1 Samuel 27: David Lost His Inner Compass

1 Samuel 27: David Lost His Inner Compass

v1-7: David succumb to fear and lies

This chapter describe one of the dark moments in David's life as he continue to hide from Saul. I'm sure he is also pressurized by his men who had been waiting very long for David to be king. They also have their families who are worried for them and want them to stop running and to be with them. 

However, God has his own time. David ran out of patience and give in to the fear that Saul will eventually caught up to him, if he continued to hide in the Judean wilderness. But instead of going to God as usual, he took things into his own hands.

David came up with a strategy to move out of the land of Israel into the land of the Philistines. His theory is that Saul would not dare to go into Philistine to hunt for him. 

David approached Achish, the king of Gath, and told him that he and his 600 men are enemies of Israel and Saul.  Achish believed David, and gave him a small town called Ziklag for all his men and families to live. It was recorded that the Israelites lived in Ziklag for a year and four months. 

v8-12: David committed murder and theft

In order to gain Achish trust, David and his men raided the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, whom are not his people. David committed great sin, as God did not asked him to rob and murder the men, women and children of these people. I supposed David justified himself since these are not worshippers of God. David also stole the animals and garments and brought back as gift to Achish. When Achish asked him where he got those things, David lied that he has raided the Israelites in the south.

The bible says it was his "custom" to do this while living in Philistine, and gained Achish's trust. In other words, it became a habit for David to rob and lie. 

Application

Usually, David will always ask God for direction. In this chapter, it shows that David was a normal man who are susceptible to fear, impatience and taking things into his own hands. 

As a pastor said, David's inner compass stopped working. It stopped working as his inner script was not following God's voice but voices of others. 

If you don't know where to go, know to whom you should go.

 

 


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