"Your move us to delight in praising You; for You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." 

Augustine (354-430)

DAVID AT ZIKLAG 1 SAMUEL 27 & 1 CHRONICLES 12 (Be Careful What You Speak To Your Heart)

 

27:1-4

David Leaves Israel for Philistia

Despite Saul’s apparent repentance, David did not believe Saul would abandon his desire to kill him. After all, Saul had said these things many times before. Each time he returned to his pursuit of David.

David decided to move to the land of the Philistines to escape Saul. Saul would not pursue David there, since it would lead to war with the Philistines. The Philistines seem to have had a superior army at the time.

There is an element of unbelief here, a moment of doubt. Whereas David previously said that God would deal with Saul on David’s behalf, here he says “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that i should escape to the land of the Philistines”. (1) 

There is a play on words here. 1 Samuel 26:10 says Saul may go down to battle and perish (at the hand of the Lord). Now, in 27:1, David says he will perish at the hands of Saul. The Hebrew word can also mean “swept away”. (Note that the New International Version does not reveal this because it uses the word “destroy” in 27:1 even though it is the same word translated as “perish” in 26:10)  

Nothing indicates that David sought the Lord before making the decision. He did not send for the high priest and the ephod as he had before. 

David had been to Gath before by himself. He had not been received well and had to act crazy to escape. (1 Samuel 21:10-15) This time, however, he arrived with 600 fighting men. Achish, the king of Gath, must have believed David could be useful and allowed him to stay. 

David had his two wives with him and his men had their families (“household”) with them. Their total number must have been at least two thousand. 

As David had hoped, Samuel abandoned his pursuit once he knew David was in Gath.

David Moves To Ziklag

17:5-7

David asked Achish to give him one of the country towns instead of living in the royal city. This would get him away from Achish’s direct supervision. 

Achish gave Davi Ziklag. Ziklag was part of the territory God gave Israel. He gave them the land all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, but they did not conquer it. 

Ziklag was allotted to the tribe of Judah, David’s tribe. But they had not conquered it, or had lost it to the Philistines. He lived there 16 months.

While David was in Ziklag, many more men came to him. 1 Chronicles 12 gives us a list. Some of them became David’s “mighty men”. They were skilled at warfare. They could use bows and arrows. They could use slings with either hand.

One group of men were Benjaminites, the tribe of Saul. There was also a group of Gadites (men from the tribe of Gad) who had come to David in the wilderness. They were also great warriors, strong and fast, and experts with weapons. They became leaders in David’s army.

Some men of the tribe of Manasseh also came to David. (1 Chronicles 12:19) Some were chiefs of thousands, mighty men of valor. The defections continued until David had a great army. (1 Chronicles 12:22) 

David The Raider

27:8-12

From Ziklag, David and his army conducted raids against other people groups that occupied parts of southwest Israel. These were Canaanite tribes who had been in the land a long time (“from of old”). 

He shared the bounty with King Achish, insuring his friendship. He also lied to Achish, saying he was raiding the Israelites. This made Achish believe David could never be part of Israel again and so would remain a loyal servant of Achish. 

David himself must have become quite wealthy in this process.

But, notice that David doesn’t just raid, he destroys. He killed all of the people, but kept their livestock and other possessions as he returned to Ziklag. He killed them so they could not come to Gath and tell what David had done. He became more than David the raider; he became David the butcher. 

Takeaways

It is important to speak truth to yourself rather than the lies of fear. You say the truth about the power of the Lord and his willingness to help.

David talked to himself (“David said to his heart). But he doubted God. He said Saul will win and kill me. Yet, God had told him differently. He had been anointed to be king by Samuel, the prophet and last judge of Israel. That had be reaffirmed by Jonathan and Abigail. It had been acknowledged even by Saul.

Instead of looking to God for security, David looked to the Philistines, a pagan people. He was successful in that Saul did not come after him. And for that, he may have felt justified in all of his actions. 

Be careful what you speak to your heart. 

THE SPEAR EPISODE - 1 SAMUEL 26

David Gets Sneaky

26:1-12

The men of Ziph decided to betray David to Saul again. They went to Saul in Gibeah and told him where David was hiding out.

So Saul gathered his 3,000 chosen men again and set out after David. But David remained hidden in the wilderness. He found out where Saul was camped. Then he went there and saw Saul sleeping in the midst of his army. Abner, the commander of the army, slept next to him.

David had two men with him, Ahimelech, a Hittite, and Abishai, the brother of Joab, who later would become commander of the army of Israel after killing Abner. David wanted to sneak into Saul’s camp and Abishai agreed to go with him. This was a very bold move. 

When David and Abishai came upon Saul, Abishai volunteered to kill him with his spear. His arguments were similar to those of David’s men in the previous encounter. And it would have made a great point: Saul would be killed by his own spear, which was his symbol of authority, taken away by David. But David again refused.

David again made the point that he would not strike Saul because he was the Lord’s anointed. It would be the Lord who took care of Saul (“will strike him”). Either the Lord would strike him, he would die of natural causes, or he would die in battle. David seems to have learned a lesson from his encounter with Nabal: David can leave the matter in God’s hands and God will take care of him. 

David was demonstrating faith in God. He did not know how or when God would act. But he believed God would act and carry out his will for David to be king. 

David did take Saul’s spear and jar of water when he left. It was proof to Saul that David was in the camp and over Saul’s body.

The writer gives credit to the Lord for giving a deep sleep to all of Saul’s men. Saul was helpless because God made him that way. 

David Taunts Abner

26:13-16

After David left the camp, he taunted Abner and the army of Saul. He acused them of failing to keep watch over the king. He said they deserved to die because of their failure. As proof, he showed them Saul’s spear and jar of water. 

The passage does not tell us why David did this, but it appears it was to get Saul’s attention and again show him that David is able to harm him, but will not. 

David Addresses Saul

26:17-20

When Saul recognized David’s voice, David questioned Saul’s pursuit of him. It is similar to his speech in chapter 24. David asked Saul what evil did Saul think David had done. 

David said, if the Lord had stirred Saul up against him, he would make an offering to atone for his wrongs. But, if men had stirred up Saul, they should be cursed. It appears, though, that Saul’s own troubled spirit was to blame. 

David went on to tell Saul the effect of his pursuit. David was robbed out of his share in the heritage of the Lord.  He has been told to go serve other gods. (19) If he is run out of the country, he will lose his identity as an Israelite, as one of God’s people. He will be cut off from his families allotment of land, his access to the Tabernacle, and his participation in the feasts. He will lose the ability to worship God as he is supposed to and will lose the fellowship of God’s people. 

David again emphasized his insignificance compared to Saul, calling himself a flea. 

Saul Repents 

26:21-25

Upon hearing David’s speech, Saul repented. He acknowledged his sin and vowed to quit trying to harm David. It is interesting to see Saul do wrong, seemingly repent, and return to doing wrong. 

In response to Saul’s repentance, David returned Saul’s spear. He also acknowledged that the Lord rewards those who act in righteousness and faithfulness, and claims to have done so by sparing Saul’s life. He added a prayer, though, asking God to hold his life as precious and he held Saul’s. He asked God to deliver him from all of his tribulations.

In response, Saul blessed David for future success. Then they parted. They would never see each other again. 

Take Aways

David continues to grow in faith as he refuses to strike Saul and relies on God’s providence. Sometimes Satan presents opportunities to us that seem good. But, if they require actions that we know are contrary to God’s will, we must reject them even if they would seem to make life easier. 

David does not rely on Saul’s apparent repentance. He did not join Saul, but went his own way.

GOD'S PROVIDENCE ON DISPLAY - 1 SAMUEL 25 (ABIGAIL SAVES DAVID FROM HIMSELF)

 

David Seeks Food

25:1-8

After the confrontation with Saul, David went south into the wilderness of Paran. He became aware of a very rich man who was shearing sheep in the village of Carmel. His name was Nabal, but we are not told his name first. Instead, we are told of his possessions.  He had a large herd of sheep and goats. It is fitting to introduce him this way because he is all about his possessions. We meet him defending his possessions and he dies enjoying his possessions.  

In addition to being rich, he was a descendant of Caleb, one of the two spies who urged Israel to go into Canaan. Thus, he had a great family pedigree in addition to great wealth. 

The writer sets up the story by telling us that Nabal was harsh and badly behaved. His name means “foolish”. But his wife, Abigail, was discerning and beautiful. (3) She had good looks and good sense. 

David sent ten men to Nabal with a polite request for food. His request was based on the fact that his men had not bothered Nabal or his livestock and had provided security for them.  Normally, a person of wealth would express gratitude or such services with a gift. In addition, there was a feast scheduled, likely to celebrate the shearing of the sheep, which would lead to commerce in wool. 

Nabal Being Nabal

25:9-11

Nabal refused David’s request. In addition, he belittled David, saying he was a servant who broke away from his master and implying that David was insignificant by asking who he was. He said he would not take meat meant for his shearers and give it to men that he did not know. 

Notice the emphasis on ownership and possessiveness: Nabal says my water, my bread, my meat. 

David’s Rage

25:12-13

When David heard of Nabal’s refusal, he went into a rage. He received Nabal’s words as Nabal intended: they were insults and David was insulted. He ordered his men to put on their swords, as he did. As Nabal says “my” three times, David says “sword” three times. He took 400 men to go and attack Naval, meaning to wipe him out. 

In a way, David was on the verge of committing the same sin as Saul when he killed everyone in Nob for helping David. Now David means to kill everyone in Carmel because Nabal refused to help him. 

We also see a bit of irony here. David was willing to apply the principle of refraining from vengeance where Saul was concerned. Yet, he wanted to take vengeance on Nabal. Saul had sought David’s death. Nabal only refused to share his goods with David. 

A Wise And Helpful Servant

25:14-17

One of Nabal’s men went to Abigail and told her what Nabal did. He also vouched for the truth of David’s story, that his men had been protecting them. He advised Abigail to think this over and decide what to do, because David was coming to harm them and because no one could give advice to Nabal. 

Abigail Makes Amends

25:18-31

Abigail quickly put together a bunch of food and took it to David. She did not tell Nabal she was doing this. 

She presented the gifts and herself as Jacob had done with Esau. The gifts would appear first, then herself. It is a way to make the receiving person look at the giver more favorably. 

Much like David had done with Saul, Abigail paid respect to David by dismounting and bowing to the ground before him. She admitted Nabal’s folly, but said she did not see what happened, implying that she would have done it differently.

But Abigail also told David that God had restrained him from bloodguilt by denying his attack on the man and his family. She asked for forgiveness and appealed to David’s good character. She said God would protect him from his enemies. And, when he took office as king, he would have nothing bad on his conscience if he spared them. 

Finally she asked David to remember her when he received what the Lord had promised him and became king. (31) It sounds a bit like what the thief on the cross said to Jesus. 

David Responds Positively

25:32-35

David recognized the wisdom of Abigail’s words. He said she was sent by the Lord. He blessed the Lord and he blessed her and her discretion. He realized that the Lord had indeed kept him from bloodguilt by sending Abigail. 

We again see the principle David is operating under: he is not to avenge himself, but is to leave Saul to God. God has given him the kingdom, but not the right to take it by force. David is now reminded of that through God’s servant, Abigail. 

David accepted Abigail’s gifts and sent her home in peace. He acknowledged her wisdom, saying he had obeyed her voice. 

Nabal Dies

25:36-38

Abigail returned home to find Nabal partying and drunk. When he sobered up in the morning, she told him. He had some kind of catastrophic health event, went into a coma and died 10 days later. So, the Lord avenged David.

David blessed the Lord for avenging him, and for keeping him from doing wrong and avenging himself. He sent servants to Abigail with the message that he wanted to marry her. His wife, Saul’s daughter, had been given to someone else. 

Abigail again acted humbly, bowing and stating her insignificance (only being worth washing the feet of David’s servants). 

David also took another wife, technically his third, a woman named Ahinoam. 

Takeaways

The doctrine of Providence is on display here. Providence is God providing for the needs of his servants, often in mysterious and unexpected ways. David and is anger needed to be restrained. Here God used Abigail to provide this restraint. God’s restraining action is mentioned four times in the passage (verses 26, 33, 34, 39).

Since most Bible stories involve men, she is an unlikely hero. But, God can use anyone, from the least to the greatest, to accomplish his will. 

Sometimes God saves us from ourselves. He frustrates our plans.  Or he sends someone to tell us what we need to hear.