Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” (v.1)
The sad story of 1 Samuel 27 begins with something David said in his heart. He may have never said it out loud; he may have never said it to anyone else; he may have never said it to God. But David said it in his heart. What we say in our heart has a tremendous power to shape our thinking, our actions, even our whole destiny.
In today’s passage, David is telling himself that sooner or later, Saul was going to capture him, therefore, “the best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines” (27:1). So David decides to leave Israel and live among the idol-worshiping Philistines. At this point, David was so discouraged that he thought there was nothing better for him in Israel and among God’s people. So he flees Israel and joins with the Philistine leader Achish.
Prior to this David had trusted in the Lord to protect him from the hand of Saul. Now, he gave up trusting in the Lord and instead left the land of promise, left the people of God, to find “protection” among the Philistines. Given all we have seen of God's repeated protection of David, this decision to find safety among the godless Philistines rather than in God's continued care is totally off.
So what's missing here? Comunication with God! At no point does David seek the Lord, His promises, or His past protection. The absence of prayer in today's text points us back to others who forgot God as the true source of their security. We may understand, even sympathize with David's difficulties, but Scripture also warns us against leaving God out of our decision-making processes.
Today’s passage reminds us that all of God’s children falter in their faith, even David. It is not easy to remain patient during times of great stress but moving forward with a choice (which seems wise to us) without God in it, usually leads to trouble.
Therefore, do not lose heart as David did but look at God – not at the wind or the waves but to Him who calms them both.
The Truth: But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (Matthew 8:26)
