I Samuel Chapter 29

Please read:  I Samuel 29 –

While Saul the king of Israel is frightened having learned of his own impending death in a war that would be fought with the Philistines, David is currently hiding out and living amongst the Philistines.  Neither man was in the place where God wanted them to be, but in chapter 30 we will learn that God’s message will get through to the heart of David whereas Saul’s heart was too hard.

For the first time in his life David was not leading the charge going into battle but rather he and his men were in the rear protecting the king of the city of Gath, king Achish.  As the Philistine armies passed in review of the lords of the Philistines, they immediately rejected having a Hebrew in rank when they were marching to annihilate the Hebrews!  David had become so entrenched in living amongst the Philistines that Achish truly thought David could be trusted.  And worse than that, David had reached a low in his thinking that he truly believed his allegiance was with Achish.

Let's Reflect

1.  When the Philistine lords questioned why David and his men were amongst their ranks, Achish defended the inclusion of David.  What reasoning did Achish give that David could be trusted?

2.  David had a reputation not only amongst the Israelites but also the Philistines.  David had been a great warrior.  What reputation did David have?

3.  Achish called David to go back home to the town in the land of the Philistines where he had been living rather than go into battle with them.  Achish does something peculiar here in that he swears by the God of David, calling him YHWH (we pronounce it Yahweh).  It’s as if Achish is saying, “I swear even by your God, LORD, that I trust you to fight with us, but the lords of the Philistines do not.”  What was David’s response to this rejection?

4.  When did Achish tell David to take his men and leave for home?

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