“So David
arose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning to return to the land of
the Philistines.” (v.11)
Here in
chapter 29 we will see how God worked in David’s life; 1) to spare him from the
dilemma of fighting against king Saul and 2) free him up to rescue his own people
from the Amalekites (Ch.30).
Back in
chapter 27, we saw David had left Israel (to escape Saul) and fled to the
land of Israel’s enemy, the Philistines. Then in chapter 28, David was so convincing in his betrayal of Israel that King
Achish enlisted David to fight with him against his enemies (v.1-2). Now here in chapter 29, king Achish
has brought David and his men with him to fight against king Saul. What will
David do? How will he escape this dilemma?
Mysteriously
the Philistine commanders began to complain of David to king Achish and demand
that David return Ziglag, for they feared this would provided David an opportunity
to prove his loyality to king Saul (v.4). King Achish then said to David, “Now
therefore return and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the
Philistines” (v.)
The idea
that “God moves in mysterious ways” is often overused, but it still contains
much truth. David was now both free from having to draw his sword against king
Saul and return to Ziklag to carryout God’s plan of rescuing his people from the Amalekites.
The Truth
“Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as
his counselor?’ (Isaiah 40:13)
