1 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”
Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”
4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”
8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.”
11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
I have to believe that David was bluffing. There is a lot of high stakes poker being played in this book and it all started with David’s dad, Jesse. We don’t know if this was answered prayer or if it was an unspoken threat from David and his men. You can certainly understand the feeling of the other Philistine leaders, who would want a powerful, well trained force that you don’t trust behind you while you are trying to fight their brothers in front of you? I think that if David had gone to Ziklag on his own in rebellion to God that God would not have helped him here. But if his going was of God and he was led there by God then you can expect God to do wonderful things to support you. I can imagine there was a lot of prayer and petition to the Lord and it took faith to call the king’s bluff. The lesson I take here is that you have to really be strong in being able to hear the Lord’s speaking, follow the Lord’s speaking and trust that word. If you cannot play high stakes poker then you have no business being a king and will be brought to shame like Saul. The difficulty that many people have in expounding this chapter demonstrates how difficult it can be, how narrow that road is and how hard it is to find, even in hindsight. This is what people refer to as "intangibles". It is why football players who are in the huddle have a better perspective on who is a great leader and who isn't one. This is why you can have a guy like Rush Limbaugh who is totally mocked and ridiculed by those outside and yet those who know him are loyal to him for decades.
Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”
4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”
8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.”
11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
I have to believe that David was bluffing. There is a lot of high stakes poker being played in this book and it all started with David’s dad, Jesse. We don’t know if this was answered prayer or if it was an unspoken threat from David and his men. You can certainly understand the feeling of the other Philistine leaders, who would want a powerful, well trained force that you don’t trust behind you while you are trying to fight their brothers in front of you? I think that if David had gone to Ziklag on his own in rebellion to God that God would not have helped him here. But if his going was of God and he was led there by God then you can expect God to do wonderful things to support you. I can imagine there was a lot of prayer and petition to the Lord and it took faith to call the king’s bluff. The lesson I take here is that you have to really be strong in being able to hear the Lord’s speaking, follow the Lord’s speaking and trust that word. If you cannot play high stakes poker then you have no business being a king and will be brought to shame like Saul. The difficulty that many people have in expounding this chapter demonstrates how difficult it can be, how narrow that road is and how hard it is to find, even in hindsight. This is what people refer to as "intangibles". It is why football players who are in the huddle have a better perspective on who is a great leader and who isn't one. This is why you can have a guy like Rush Limbaugh who is totally mocked and ridiculed by those outside and yet those who know him are loyal to him for decades.