God's Sovereign Support In Dark Times (1 Samuel 21:10-15)

"David arose and fled that day from before Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, 'Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousand?' Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So, he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hand, scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva fall down on his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, 'Look, you see that this man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? Have I need of madmen that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?" (1 Samuel 21:5-10, NKJV).

One of the proofs that the Bible is literally true is that it does not hide or omit the mistakes, bad choices, and embarrassing details in the lives of the people whom God used in spite of themselves. Whether good or evil, the Sovereign LORD has created everyone for a reason. No one is an accident nor a random fluke in the course of history (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 139:13-18; Acts 17:24-28). When reading about the life of David or anyone else in Scripture, we need to remember that these people were flesh and blood, literal individuals who lived and worked in real situations in real nations in what we define as "the Middle East", the authentic cradle of civilization. We read in Scripture where people took matters into their own hands instead of trusting in God to see them through the dark times. In this passage, we witness David's descent into a seemingly hopeless and destitute situation that appeared to take him out of the picture as the next king of Israel. What happened and how would he come back to the place where he totally relied on God for strength and substance?

David was the sweet psalmist of Israel, the slayer of giants, the captain of the armies of Israel. He was admired and loved by the people and even by the members of King Saul's family. Up to this point, it seemed that all was well and that the path to the throne of Israel was set despite Saul's rage and the plots he conceived to rid himself of David's presence and influence over the nation. He seemed to have a fail-safe "support system" in place. Yet, by the time of the events recorded in 1 Samuel 21, it looks as if David has lost all self-respect, acting like a madman in front of the king of Gath, the nation that had borne the giant Goliath and a sworn enemy of Israel. The lessons that David would learn involve us today, and that lesson centers on whom we call and rely upon for support. God is fixing to take David to school, and we are part of that class. We need to see that whatever "support system" we think we have in this world, whether it be our friends, family, job, status, reputation, or office, all of it can fall apart and leave us with nothing except to lean on the everlasting arms of God.

Up to this point, David had done everything right. He has been the absolute model of faith, courage, obedience, integrity, and devotion to God and the king. However, he is still a very young man far from home and family. So, God, in His mercy and grace, provided David with people and things to be a support system for him. David leaned on the support of position (1 Samuel 18:13). He had risen from a humble shepherd boy to become a leader over the armies of Saul. His work provided needed stability in his life. He needed that and relied upon it for support. He no doubt also saw this responsibility as another steppingstone to the throne of Israel. He had also leaned upon the support of popularity (1 Samuel 18:16). The people of Israel loved David and respected him for the work he had done on their behalf and that of Saul. The praises he received were another assurance that one day he would be their king. He also leaned upon the support of people such as his wife Michal (1 Samuel 18:20, 28). She truly loved him, and this gave David emotional and moral support. He also had the friendship and support of Prince Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-4). Jonathan became David's "eyes and ears" in the throne room, placing his friendship with David above his allegiance to his father, King Saul. He had also leaned upon the friendship and guidance of the prophet Samuel, who had anointed him king upon the orders of God (1 Samuel 16:13; 19:18). The prophet had provided him both counsel and the importance of service and worship to God. He was the model of mentorship for David. David also had his sense of accomplishments as a source of support.