Thursday, July 13th
Devotional written by Pastor Curtis Johnson, Adult Ministries Pastor
SLIP OUT OF HIS HAND
To read today: 1 Samuel 27
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 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.”
1 Samuel 27:1
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Today’s reading tells us that David sought refuge from Saul in Philistine territory for the second time. The once great conqueror of the Philistines now had permission to live under the protection of King Achish of Gath. Achish would have certainly known about the split between Saul and David and would have been glad to shelter this “Israelite traitor.” In return, Achish would have expected military support from David and his 600 warriors. David further strengthened his position by leading Achish to believe he was conducting raids on Israel and pretending loyalty to the Philistine ruler.
Was David wrong in falsely reporting his activities to Achish? No doubt David was lying, but he may have felt his strategy was justified in a time of war against a pagan enemy. David knew that one day he would become Israel’s king. The Philistines were still his enemies, but this was an excellent place to hide from Saul.
We know that David’s ultimate loyalty was to God and not to Achish or Saul.
Final thought: Is lying ever justified? I don’t think I have ever been in a place where my lies would have been justified, and I’m thankful for that. Looking back as an adolescent, I would occasionally lie but those lies were never justified. Maybe at the moment, I would say they were; but they were not.
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