Deeper Reflection
IN ESCAPING FROM SAUL, David was quite convinced that his only security rested in “the land of the Philistines” (v.1). So, he went to “Achish, king of Gath” (v.2) – the second time David fled to Gath. At his first flight (1 Sam 21:10-15), David took a great risk, because Gath was where Goliath whom he killed came from (1 Sam 17:4). But it was also then, as now, his best option (v.1). Back then, to save his own life, David disguised his sanity, which led to Achish rejecting him. What made David think that Achish would receive him now? At the first time, David was alone. But now, he came with his own private army of 600 battle-tested men (v.3; cf. 1 Sam 23:13). Was David putting confidence in the flesh in this instance? It is true that David’s objective that Saul “will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel” was achieved (vv.1, 4). But that does not mean that it was God’s will for David to flee to Gath. Clearly, it wasn’t God’s will for David to do so the first time. God spoke to David clearly: “Go [back] into the land of Judah” (1 Sam 22:5) – “the land where his destiny was to be realised”²⁵. David had used the phrase “your servant” in relation to God (1 Sam 23:10) and to God’s anointed king (1 Sam 17:32, 34, 36). But now he referred to himself as Achish’s “servant” (v.5), “as if his allegiance has shifted”²⁶. David had strayed off course from God’s will.

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²⁵ Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 1 & 2 Samuel, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Baker, 2013), 178 ²⁶ Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 178