1 & 2 Samuel

1 Samuel Chapter 29

The Philistines Reject David

• 1Samuel 29:1  Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 
• 2  And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish. 
• 3  Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? 

There appears to be a disagreement on whether or not David should stay with the Philistines or leave. A lack of trust is in play here. The princes fear David will betray them and fight for his own people. Achish trusted David and found no reason to throw him out.

• 1Samuel 29:4  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: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? 

Fear seems to rule in this case but perhaps this is for the good for it is now time for David to become king since Saul and his sons have died in battle. Perhaps David did not know of his death yet. It could be also that this coming battle is the one in which Saul had died. If that is the case then David surely would defend Jonathan if he knew Saul and Jonathan's life was in danger. If only Saul would have recognized early on that David was a friend to Saul's whole family because God's anointing was once on Saul. He respected the anointed of God. Even though David messed up at times, His writings in the Psalms shows His awesome love for God and David wanted to live for God and worship Him at all times.

• 1Samuel 29:5  Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 

The memory of David fighting the Philistines and the giant Goliath was well known. The princes of the Philistines did not trust him. Notice also that they do not kill David and his men, they just want him gone.

• 1Samuel 29:6  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. 
• 7  Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. 

Achish assures David that he is not the one that desires him to leave them.

• 1Samuel 29:8  And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 
  9  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. 
  10  Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. 
  11  So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. 

David still was in the land of the Philistines but not among the armies of the Philistines that were going into battle. This seems to be the plan of God here. Sometimes what we think is a bad thing is really what the will of God is for us. Things turn out bad sometimes but works out good in the end.

A engaged couple might have one that breaks up and leaves the relationship for instance. Let's supposed it is the woman in the relationship that is rejected. The rejected one is heartbroken and feels like it is the end of the world but a few years later might find the one that she loves deeply and they marry, have children and both serve the Lord together. She then realizes that her first choice would have been a bad one upon hearing that he left off following the Lord. Of course even if the first guy was faithful to the Lord they still might not have been right for each other. Praying and seeking the Lord before marriage is a must even if both couples are believers.

David is headed in the direction the Lord wants him to be in although he was probably hurt by the rejection of the Philistine princes. The Lord is getting ready to raise him up as king of Israel. DC

1 Samuel Chapter 30