1 Samuel 29:1-11 - Protected from Destruction

1 Samuel 29:1-11

The Philistines Reject David

1 Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. 3 Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.”

4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying:

‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

David and his men escaped the confrontation with his own people under Saul who were doomed to defeat because of the king’s rejection by the LORD.  They escaped not due to David being found out as the one killing Philistines while living among them, but due to God’s intercession of sovereign grace in providential protection to stir up the other enemies against Achish who was still deceived by David’s ruse.  The Philistines went off to battle while David and company were kept safe behind enemy lines.  God’s plan against Saul might have gone differently if David went and turned to assist him against the Philistines in battle, but the LORD had pronounced defeat on Israel (1 Samuel 28:18-19) because of Saul’s disobedience and rejection of His word that led to his own rejection by God.  Some consequences are irrevocable.  Such are for those also who reject Christ and His gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17, Hebrews 10:29, 30-31) even now.  We who have repented of sin and turned in faith to trust Him and His work on the cross (that is the gospel of our own eternal deliverance) are as David and his men who were kept from destruction in the battle against those who have rejected the LORD and not kept His word to believe and (John 1:12, 5:24, 17:3) receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We rest in assurance of absolute hope as a certainty of our deliverance (John 3:36, 1 John 5:11-12, 13, 20) in Him who keeps us forever safe in the final battle of everlasting destruction (Matthew 25:46, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, 2 Peter 3:7) against those rejecting Him.  The believing are protected from eternal destruction; the ones rejecting the gospel find themselves rejected in the end.  This account of acceptance and deliverance through God’s providential protection echoes through the corridors of time to the fullness of time in the appearance of Christ to redeem and rescue His chosen ones who He has written in the Book of Life and proven through His life, death, burial, and resurrection to life. 

Samuel 28:1-25 - Rebellion of Divination Against the Divine

1 Samuel 28:1-25

1 Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

2 So David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.”
And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.”

Saul Consults a Medium (Deuteronomy 18:9–14)

3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.

4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”

10 And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”

13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”
And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”

14 So he said to her, “What is his form?”

And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.

15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

16 Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy? 17 And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me. 22 Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”

So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

David was with the Philistines as they gathered their armies against Israel and King Achish told him that this time they would fight together.  Meanwhile, Saul had lost his spiritual adviser Samuel the prophet.  He found that the LORD did not answer him by dreams, or by the Urim, or even by the prophets.  Instead of seeking another man of God who knew His word, the king found a spiritual medium against God’s word and will (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 20:27) to call up dead Samuel for advice!  Because God and even he himself had outlawed this, he disguised himself and asked a medium to conduct a séance for him.  The gig was up as the dead man came up to the medium and Saul was revealed.  Samuel told Saul clearly that the LORD had departed from Saul and became his enemy for his rejection and rebellion.  The kingdom was cut from Saul’s grasp and given to David who was a man after God’s own heart.  Because Saul did not kill Amalek (1 Samuel 15:3, 9, 11, 19) as commanded, the end would come on Saul and his army (1 Samuel 15:22,23) with him for this kind of divination and rejection of His word that had already cost him the throne.  God sought obedience over outward sacrifice and did not receive it from Saul.  The dethroned ruler left after sharing a meal with one who was an abomination to the LORD and went to die in battle.  How this should warn us to the core of our being to avoid what the world considers acceptable, things like mediums and séances and tarot and horoscopes, all which deny God’s word and substitute other gods that have no power but that to corrupt our minds and souls from true faith and obedience to His word?  This is an abomination that is rebellion of divination against the divine.  May we instead have hearts after God’s in devotion and fidelity to His word as living sacrifices and well-pleasing children to reign with Him in victory. 

1 Samuel 27:1-12 - Zigzagging Safety in Ziklag

1 Samuel 27:1-12

David Allied with the Philistines

1 And David said in his heart, “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; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.” 11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

David, the man who would one day be king, fled from Saul who promised to stop pursuing him but still was trying to kill him who would take the throne from him and his son who had already acceded it to David.  He lived under the protection of king Achish of the Philistines in Gath to hide from Saul under the guise of zigzagging back and forth to raid Israeli cities while really smiting more Philistines.  He got away with this under the nose of Achish while zigzagging back and forth in pretense of crossing the border by entirely wiping out the people of the Philistine towns to leave no witnesses, yet also in obedience to God’s original command to His people (Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 7:1, 2, 20:16-17, 18) to destroy all to inherit the land without leaving ungodly idolatrous influences behind that would corrupt His people.  This is akin to we in Christ needing to smite the sins in our lives (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5) to keep them from corrupting our souls and further.  David was faithful to do so as he secretly zigzagged between Gath and other Philistine towns to utterly destroy the ungodly influences that his future kingdom would be as God intended.  He was able to do this for almost a year and a half under cover of supposed support for the enemy Philistines.  God honored and protected him for being faithful in honoring His command for the inheritance in putting sin to death as we must in our own lives by the enabling power of His indwelling Spirit.  We need no subterfuge to do this, however, as our King rules all nations and we can stand and fight to win souls for His kingdom with transparency (2 Corinthians 1:12, 2:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:2-3, 4-5) and truth.  We do not zigzag between our true mission and a covert one with deception as was needed in David’s case.  Let us not attempt to be zigzagging safety in a modern day Ziklag, but present the truth openly and wholeheartedly as we rely on the Lord to battle for us and protect us from the Adversary. 

1 Samuel 26:1-25 - The King’s Spear of Vengeance

1 Samuel 26:1-25

David Spares Saul a Second Time

1 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” 2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. 6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?”

And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” 10 David said furthermore, “As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

13 Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. 14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

15 So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

17 Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, ”Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? 19 Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

22 And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. 23 May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. 24 And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

25 Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Saul continued to pursue David to the death even after the king was spared in the cave and swore to leave alone the man who would one day be his successor.  David heard of Saul’s plan and stayed in the wilderness until Saul and his band settled in for the night.  Then he stealthily crept into the camp to where Saul lay sleeping, and found that his spear was stuck in the ground by his head near a jug of water.  Again, David was urged to kill Saul where he lay vulnerable as in the cave, yet the man of God would not murder the leader put in place over Israel until the LORD Himself removed him for David to assume the throne.  He took the spear and water instead as proof of his good intentions as he told Saul and his bodyguard general Abner from a safe distance.  David asked if he had wronged Saul in anyway to then he would give an offering to the LORD.  But if it was other men who turned Saul against David, he cursed them as if they were keeping him from the inheritance of the LORD and trying to get him to worship false gods by such shunning.  Saul again told David he would not pursue him any longer and had foolishly sinned in doing so.  David valued Saul’s life as it was God’s and asked for the same thing from him.  Saul got his spear back and blessed the shepherd as they parted ways.  He even admitted David’s anointed calling by saying, “You shall both do great things and also still prevail.”  Sometimes we must face our adversaries with peace and a godly response in the light of God’s sovereign control of events and allow Him to hold the spear of our vengeance in His hand instead of attempting to take matters into our own hands and miss the chance to return good (Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30-31, 1 Thessalonians 5:15) grace for grace and not evil to attempt to stop evil.  Then we shall also do great things and prevail over our adversary in grace and peace through the gospel.  We put the King’s spear of vengeance where it belongs, in His hands, and not vainly attempt to take it into our own hands.  We are not the ones to take down evil rulers; they are in the Master’s hand of judgment (Daniel 2:21, Romans 13:1-2) to raise up and take down in His time.   It is His sovereign control to raise and remove rulers.  It is not our task to do so and put judgment into our own hands. 

1 Samuel 25:23-44 - Saved from Destruction by Grace

1 Samuel 25:23-44

23 Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

32 Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”

36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. 37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38 Then it happened, after about ten days, that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.

39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.”

And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.”

41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.

44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

The account of David and Abigail against the evil intent of her husband Nabal comes to a righteous conclusion here.  While David was going to defend his calling as the jointed king against the foolish and worthless Nabal (as his name described him) by wiping out him and his male heirs, Abigail stood in the gap between them by providing the food needed that her husband denied them and causing David to open his eyes to grace shown him by the LORD through her.  He heard her plea for mercy and to protect himself from seeking personal revenge.  She said, “He [God] has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself.”  A wise woman mediated the grace of God for David’s and the kingdom’s good by keeping blood from his hands as planned in the heat of the moment.  David blessed the LORD, respected her, and sent her home in a blessing of peace.  The wicked foolish man had been partying at home when she arrived and did not hear from his wife the near destruction he had escaped until the next morning when he sobered up.  The news made his heart grow still and he looked as lifeless as a stone until his death ten days later from the news of the escape of him and his sons from a certain destruction at the hand of the anointed of God.  We likewise bear witness of the bad news of impending destruction in the final judgment on all who reject the Anointed of God who offers mercy in forgiving grace in His name through repentance from sin and faith in Him and His mediating work on the cross to reconcile us (Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:20-21) with Himself by grace alone (Romans 3:24, 5:2, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5) in Christ alone (Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5) by trusting Him alone by faith for his faithful deliverance from that certain eternal (Romans 3:23, 6:23) sentence.  Once foolish (Titus 3:3-4, 5, 6-7) ourselves like Nabal as we fought against and denied the Lord as the Anointed of God, Christ-Messiah, we had our eyes opened by the Mediator Jesus Christ to see the grace of eternally-atoning forgiveness by Him and His offering for us and our sin on the cross of our former curse under sin as we turned from sin to know Him and His infinite grace.  We also have been saved from destruction by mediating grace, only ours in the final Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 9:15, 12:24) is spiritual and never-ending.  And as David took his mediator Abigail as wife, our Mediator has taken we who trust in Christ to be His bride forever (Romans 7:4, 1 Corinthians 6:17) now and forever upon His return.  Such is the reward of our deliverance from destruction by the great grace (Ephesians 2:7) of our Lord!

1 Samuel 25:1-22 - Beauty and the Worthless Beast

1 Samuel 25:1-22

Death of Samuel

1 Then Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

David and the Wife of Nabal

2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.

4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: ‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.

10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. 11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”

12 So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her servants, “Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light.”

After the prophet Samuel who anointed David as the true king died, David and his band of loyal brothers came near Carmel by the house of a rich descendant of loyal Caleb.  This wealthy man Nabal had a wife called Abigail who had good understanding and a beautiful appearance.  Her husband, unfortunately, was the opposite; he was both harsh and evil, a true scoundrel as foolish his name (1 Samuel 25:25) depicted him.  David visited him to inform Nabal that they had been protecting his flock and shepherds all the while they were there, and therefore asked if he could return the blessing by providing some sustenance for him and his men.  The foolish and evil response to civility and good will was to disregard David as a breakaway servant of Saul who was unworthy of giving any of his hard-earned living to feed.  David was rightly furious and armed himself and four hundred of his men for battle against him.  Abigail was warned and the servant pleaded with her to intervene for this gross misconduct of Nabal as she knew the good David had done for them.  They knew Nabal was such a scoundrel (son of Belial) that he would continue on this path to destruction unless she mediated for him to save them all from destruction.  Such is the parallel of God’s Son mediating for us to deliver from the certain destruction of God’s wrath on all who follow and support the evil one who denies and defies the living God of all creation.  She stood in the gap by sending supplies to meet David and his approaching army after they arrived to him.  As she met them, Abigail heard David’s oath to answer the repayment of his good protection against unthankful and disrespectful evil with certain destruction.  He vowed to wipe out the evil man and all his male heirs to put an end to such worthless folly.  But for Abigail the wise and understanding beauty, that would have been the outcome of the evil and unthankful beast denying the Lord’s Anointed.  A mediator was needed then and is even more critical now in light of eternal judgment. 

1 Samuel 24:1-22 - Do no Evil to Your Enemy

1 Samuel 24:1-22

David Spares Saul

1 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. 12 Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? 15 Therefore let the LORD be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, ”Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Therefore swear now to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”

22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

David and his men were holed up in a cave in En Gedi in the place called the Rocks of the Wild Goats when Saul went in the cave and David’s men urged him to kill Saul while he was alone and exposed.  David refused to do evil to his enemy in such a way and cut off a piece of the king’s robe instead to prove his loyalty and righteousness in mercy for the one God had put in place as the king, evil as he was.  We are also called to protect our leaders and do them no evil, even those who do evil and seek to do us harm as believers, for (Romans 13:1-2, 4-5) the Lord has put them there for His purposes.  David showed submission to God’s will and under the authority of the evil king because he accepted the situation as being under His sovereign control and so did no evil of his own to take advantage of the serendipitous situation where he could have killed Saul to end his pursuit of David and assumed the throne himself.  He did not.  He showed mercy even as others called for vengeance and blood.  Then David followed Saul out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” to gain his attention as he made himself vulnerable to attack.  He reminded Saul that if he intended to kill the king he could have easily done so just then.  David even told him that his men urged him to kill Saul and he had refused because of the position the LORD had put Saul in as king.  Then he showed the corner of Saul’s robe he removed as proof of his proximity and resulting ability to have killed him.  He then quoted a proverb and a promise with, “‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’  But my hand shall not be against you.”  He reminded Saul that he was small and insignificant compared to the king and that therefore he was no threat and need not be pursued to the death.  David called on the LORD to judge between them.  Saul admitted David was more righteous in showing mercy and good for evil, just as we are called (Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:14) to do.  Saul blessed David and his actions that day and admitted that one day David would be king in a prophetic utterance contrary to his past and future actions to prevent that and put his own son Jonathan on the throne.  He only asked that his descendants be allowed to continue and not be wiped out when he came to reign.  David swore to do so and they went their separate ways.  Note that David trusted this but still acted wisely to go back to the stronghold in the mountain for protection.  He trusted God but not Saul completely because of his past promises and pursuit.  May we be so wise as deceitful serpents but remain harmless as doves of peace (Matthew 10:16-17, Colossians 4:5-6) ourselves as we trust God’s sovereign will of providence and protection.  Do no evil to your enemies. 

1 Samuel 23:1-29 - Delivering and Deliverance

1 Samuel 23:1-29

David Saves the City of Keilah

1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD once again.

And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.”

13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

David in Wilderness Strongholds

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compassion on me. 22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.

27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” 28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape. 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.

David was given the news that the Philistines were attacking Keilah and robbing their threshing floors of their food supply.  The man who would be king asked the LORD if he should go into the fray to save Keilah.  His men balked at the thought of putting their small band in the middle of such a large army, so David asked for God’s guidance once more to be sure.  So they went and delivered their people from the ungodly Philistines with an overwhelming victory.  He even took the livestock of the enemy who would have taken the food from them and then Abiathar the son of Ahimelech came to David at Keilah with an ephod that was used to discern God’s will (Exodus 28:30, Numbers 27:21) in matters with the attached Urim and Thummim.  David consulted the LORD through this means when he heard Saul discovered his whereabouts and received the answer that the people of Keilah would turn him over to Saul, so they quickly left for safety to fight another day.  Having delivered their people, David now was delivered by the LORD God for his faithfulness and for God’s purpose for his life.  He and his men holed up in the fortress of the mountains for safety as Saul continued to pursue him to the death, yet even there he found encouragement from his best friend who was also his enemy’s son, Jonathan, who knew and believed that God made David the true king and that he would be by his side to help him as even Saul knew.  When David and his band of brothers were trapped at the mountain with Saul encircling it, God intervened once again with news that the Philistines had invaded back home, so he returned and stopped his dogged pursuit.  He was so thankful that he even named that place the Rock of Escape.  Then David went to En Gedi described as a place in the rugged hills west of the Dead Sea translates as “The Spring of the Young Goat” where they had isolation, protection, and a supply of fresh water from the En Gedi spring there.  The LORD delivered and provided for David there as he had delivered the people of Keilah.  We should also deliver those under the assault of the enemy of their souls by proclaiming the Lord’s deliverance of the gospel of Christ’s work on the cross for all His people.  We are to be involved in delivering them because we have been delivered (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19) ourselves.