achish are polished. The situation behind them is not.
"And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art 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." (1 Samuel 29:9)
Achish again responds with favor, "as an angel of God." The phrase is a high compliment, echoed elsewhere in Scripture as language for rare discernment and trustworthiness. Achish is constrained by the Philistine rulers, not speaking from weakness of affection but from political necessity. Achish likes David well enough in private, but the corporate Philistine machine will not take him into battle. That is how worldly approval usually works. It smiles warmly until the day of actual allegiance arrives.
"Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart." (1 Samuel 29:10)
David is given a simple, immediate, and direct order. Early morning, first light, depart. "thy master's servants" means Saul's subjects. Achish is basically saying, Take Saul's men and go. He still likes David, but even his wording now starts to place David back where he actually belongs. David's force is not truly Philistine property.
"So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel." (1 Samuel 29:11)
David obeys the dismissal at once. He rises early and returns toward Philistine territory, which means back toward Ziklag. The Philistines, meanwhile, go up to Jezreel and on toward the catastrophe of Gilboa.
Sometimes rejection can be God's blessing when it keeps you out of a battle he should never have joined. This chapter does not flatter David. David's hand gets him into knots. God's hand gets him out of them.