Today we begin 1st Samuel Chapter 27.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James version, click HERE.
David’s thinking changed after his encounter with Saul and his men in the Zif wilderness.
When I say “changed”, I mean NOT in a good way.
Let’s try to imagine the thoughts circulating in David’s head at the moment.
Ever since he fled Saul’s palace, he has been a hunted man.
He is probably thinking he can no longer remain in Judah.
If he does, Saul will find him once again…
And it will be either his or Saul’s head lying on the ground after that confrontation.
On top of that, given what we know about ancient Middle Eastern culture, I don’t doubt David was still in a state of outrage over Saul giving his wife Michal to another man.
This is difficult for someone reared in a promiscuous and adulterous Western culture to understand.
But this was something that simply wasn’t done.
David’s honor had been smeared beyond repair.
As I said earlier, Saul’s behavior forced both Michal and her new “husband” into adultery because David had never divorced Michal.
So I can imagine the thoughts going through David’s head and how he probably concluded it was hopeless to stay in Judah.
So what did he do?
He decided to do the one thing no Hebrew is supposed to do when he is cornered and his back is against the wall.
He decided to leave the Promised Land and seek refuge from the goyim (the Gentiles).
In other words, David returned to the Philistines.
He went back to Gath.
Recall this was the same place where he pretended to be a madman a few years earlier.
However, there was a big difference between the David then and the David now.
Back then, David was alone when he sought safety and help.
This time he was a leader with a strong army supporting him.
This meant he had something to offer King Gath in exchange for a place to live and protection from Saul.
At this time, David’s clan held the most power in the territory of Judah.
So there was no way any southern Judahite clan would betray David and give their loyalty to Saul.
Achish (the king of Gath) probably didn’t fully trust David, but figured this was a good opportunity to employ “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” strategy.
He knew David was Saul’s sworn enemy and that this gave him great political leverage against Israel.
Since David led the southern part of Judah, Achish wouldn’t have to worry about that region.
He could focus his military power on conquering Israel in the north.
So Achish welcomed David with open arms and gave him housing for his family and men in the city of Gath.
We’re also told David took his two wives Achinoam and Avigayil with him.
When Saul caught wind of David’s departure, he stopped pursuing him, which was David’s plan from the beginning.
David had effectively betrayed Israel and his countrymen.
But given the circumstances, from an earthly perspective, who can blame him?
So what’s the takeaway for today?
It is this:
If there ever was a chapter in the Bible that destroys all those liberal theological ideas the Book of Samuel is a propaganda piece written to promote David over Saul, this is it.
This ridiculous position is impossible to justify in light of what we read in 1 Samuel 27.
No editor in his right mind would include this chapter in the Bible if he wanted to cast David in a positive light.
David is portrayed as someone who has slaughtered innocents and as a conniving manipulator who has no qualms about deceiving and lying.
Heck, that last statement might just be an understatement.
See ya all next time.
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