Big mistake, good questions, sincere repentance, happy ending

Things don’t always work the way you planned for them to work. And when we are desperate and fearful, we may make unwise decisions. Such was the case with David as he traveled from cave to cave, avoiding King Saul’s pursuit of his life.

Saul had disobeyed God and tried to rule God’s people according to his own agenda and plans. The result of Saul’s disobedience was that he lost favor with God. David had already been anointed as king but was unsure how his kingship would actually come about. He had seen and felt the rage of King Saul, which justified his hiding in various caves.

In David’s logic, he thought if he moved into an alliance with Israel’s enemies, the Philistines, Saul would leave him alone. And David’s plan was working. David had built a strong relationship with King Achish of the Philistines. The relationship with Achish was so strong the Philistine king had hired David and his army to basically be his bodyguards.

Good questions

The leaders of the Philistine army had set out to attack Israel. David and his men were bringing up the rear of the Philistine army and protecting King Achish when the chief commander of the Philistine army questioned the king about why David, a Hebrew, and David’s men would be allowed to participate in this battle. The logic of the commanding officer was sound:

1. Isn’t David a servant of King Saul?
2. In the heat of battle, what are the chances David will attempt to reconcile himself to his people and turn against us?
3. The Hebrews have written songs about David’s strength in battle. Couldn’t this be a problem for us?

King Achish argued with his commander, defending David for his loyalty to him. But in the end, logic won out, and the king told David to return to their wives, children, and possessions.

From bad to worse

David didn’t understand what he had done wrong, and the king commended David for his loyalty to him. But David finally took his men and returned to Ziklag, the city they had left behind. And there they found a disaster. The Amalekites had taken advantage of the unprotected city and burned it to the ground after they stole all of the women, children, and cattle from the Philistine camp including David’s wives and all of the possessions of David’s army.

1870 engraving by Gustave Dore via istockphoto.com.

Things had gone from bad to worse for David. When David’s men saw what had happened, some were so angry they blamed David for their situation and proposed stoning him.

In fear and frustration, David had taken things into his own hands instead of trusting God for his protection and his solutions. But even in David’s horrible situation, at possibly his lowest point in life, God offered him grace. In desperation, David did the right thing: “ David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6).

Seeking God

David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” God answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue” (1 Samuel 30:7).

The result of David’s seeking God instead of relying on himself brought a complete turnaround to David’s situation. First, David found his army willing to go on a rescue mission for their families and their possession. This resulted in David leading his men to recover their wives, their children, and all of their possessions, along with any other spoil the Amalekites had in their possession.

David knew his earlier mistake and would not allow himself to keep any of the spoils. Part of his reconciliation process was that he offered the spoils of his battle to the elders of Judah.

Returning to God

These two chapters of 1 Samuel provide us with great encouragement and remind us that even when we have made the mistake of doing things our way, we can turn things around by returning to God and surrendering our will back to him. When David strengthened himself in the Lord, he was able to find alignment with God’s will and get back on track with God’s plans.

None of us is perfect. And while we may have lots of talent and relationships and be able to make strategic plans to accomplish many things, our wisdom and agendas pale in comparison to God’s plans. Left to our own logic and our own strength, sooner or later we will stumble. When that happens, we must do what David did, strengthen ourselves in the Lord. It is only in God’s wisdom, grace, and power that we will fully be able to honor God and accomplish his will.

Lord, thank you for your Word that shows us how you will respond when we make the mistake of trusting self over trusting you: You are ready and willing to turn us around and use us again. We confess our tendency to self-reliance. Forgive us. We surrender all that we have and all that we are back to you and ask you to lead us on the path of righteousness. Our desire is to walk with you wherever you chose to take us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭29‬:‭1‬-‭‭11‬; 30:1-31 ‭ESV‬‬

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