Adult STS Lesson 224 – David’s Deception and Rejection

MEMORY VERSE: “And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle” (1 Samuel 29:9).

TEXT: 1 Samuel 27:1–12; 29:1–11

David spared Saul’s life in the wilderness of Ziph in the preceding chapter in consonance with the scriptural principle of non-retaliation. It could be recalled that Saul had been relentless in hunting him. Rather than seize the opportunity to revenge by killing Saul, he decided to flee to the land of the Philistines, Israel’s arch-enemies. He knew it was wrong and sinful to kill the king to ascend the throne, especially because God chose him when he least expected it. So, he had to wait to be enthroned at the right time. By refraining from taking vengeance, he proved that he did not harbour hatred for Saul. Assassinating other people’s character or life to gain promotion or privilege or remain relevant is sinful. David could only become a king over Israel if he outlived the incumbent.

A similar event played out when Christ was born. When the wise men from the east came to enquire about “he that is born King of the Jews” to worship Him, King Herod “was troubled”. He sought to kill Christ by all means but God aborted his plots (Matthew 2:1–21). Believers must not imbibe ungodly attitudes of envy and jealousy that characterise sinners. We must avoid oppressing or assassinating other people’s character whom God has decided to use for His glory. And such young believers/ministers should not despise the wisdom/experience of older believers/ministers or become proud to avoid spiritual shipwreck.

As Saul continued to chase David, the latter’s faith began to ebb, giving way to fear, hasty decision and deception, which believers should avoid even when under unjust attack from others.

1. David’s Fear and Flight

(1 Samuel 27:1–7; 1 Kings 19:1–4; Psalm 146:3; Proverbs 29:25; Isaiah 30:1,2)

David was facing a great threat to his life from Saul. He also had the burden of providing for his 600 soldiers and their families. Overwhelmed with self-pity and discouragement, he momentarily lost focus on God. “And David said in his heart: I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand” (1 Samuel 27:1). His decision here to seek asylum with the Philistines is based on fear of death from his previous unsuccessful attempt to seek safety among them (1 Samuel 21:10–15). Of a truth, we are prone to repeat past mistakes and fall into the same pit unless God purges us of those sinful tendencies that propel us to wrong decisions. Whenever we allow fear and anxiety in our hearts, we run the risk of accepting Satan’s alternatives as the best option.

Being killed by Saul would have been impossible, given that the Lord had anointed David to be the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1–13; 24:4). He might have forgotten the plan of God for his life as the fear of premature death filled his mind. His temporary loss of hope and confidence in God further led to a hasty decision to relocate from the land of promise and pitch with the archenemies of God’s people. Similarly, the fear of uncertainty and hasty decision borne out of prayerlessness made Elimelech and Naomi to head downhill to Moab. They went into panic mode and experienced terrible disasters.

Many present-day believers have suffered similar fate because decisions taken under pressure and fear do not generally glorify God (Numbers 11:14,15; 1 Kings 19:4). The best thing to do when in distress is to pray and trust God for His intervention. He frustrated all previous efforts of Saul to eliminate David and would have preserved him if he had remained in the land. In times of hardship, need, or problem, believers should recall God’s faithfulness in the past, trust Him for deliverance and wait upon Him for a definite instruction on how to deal with the challenges (Proverbs 3:5–7; Hebrews 13:6). It is written, “the just shall live by faith”.

“And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife” (1 Samuel 27:2,3). This self-imposed exile and asylum in the Philistine territory brought reprieve as Saul “sought no more again for him”. But David’s escape to the Philistines landed him in more serious trouble than he imagined. On arrival, David requested a dwelling place outside the city of Gath, probably to avoid trouble with the Philistines and to have good control over his men. The request was also to avoid any close monitoring by the king. And “Achish gave him Ziklag that day…” (1 Samuel 27:2–7). Ziklag was originally part of Israel’s territory (Joshua 15:20,31; 19:5), which means David and his men dwelt in a portion of Israel that had fallen under Philistine control. But this was not God’s perfect will, given the earlier command that he should return and stay in Judah (1 Samuel 22:3–5).

David’s asylum of sixteen months among the Philistines turned out to be one of the darkest periods of his life. Being unduly preoccupied with self-preservation, he lost focus of God. In the days when he was strong spiritually, he hated to live among the heathen. Then, he complained that it was like being driven to go and serve other gods (1 Samuel 26:19). But in his backslidden state, he felt it was better to leave the inheritance of the Lord to dwell in a strange land. Backsliding robs believers of spiritual sensitivity and causes them to choose the evil they hated in the past. It is pathetic that there is no record of any significant spiritual achievement of David during this period. There was no hint of him praying or seeking guidance with the ephod until Ziklag was razed by the Amalekites. We read of the psalms he wrote at other times of distress, while in the wilderness of Judah and the cave (Psalms 63 and 142), but none at this time.

2. David’s Deception and Lie

(1 Samuel 27:8–12; 21:10–15; 2 Samuel 15:10–12,31; Proverbs 24:21; Jeremiah 2:36,37; Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 13:9)

During his stay in the country of the Philistines, David and his men lived by deception and raiding innocent people. “And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish” (1 Samuel 27:8,9). David resorted to banditry to sustain himself and his team, and to retain the favour of Achish. The annihilation of all people in those territories was to avoid any eyewitness reportage that might expose his deception. To Achish’s inquiry on where they attacked, David lied by saying, “Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites” (verse 10). He was being economical with the truth but presented it in a way that made Achish infer that he had invaded the territories of Israel. Deluded, “Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever” (1 Samuel 27:12). Achish continued to believe David’s lies without investigating his claims. He even mooted the idea of making David “the keeper of [his] head (personal bodyguard) for ever” (1 Samuel 28:1,2).

Deception or lying, whether it is done to escape danger, get gain, employment, admission (with false credentials), get married or whatever, can take one to hell if not repented of (Revelation 21:8,27). Apart from David, some other people like Jeroboam’s wife, the Gibeonites, Ananias and Sapphira were trapped in the evil act (1 Kings 14:1–6; Joshua 9:3–6; Acts 5:1–10). And they all suffered its consequences. God’s word says, believers should take heed lest they are deceived. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Christian leaders should be diligent and manifest great discernment to detect those who practice deception in the church. They are to also try every spirit and avoid recruiting secret sinners into the workforce (Proverbs 27:23; 1 John 4:1; 1 Timothy 5:22; Proverbs 29:18). Remarkably, the tendency to kill innocent souls to cover up sin resurfaced in the life of David after he became king in Israel. He killed Uriah in an attempt to cover his adultery with Bathsheba. The seed of sin must be rooted out of a believer’s heart through the sanctification experience.

3. Discernment by the Princes of the Philistines and Rejection of David

(1 Samuel 29:1–11; 1 Kings 14:1–10; 2 Samuel 14:12–19)

The Philistines and Israelites were sworn enemies. Another war was looming between the two as “the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel” (1 Samuel 29:1). The princes of the Philistines protested when they discovered David and his men during a routine check of their army. They were not gullible and deceived as Achish. To their question, “What do these Hebrews here?”, he defended by describing David as faultless. “And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us… Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?” (1 Samuel 29:4,5). The discernment and vigilance of the princes of the Philistines is commendable. They were able to foresee the threat that David and his men posed to their success in battle, whereas their king only saw them as defectors to exploit. The Philistine commanders gave convincing reasons and insisted David and his team must leave their army.

In these days of global insecurity, vigilance should be our watchword. Christian leaders should have eagle eyes to detect sinners and backsliders like Ananias and Sapphira in the workforce, moles of Satan who sabotage soul-winning efforts like the damsel with the spirit of divination, and hypocrites and compromisers like Simon, the sorcerer. This is possible through the possession of gifts of the Spirit. However, caution should be taken not to confuse the Spirit of discernment with suspicion, accusation and counter-accusation that is rampant in some Christian assemblies.

King Achish conceded to the reasoning of his subordinates and dispatched David and his men. “Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: Nevertheless the lords favour thee not. Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 29:6,7). This rejection of David by the lords of the Philistines turned out to be God’s intervention to prevent him from taking arms against the people he was anointed to rule. Though backslidden and brought so low at this time, God was working behind the scene to restore him.

David felt the pain of being rejected by the Philistine army. He protested to Achish on why he and his men could not be trusted. But he should have known that, in reality, he had no place in the army of the uncircumcised Philistines. In his naivety too, Achish appeased David by describing him as an angel of God. How we need to pray that God would keep us from delusion lest we mistake a deceiver and a bandit as an angel of God.

True believers would always be rejected by the world because they are not of the world. But they are expected to display a graceful attitude during rejection like Stephen and Jesus Christ. Even when a marriage or business proposal is turned down by the other party, it is not a time to think, as a believer, that your world has collapsed. So, be careful how you react or respond at such a time lest Satan takes advantage of you (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Questions for Review

1. What led to David’s decision to relocate to Gath?
2. Why are believers warned against envy and jealousy?
3. Mention some Bible characters who took decisions in uncertainty and the consequences.
4. How should a believer live in critical situations of life?
5. What is the danger of deception or lying, and how can a deceiver or a liar escape judgment?
6. What should be the disposition of a Christian leader in a world full of deceivers and hypocrites?
7. How should a believer handle rejection?