Deeper Reflection
THERE IS NO MENTION OF GOD in 1 Samuel 27. The text does not say precisely or directly what God was doing in this episode. It does not inform us of God’s point of view. There is no overt indication of the narrator’s position. But the text seems to be “sympathetic to David’s difficulty and yet presents him as in the wrong”³². David was in Philistia for 16 months (v.7). Was God present with David during this rather long period of time? Why didn’t God intervene in David’s plan to escape to Gath (v.1) as He did in His initiative of grace in 1 Samuel 24 to 26? Doesn’t Scripture say, “The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov 16:9)? Well, at least we know that there are times when God intervenes and there are times when He does not. God acts in His sovereign freedom and sovereign wisdom (Psa 115:3; 135:6). God is still working when He appears to be inactive. Divine waiting itself is divine activity. While 1 Samuel 27 is about David’s escape from Saul, “the will of God for us includes more than escaping from Saul”³³. 1 Samuel 27 is not the end of David’s discipleship journey. As we read on in David’s story, we can trace the divine footprints in 1 Samuel 27. David might have strayed off course, but “the LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand” (Psa 37:23-24, NIV).

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³² Dale Ralph Davis, 281 ³³ Dale Ralph Davis, 285