Lesson 27: From “Playing Both Ends Against the Middle” to
“Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place” 1(1 Samuel 29:1--30:6)
I have a number of younger friends whom I enjoy a great deal. One of my friends was visiting recently as I was in my study finishing the previous Sunday’s sermon in print. My nine-year-old friend, Luke, strolled into the study to see how I was doing. “What’s that on your screen?” he asked. “That’s my sermon from last week,” I responded. “Kind of long, isn’t it?”, he asked. “Well, I guess maybe it is,” I responded. As I continued to work on the message and scrolled down to page 10, Luke chatted and looked on with casual interest. “Hold it, Uncle Bob!,” he said, “I thought I saw something. Could you scroll back just a bit -- just a little more?” Walking over to my monitor, Luke pointed to a sentence in my sermon where I had written, “Saul commander of a thousand, hoping David would be killed.” “Is this what you really meant to say?” he asked. “No,” I admitted, a little embarrassed and quite amazed. I fixed the sentence to Luke’s satisfaction and mine by changing it to read, “Saul appointed David commander of a thousand, hoping David would be killed.” As Luke lost interest and sauntered out of my study, I said to myself, “How did he do that?”
Sometimes we receive help from unexpected places. That most certainly is the case with David in 1 Samuel 29. David manages to get himself into a real jam. After being delivered from the hand of Saul on numerous occasions, David becomes weary of living like a fugitive. In a moment of despair, he reasons that his only hope is to flee from Saul into the land of the Philistines. David is convinced that once Saul learns where he is, he will give up his pursuit. David and his 600 men, accompanied by their wives and children, found refuge in the land of the Philistines. David persuades Achish, the Philistine king, to allow them to leave Gath and settle instead in the more remote city of Ziklag. From this base of operations, David stages a number of raids against the enemies of Israel. In each case, David deceives Achish by telling him that he has just raided another one of the Israelite villages or cities nearby. To assure that no one will be able to inform Achish of what has really happened, David is careful to kill off every person, leaving no survivors. David seems to share some of the spoils of war with King Achish (see 27:9), while also taking a share (at least on one occasion) to his Israelite brethren (see 30:26-31), the very people Achish thinks David is killing off. In short, David is playing both ends against the middle.
David seems to be getting away with his deception. Suddenly things take an unexpected turn, and David now appears to be caught in the middle. King Achish informs David that the Philistine commanders are joining forces to stage a massive attack against Israel. He then tells David he and his 600 men are going to have the honor of fighting with and for him. David unnerves the reader of 1 Samuel 28 by assuring Achish that he will fight valiantly for the Philistines. He promises to show Achish his full capabilities as he goes to battle with him. Achish responds to David’s assurances by offering him what he believes to be a great reward for his faithful service – a lifetime job as his personal bodyguard. Who would have ever imagined that David, who once served as Saul’s armor bearer, would now be appointed the bodyguard of a Philistine king?
The author leaves us in shock at this turn of events, as he turns his attention to King Saul and the account of his visit to the medium of En-dor. In chapter 29, we come upon a terrified, panic-stricken King Saul. He can no longer get God’s attention or receive divine instructions to deliver him and his army from certain defeat at the hands of the Philistines. In sheer desperation, Saul seeks counsel through a medium living at En-dor. When he learns that God is not going to rescue him, but is going to give him and his soldiers over to the Philistines, Saul loses all his courage and strength. He is virtually paralyzed with fear. Finally, after being persuaded to eat, Saul gains enough strength to go out into the night and return to his men and to the battle. He now knows how that battle will end.
All through the gut-wrenching experiences of Saul at En-dor, our minds have continually strayed back to David, who has gotten himself into a most precarious situation. He seems to be in an almost “catch 22” situation, with no way out for David and his men. If David truly fights for Achish, with the rest of the Philistines, he will be fighting against his own people (the Israelites), his king (Saul), and his beloved friend Jonathan. If David does not fight with the Philistines, he will almost certainly have to turn against them in battle. This also poses almost insurmountable problems. It is God’s intention to give the Israelites over to the Philistines and to take the lives of Saul and his sons in battle. If David fights against the Philistines, he will be fighting (as it were) against the purposes of God. What is David to do? Going over to the Philistines seemed like such a smart move to David in the early part of chapter 27. He managed to get safely out of Saul’s reach and succeed at ingratiating himself with both the Philistines and the Israelites. But now, in a brief moment in time, David finds himself caught in the middle with no apparent way out. It is at this point in time that help comes from a very unlikely source – four Philistine commanders.
Before trying to follow the events of the story which our author so skillfully tells, let us take note of several things that should help us better understand this text.
First, notice we are not told why David does what he does. Under divine inspiration, our author is fully able to inform us of David’s motives and intentions. For example, earlier in 1 Samuel we are told why Saul gives David promotions in leadership and offers David his daughters in marriage. The reason may not be immediately evident to those around Saul, but the author of 1 Samuel informs his readers of Saul’s motivation and intention: he is jealous and threatened by David and fully intends to kill him, thus being rid of him as a rival for the throne. In chapter 27, we are told why David flees to King Achish for sanctuary from Saul: David is afraid and does not believe there is any way to save himself other than by seeking asylum in Philistia. Now, at a time we would very much like to know what David plans to do and why, we are not told.
We know one thing for certain: the author purposely withheld this information from us. The author does not wish us to know what David intends to do or why for several reasons. (1) The author seems to want us to wonder what David is thinking, which enhances the element of mystery and suspense. A good writer holds our interest as much by what he withholds as by what he reveals. (2) The author is not trying to nominate David for sainthood, but portray him as a “man of like passions,” who has doubts and fears and makes mistakes, just as you and I do. (3) Had we been told what David intended to do and why, we would go more easily with David. We would tend to make excuses for him.
We live in a day when situational ethics are common. Situational ethics do not judge an action – say immorality, for instance – as wrong, but seeks to discern “rightness” or “wrongness” on the basis of motives. If a man commits adultery, but out of a “loving,” “caring” concern for the other party, then his actions are not wrong. While there is a certain element of truth here, some things are just plain wrong, and our motivation and attitude in so doing won’t make them right. The author does not seem to want us to “understand” why David acted as he did, but rather to agonize over why David acted this way.
Second, the author departs from a strictly chronological order in these chapters. In chapter 28, we find the Israelites encamped at Gilboa, while the Philistines are at Shunem (28:4). This is quite far to the north and the scene of the actual battle between these two armies (see 31:1). But in chapter 29, the Philistines are gathered at Aphek, while the Israelites are at Jezreel. This is considerably south of the sight described in chapter 28, which means that the events of chapter 29 precede those of chapter 28. The author has purposefully departed from the chronological order of events to a more thematic order. He is more interested in making his point than providing us with a chronological time line. It would seem that the author’s intent is to alternate between Saul and David so as to continually contrast these two men.
Third, the author does not make a point of explaining much to us, or even of openly giving credit to God for what is taking place. This would spoil the intrigue of the story the author is telling and the purpose for which he is telling it in this way. There is very little “God talk” in this passage, and what “God talk” we find comes from pagan King Achish, rather than from David. I believe the author does not wish to insult his readers by telling them what they should be thinking at every point in the story. He expects us to read this story as sacred history, with the theological framework set out in the Law of Moses. He wants the reader to think for himself and reach biblical conclusions.
Fourth, while David is the dominant personality – the “star” – of this story, he is not the most prominent speaker. David speaks little in this text. Most of the speaking is done by Achish and the other Philistine commanders.
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