I Samuel 27:1-12 & 28:1-2
I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear.
Fear is not my native land; faith is.
I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in
the machinery of life; faith is the oil.
I live better by faith and confidence than by fear,
doubt and anxiety.
In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for
breath–these are not my native air.
But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely–these
are my native air.
A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not
know why it is that worriers die sooner than the
non-worriers, but that is a fact.”
But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are
inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell
and soul, for faith and not for fear.
God made us that way. To live by worry is to live
against reality.
Dr. E. Stanley Jones
Today we are going to examine 1 Samuel 27 and the
first two verses of chapter 28. Last week we looked at
Chapter 26 which described the second time David
spared Saul’s life.
God gave Saul into David’s hand, but David refused to lay
a hand on God’s anointed.
And back in chapter 24 Saul was delivered into the cave
where David and his men were hiding and David merely
cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. In these instances he
chose kindness and compassion over revenge.
In our text today we are going to see David take a
departure from the righteousness and faithfulness that
we observed in those chapters.
Before we get too judgmental though, let’s remember
that our faith is a journey and no one is perfect except
Christ. Let’s see what we can learn from David this
morning. Let’s pray and ask God to speak to us and
teach us from His word this morning.
I Samuel 27:1-4
David Doubts
In these verses we see David’s doubts overcome his
faith.
He has been on the run from Saul for such a long time.
He lets fear get the best of him, and starts to believe that
Saul will one day kill him.
“When we start to look at God through our
circumstances instead of looking at our
circumstances through God’s eyes, we will lose
faith, patience, and courage, and the enemy will
triumph.” Warren Wiersbe
These doubts come in the face of the fact that God had
already anointed him the next king of Israel back in
chapter 16.
And how many people have already stated that David
would be the next king of Israel?
Samuel – 15:28 The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel
from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours
who is better than you.
Jonathan – 23:17 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.
Abigail – 25:30 “And when the Lord has done to my lord
according to all the good that he has spoken concerning
you and has appointed you prince over Israel.”
Saul – 24:20 “And now, behold, I know that you shall
surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be
established in your hand.”
Despite all this, David lets his fears overtake the
truth that he knew. So he decides to seek refuge from
Saul in Gath.
You may recall that David has come to Gath once before.
It was back in I Samuel 21. Back then David was
travelling solo, and when he met king Achish he realized
he was still in danger, so he pretended to be a madman.
This time David has 600 men and their families and his
two wives. With families his crew was likely between
2000 and 3000 people in all. He believes that the only
safe place for him is outside of Israel. Even if that place is
the home of his enemies.
It’s interesting that David thought that the land of his
enemy was safer than anywhere in his home country.
So off to Gath he went.
Gath is the place where the giant Goliath is from.
Remember how he defeated the giant with only 5 smooth
stones and a sling? He is seeking safety from the ones
who likely wanted him dead just as much as Saul.
Surprisingly Achish welcomes David and all his family and
ragtag soldiers into his home.
When Saul found out David was in Gath, he gave up
seeking after him. The one thing that Saul feared more
than David was the Philistines.
I Samuel 27:5-7
David’s Desire for Land
It’s difficult to know for sure what Achish was thinking,
allowing David and his men to stay with him after
everything that has happened between them. But he
does and David asks him for some private land away
from the kingdom and Achish obliges.
He gives him Ziklag. Ziklag was 15-25 miles southwest of
Gath. It was also near the border of Israel, probably
about the same distance from Hebron, which is on the
Israel side.
This spot would end up belonging to the kings of Judah
from then on. David stayed there a year and 4 months.
It wasn’t a long time, but it was long enough for the king
to develop trust in David.
I Samuel 27:8-12
David’s Deceit and Destruction
Once David and his troops are safely in Ziklag, he begins
to do what he is great at – fighting battles.
Remember how the people used to chant, Saul has killed
his thousands, David his ten thousands.
He went to the Geshurites, the Girzites and the
Amalekites and completely routed them. He left no one
alive.
These were the folks that Joshua was supposed to have
destroyed, but didn’t.
Even though this fulfilled God’s command to Saul, David
had other motives. He wanted to make sure that no one
was able to come back to Achish and let him know what
was happening.
When David brought back the animals and spoils from
the battle to Achish he would ask where he had been
raiding.
David deceived him by telling him he was fighting against
the Negev, which belongs to the Israelites when in reality
he was plundering the territories of the Philistines.
David deceived Achish and he was thinking how bad the
people of Israel must be thinking of David. He has made
himself an utter stench. So Achish thought he would have
David as a servant forever.
I Samuel 28:1-2
David’s Duplicity
When the time for the battle between Israel and the
Philistines came Achish came to David and told him he
must go out to battle with him and the Philistine army.
David responds with a cryptic reply, “you shall know what
your servant can do”
Achish took that to mean that David would fight valiantly
for him, but David meant that he had no intention of
fighting for the enemy. He was simply using them for safe
harbor.
In light of the misunderstanding, Achish vows to make
David his bodyguard for life.
The word bodyguard literally means “the guard of my
head”. It’s ironic after what David did to Goliath’s head!
David has slid down the slippery slope of doubt and
deceit.
We’ve all been there.
What can we learn from David’s mistakes in this chapter?
APPLICATION
Faith is a journey. We all go through rough times. It’s
then that our faith is tested.
Character is who we are when no one is looking.
It’s different from our reputation.
Reputation is what people think about you.
God knows our character because he knows our heart.
David was a man after God’s own heart, but he still
succumbed to his doubts.
Our application this morning is to;
Stand Firm in our Faith
That is the goal. Even when we mess it up we must
remember when we fall we must get back up again.
God is always there to pick us up when we fall.
He is the God of second chances.
The reason people choose fear over faith is control.
Faith is trusting that God can and will handle our
circumstances.
Fear tells us that we have to be in control and if we are
not then we have to worry.
Release Control to God
Let’s let God handle our circumstances and stand firm in