August 2 & 3, 2025
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Reading along with us in 1 Samuel and Mark? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Samuel 29 (NIV)
Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag
1 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”….Continue Reading
What these Philistine commanders suggest makes sense. And I get David serving the one in authority in the situation he was in, questionable though it was, but I don’t understand his willingness to join the Philistines in battle against Jezreel, an Israelite city. I don’t get why David would be surprised as well, being a military commander himself. But David does the right thing to leave and not compromise himself any longer being with the Philistines. God has far too many plans for him that doesn’t involve him living with the Philistines. Saul’s time will be up, and David will be placed in power as king. So we can see God’s hand in this chapter, directing circumstances around David.
It is clear David is not in a good place currently and making some questonable decisions but God prevents a decision in this chapter that could have really effected his future as king over Israel. To join the Philistines in a battle against Jezreel would have surely left the people of Israel with the same feeling the Philistines were having for David entering this battle. “This guy doesn’t have our back, he was just fighting against us” If David made the choice to battle against his own people it would have been difficult for them to later accept him back as a leader, but God had different plans and prevented this misstep for him. Sometimes we can appreciated places in our lives where a lack of good judgement was some how prevented and there we see God looking out for us!
1 Samuel 29-31
1 Samuel 29
1 Samuel 29-30
So the Lord needed to get the point across to David, “it’s time to stop this nonsense. I’m not going to allow you to go to battle with your enemy and fight against your own people. Turn back, and go in peace.” Thank God when he thwarts the decisions we make that are not good for us when we fail to see the danger it it.
Achish sends David back to Ziklag.