Cloudy Days And Dark Nights
CLOUDY DAYS AND DARK NIGHTS 1 Samuel 27
INTRODUCTION
I. CLOUDS AND DARKNESS COME 1 Samuel 27:1-7.
A. The cause v1.
It is often after periods of great victories or success that the darkness comes. Chapter 26 ends with what appears to be reconciliation between Saul and David but David has lingering doubts which are expressed in 27:1. After the visiting preacher finished, a woman came up and said, "You were much better than the preacher we had last Sunday. He spoke for an hour and said nothing." "Thank you," the visiting preacher replied. "Yes," she continued. "You did it in fifteen minutes."
1. A humanistic viewpoint.
All of David's efforts were from a human viewpoint. There is no reference to his talking to God in this chapter. In chapter 22 God has given him the word to go to Judah and stay there. Now he is considering disobedience to this word. Fly by the seat of one’s pants-to pilot a light aircraft by feel rather that by reliance on instruments-as if sensing the planes attitude by the feel of one’s buttocks against the seat. David had become tired of running from Saul and was willing to do anything to be able to get out from under the pressure he faced. In essence he began to doubt God's ability to keep him safe-did he think God had anointed him as future king of Israel only to let Saul destroy him? In Psalm 27:1 he wrote, "Whom shall I fear?" David could not put his finger upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, “Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me,” for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would be his defender still. Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings, Complete and unabridged; New modern edition. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006), October 17 AM.
2. Pessimistic reasoning.
He feared being destroyed=to be swept away. The word is usually used in a hostile sense. If David stayed in Israel he would be swept away. Saul would be sure to find him and end his life! There was a hopelessness and despair that David experienced. His future looked bleak. The hand is used to mean by the power of or under the control of. Zig Ziglar calls this stinkin' thinkin'.
3. Rationalistic logic.
The best thing to do was to run! Put facts together and came up with the wrong conclusions. To escape=the most prominent facet of meaning is of deliverance or escape from the threat of death. He went to the enemy. You may remember that Goliath had come from Gath! Where he had once been defeating them, he was now joining them. He no longer made decisions based on his trust of God but rather on the fear of Saul. He was certain that Saul wouldn’t take on the Philistines to get him. David was a man after God's own heart but right now he was acting like an unbeliever. He was relying on the five fallible human senses which leaves no provision for spiritual insights. Same word for --To escape and slip out.
B. The extent of the darkness v2-3.
All 600 men and their families followed David. All of them involved in compromise and deception. What a responsibility David had as their leader! Since there was a considerable hardship to find the rebels, Saul gave up the search.
C. The consequences of David’s actions v4-7.
1. A false sense of security was created v4.
In 21:11-12 Achish gave David cause to fear. David sought momentary and immediate relief. Not like Moses who chose to endure ill-treatment rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin temporarily. David's perception was correct: Saul gave up the earnest seeking of David's whereabouts. When David made this move, he never considered the cost of seeking this relief.
I hasten to add that security, peace and blessings are not necessarily a sign of God's approval!
2. The adversary’s cause was adopted v5.
David called himself Achish's servant. His loyalties appear to be shifting from Saul and Israel to Achish and Philistia. Achish thought he was providing himself with someone to attack various unruly peoples on his southern flank. David appears to have lived in the royal city for a short time but then he realized that he was not comfortable there. He preferred to live in the country, away from the scrutiny of the king.
3. A period of compromise was begun v6-7.
Ziklag originally was part of Judah, given to the Simeonites in the time of Joshua. It was located about 25 miles southwest of Gath. David lived there for about a year and four months. During this time there is no evidence David wrote any songs. It was not a pleasant time for him.
Raided=to strip off clothing and to invade.
The Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites were under the ban commanded by the Torah (Deut 20:16–17); none of them was to be spared by the Israelites in warfare.[1] Robert D. Bergen, vol. 7, 1, 2 Samuel, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1996), 262. David, despite his waywardness, was carrying out God's instructions.
II. WINDS AND STORMS INCREASE 1 Sam 27:8-11.
There were three characteristics of this period:
A. Duplicity v8-9.
Inside David was an Israelite, but on the outside he was a Philistine. This is hypocrisy or duplicity. Merriam-Webster: contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action esp : the belying of one’s true intentions by deceptive words or action. Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary., Includes Index., Eleventh ed. (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003). You pretend to have one set of feelings while acting under the influence of another. He was pretending to be an enemy of Israel while actually being an enemy of the Philistines. He appeared to be helping the Philistines which was certainly not God's will for him. O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. This wasn't just once but repeated action. I was running a few weeks ago when something snapped in my left hip. One minute I was loping along, the next I was yelping in pain. I had to hobble home. Within days, that tiny hairline break at the top of my femur threw my entire body off. My left hip hurt, sure, but so did the right one. When I biked, my knee started screaming. By the time I was evaluated by a physical therapist, I was hugging banisters to negotiate stairs, trading heels for sneakers, and chugging Aleve.
What in the world was happening?
"Compensation," said the therapist. My right hip hurt because I was covering for the injury in the left one. Likewise, my left knee hurt from diverting stress on my hip. The entire band of muscle stretching from my left hip to my knee had even tightened to protect the injury.
How like sin in our lives. You think one broken area isn't a problem, but you soon find yourself covering for it, and before you know it you are suffering in other areas as well. Sin always requires "compensation."
B. Vagueness v10.
He told Achish he was raiding southern Judah, implying that Judean hostility toward David would be increasing. It sounded like he was raiding his own people. If he stinks among his own people he's reliable. The area he was attacking was the Gaza Strip.
The deceit practiced upon his royal host and the indiscriminate slaughter committed, lest any one should escape to tell the tale, exhibit an unfavorable view of this part of David’s history. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 1 Sa 27:10. I think all of us can relate to times when our actions were not God pleasing and boy can we be vague!
C. Secrecy v11.
He killed all the people, not for religious reasons, but so no one could tell Achish what David was actually doing. The violence was becoming ferocious and fearless. He stayed far enough away from Gath so that Achish would be ignorant of his movements. He could lie without fear of Achish finding out. This secrecy caused Achish to begin to trust David-he has become odious to his own people and he will be my servant forever. Whose servant was David to be? GOD'S!
What David experienced is not uncommon in Christian circles today. Many of God's people choose a carnal lifestyle, one that blends in with the world. They become accustomed to double standards, half-truths and cover-ups. Beware: one day it will begin to unravel and you will be exposed. This happened with David in chapter 29 when the Philistines went to war against Israel. Achish trusted=the basic root idea is firmness or certainty.
Odious=This word either describes objects that have a foul odor, bad relationships between people creating abhorrence, and the general principle that evil deeds are so rotten that they have a bad smell in God’s nostrils.
III. INJURY AND DEVASTATION OCCUR 1 Sam 29-30.
A. He became displaced 29:6-7.
In 28:2 Achish has made David his bodyguard for life; the one who was a man after God's own heart, the one who would some day be king of Israel, now in total servitude to the Philistine king! However, the Philistine commanders were not comfortable with the plan. In 29:4 they saw through David's plan and refused to go to battle as long as David is with them. Achish reluctantly listened to them and sent David back to his city. Little did David realize that God was keeping him from getting into a very awkward position.
Good men cannot compromise their position with irreligious men and secure or confer any permanent advantage thereby. The Pulpit Commentary: 1 Samuel, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 515. If it be thought that accommodations of life to the standard of the unspiritual will tend to benefit them, events will prove the thought to be delusive. “Be not conformed to the world” is the wise policy, as it is the solemn duty, of the Christian.[2] The Pulpit Commentary: 1 Samuel, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 515.
B. He became disillusioned 29:8-9.
The benefits David might have brought were outweighed by the liabilities. David appeared puzzled over the change in attitude. Achish assured him that he had done nothing wrong but the others were afraid of him. I wonder if he suspected that Achish had found out about his deception.
C. He became distrusted 30:1-6.
He returned to Ziklag and found it had been sacked by the Amalikites. He experienced what he had done to others, although the enemies were more lenient-they didn't kill the women and children! Now the men turned against him. They were so bitter they thought about stoning David. This caused great distress=personal anguish one encounters in adverse circumstances. He had lost credibility even with his own men. Along with the loss of credibility, there was a loss of loyal and acceptance of his leadership.
Now finally after 16 months David turns to God-v6. He found strength in the God who at one time had been so precious to him. This is in contrast to v4 where they had no strength! We don't know the details but once again the Lord is his God! This emphasizes an intimate relationship.
IV. GETTING IT INTO MY LIFE.
1. Be careful not to let your relationship with God slip.
Very few people ever wake up one morning and say, “I think I’m done with God.” Losing our first love of God most often comes through neglect: we get busy and skip time in reading the word and in prayer. We may also find ourselves under pressure at work or family relationships and the stress drives us to seek relief in worldly solutions. Archie Moore a heavy weight boxing champion, once got knocked down early in a fight. He got back up and won the match by knock-out. Afterwards a reporter asked him, “Archie, what were you thinking while you were on the canvas?” He said, “I thought, Hey, I’m the champ! I don’t belong here!” To paraphrase-I’m a child of God's; I don't belong here!
2. When we begin to distrust God we have to begin to rely on ourselves.
Strong believers may fall into a fit of unbelief, in which past blessings are forgotten, promises are doubted or let slip, dangers are exaggerated, and the heart, instead of asking counsel of the Lord, takes counsel with itself, and suggests all sorts of folly. The Pulpit Commentary: 1 Samuel, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 516.
3. When we rely on ourselves we begin to live deceitful lives.
James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
4. When things appear the darkest remember that God is still in control and hasn’t forgotten us.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. It is never to our disadvantage or harm.
I am always amazed at how God takes our lives and makes out of them something that will bring glory to his name. We are far from perfect, far from the godly people we ought to be and yet somehow God overrules.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
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