David still has bouts of depression – he doesn’t trust king Saul. Saul sought David every day – never had a day off – again David says “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul, there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines…. So, I shall escape out of his hand.” (v1)
How many still do this today? They have the promises of God but still get depressed and worry about their circumstances and the future instead of putting their faith and trust in God. Depression doesn’t only affect non-Christians. Even the best of Christians feels this sometimes.
David was no exception despite being a “a man after God’s heart”. You would have thought that he wouldn’t have worried, but such was his distrust of Saul. David couldn’t get away from the fear of his enemy Saul. He came to the conclusion that it would be better to go to the idol-worshiping Philistines, and that really was low. He seemed to have even given up in trusting in The LORD. Discouragement and despair were driving him to do something which Saul could never have driven him to do.
In Psalm 27 verse 1 David wrote “The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When my enemies came against me, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that I will seek. That I may dwell in the House of the LORD all the days of my life for….”
I guess this was written later in his life because it certainly wasn’t his testimony here in 1 Samuel 27.
Sickness weighs heavy – always there, hovering, ready to intrude and bring despair. We too have an enemy, the accuser who tries to get us down, who seeks us every day.
David succumbed to his thoughts and despair, and took his 600 men to Achish, king of Gath, and dwelt there, each with their families (v2-4). What is even more sad, is that David took his own family and his 600 men and all their families.
How careful we must be when we get into these situations that we don’t drag others with us.
He had previously gone there (chapter 21) and found himself in danger, so he feigned madness to escape. David takes his loyal 600 men and went again to Gath to King Achish. Achish said he didn’t want madmen in his land, so David left. Whether Achish had forgotten about the incident or whether he’d thought David had had a recovery, I don’t know. However, David dwelt there in Gath and when Saul heard it, he left off following David (v4).
Achish is now ready to accept him because this time he brought his 600 men and Achish could use them to fight their common enemy, Saul. It is interesting that there seem to be no Psalms written by David during this period. It was not one of his best periods.
David, in humility, asked Achish, that if he had found favour in his sight, to give him and his followers a place in his country. Achish obliged and gave him Ziklag. David dwelt there for sixteen months. (v5-7). He acknowledged that he couldn’t choose to dwell in the royal city. Ziklag was known to be a fortified city, therefore, he thought they were safe there, but he was trusting in man, and not God.
David then took up a new occupation. He and his men went on raids of the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites leaving neither men nor women alive, but they took the animals and clothing, and returned to Achish (v8,9)
This was nothing more than armed robbery and murder, plundering the enemies of Israel, so I suppose they took some comfort in that, but it wasn’t the best way for a man after God’s own heart.
However, even worse, was that he lied to Achish (v10-12) by telling him that they had raided the southern part of Judah, or the Jerahmeelites, or the southern kingdom of the Kenites, even as far as Egypt. David always annihilated the entire places so that no one could report to Achish the truth that David was raiding Israel’s enemies who were probably allies or potential allies of the Philistines.
We must never lie to cover our sins. As I have said before, to be a good liar we must have a truly exceptional memory to be a consistent liar. Lies always come back to catch us out. The ninth Commandment laid down that we must not bear false witness, in other words, do not lie. Lies can be blatant untruths but also, half-truths and even exaggerations and gossip, anything which falls short of the whole truth. Just like David, we might try to convince ourselves that we are not so bad as we could be or as some others are, but it isn’t right, and it isn’t what God wants.
Achish was easily convinced by David, just as he had been earlier with his feigned madness.
