October 18, 2017
I Samuel 27:1, 2
(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
Our study, Dwelling In The Devil’s Dominion, is based on I Samuel 27:1 and 2:
And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand
of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily es-
cape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek
me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”
Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were
with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
In the last blog, we were looking at the effects of David’s decision! It is obvious that David was personally affected by his sixteen month stay in Philistia (see I Samuel 27:7). There are always consequences to the decisions we make! But there were six hundred men and their families with him – perhaps as many as two thousand people for whom David was responsible! Someone has said, “We don’t sin in a vacuum! ” Our choices affect those around us – family (even future generations), friends, neighbors, work and school associates, etc. And the more authority we have, the greater the effect will be! Also, according to James 3:1, God will hold us accountable for the influence we exert!
• We began examining David slipping more and more into idolatry! But first, let’s broadly define what idolatry is: Idolatry is putting something else in God’s place! What is God’s place to be in the life of a believer? Jesus tells us in Mark 12:29 and 30:
The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, The LORD our
God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your
strength.”
And in John 14:15, Jesus clarified what loving God is all about: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” So we could quote what is known as the Great Commandment this way: “…you shall obey the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Anything less than fully loving (obeying) God is descending into idolatry – putting something else where God belongs…in absolute first place in our life!
Was David putting God first when, in fear of his life, he sought refuge in enemy territory? Remember, the LORD had anointed him to be the next king of Israel (see I Samuel 16:1, 13). That kingship was even confirmed by Jonathan, Saul’s son (see I Samuel 23:17), and later by Saul himself! (See I Samuel 24:20). If God was to be trusted in what He promised, David was invincible until that promise was fulfilled!
✡ In review, we looked at I Samuel 27:5 – David requested of King Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there.” David sought favor from this Philistine king! Are we to court the favor of the world or of God? Consider what it says in John 15:18 and 19, John 17:14 through 18 and 25, I Corinthians 6:14 through 18, James 4:4, and I John 2:15 through 17 – and you decide!
✡ We also learned from I Samuel 27:8 through 12 that David regularly lied to King Achish! Is this appropriate behavior for a follower of the LORD? (See Zechariah 8:16; Ephesians 4:25).
✡ And why was he raiding “…the Gehurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites…” (I Samuel 27:8) in the first place? He was trying to provide for up to two thousand dependants! I suppose we could then excuse him for his raiding actions…but for the truth of God’s provision! We learn in Exodus 17:35, “…the children of Israel ate manna forty years…until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” God miraculously fed not two thousand people, but up to two million Israelites for four decades! According to Exodus 16:16, they were to daily gather “…one omer for each person…” (a little over two quarts per person per day). Since an omer is a dry measure, it is a bit difficult to calculate the weight of two quarts of manna. But let’s just say that two quarts of dry manna weighed about two pounds. 2,000,000 people x two pounds x 365 days x 40 years = 58,400,000,000 (over 58 billion) pounds of miraculously provided food! Do you think God could have provided enough for David and two thousand under his care to live on without him going on murderous raids… and lying about it?
✡ What were the lies he was telling King Achish, when the king asked him, “Where have you made a raid today? ” (I Samuel 27:10). “And David would say, ‘Against the southern area of Judah, or against…the Jerahmeelites, or against…the Kenites.’ ” (I Samuel 27:10). These to peoples mentioned are related to Israel in one way or another. The result of these lies? “So Achish believed David, saying, ‘He had made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.’ ” (I Samuel 27:12). What would be the consequences of non-believers saying that because of our actions, it is obvious that he or she utterly abhors Christians! And do we want to be considered a servant (slave) of unbelievers forever?!! (See Romans 6:16-23).
We’ll pause here because there is yet a major idolatrous move that David made, and it will take some space to study it out.