October 24, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Friends or Enemies?

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Opening Prayer

Lord God, You are wise, patient, strong, and loving. Pour Your wisdom, patience, strength and love into me today.

Read 1 Samuel 27:1-12

[1] But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” [2] So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. [3] David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. [4] When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. [5] Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” [6] So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. [7] David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months. [8] Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) [9] Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish. [10] When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” [11] He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.'” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. [12] Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph. 6:10,11). We must make sure that our armor is in place.

Have you ever been surprised to meet someone from a group that for one reason or another seems alien and realize that they are actually very nice? Philistines generally get bad press, but in this chapter Achish seems to behave better than David!

Achish, a Philistine king, must have heard of David’s reputation as having fought Philistines, as his fellow leaders certainly had (29:5). Achish not only tolerated David, but he also went out of his way to help him. He showed real eastern hospitality, apparently motivated only by David’s need to get away from Saul. David accepted the hospitality and then spent his time destroying groups of Philistine allies while persuading Achish that the plunder he was gathering had come from raids against Israel and her allies. We do, though, need to remember that the Philistines were enemies of Israel, seeking to destroy them. The story is recorded with no comment from the writer. Readers are left to make up their own minds as to whether David was acting as a hero or a villain. Achish had been his enemy, but he acted as his friend. Of course, just because someone sometimes behaves well doesn’t mean that all of their motives are good. Verse 12 reminds us that Achish was also concerned with his own self-interest!

Apply

This passage is a real challenge to Christian readers. Whose behavior is the most acceptable here? Are you ready to see good in unbelievers and accept help from them? If an enemy behaves in one area as a friend, does that stop them from being an enemy?

Closing prayer

Father, grant us the grace to behave well towards those who oppose us, while retaining the wisdom to recognize that trust is not always deserved.

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