1 Samuel 27: 1 – 12
I’m sick n tired of
27 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 escape 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.” 2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more. 5 Then David said to 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. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months. 8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.” 11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”
Today’s topic is ‘I am sick n tired of (_________).
I know what it’s like to feel sick n tired – and not just in the physical sense.
The world that we live in is an exhausting place to be. It is wearing. It is thankless. It is endlessly trying and scarcely rewarding. You’re tired simply because you live in it. You’re tired of loving too much, caring too much, giving too much to a world that never gives anything back. You are tired of investing in indefinite outcomes. You’re tired of uncertainties. Tired of even trying.
I know you haven’t always been this worn out – that there was a time when you were hopeful and pure. When your optimism outweighed your cynicism and you had an infinite amount in you to give. I know you have been chipped away and worn-down piece by piece – a broken heart here and an un-kept promise there. I know the world hasn’t always been kind throughout the situations you’ve experienced and that you’ve lost more times than you have ever won. I know you’re feeling uninspired to try again. I know.
Because the truth is, we’re all tired. Every single one of us. By a certain age, we are all nothing more than an army of broken hearts and aching souls, desperately searching for fulfillment. We want more but we’re too tired to ask for it. We’re sick of where we are but we are too scared to begin again. We need to take risks but we’re afraid to watch it all come crashing down around us. After all, we’re not sure how many times we will be able to start over.
We all think we’re alone in our exhaustion. But the truth is we’re tired of each other – tired of the games played on us and the and the uncertainties we face. We don’t want to play the villain but we don’t want to play the fool either. So our guards go up. Our defenses are ready to strike back.
I know how impossible it can feel to go on trying and giving and becoming when you are exhausted straight through to the soul. I know that the cheerful ideals you were once promised now seem untrue and hopeless. But here’s what I beg if you’re this close to giving up: give it one more try, with feeling. I know you’re tired of your attempts. I know that David, through most of his life lived in a wicked world and he couldn’t understand why God wouldn’t just set things right.
Due to the long suffering of God wicked people assume that there is no punishment coming. The wicked assume that God doesn’t exist and therefore their wickedness is multiplied until the day that God brings judgement. That day is coming and, in that day, the wicked will know that there is a God the righteous will be rewarded for their faithfulness.
Often in counseling people I instruct people that whenever they are going through difficulties in life they need to read Psalms. They are cries of heartaches by various individuals with David being the most published. In truth when you go through these prayers I am sure you will find one that fits you to a ‘T’. As we study today’s scripture passages I can sense David’s feeling of being sick n tired of the problems that Saul had done to him. See, if you sense David’s thoughts in being sick n tired in Psalms 10:1-18,
“10 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD. 4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts. 5 His ways are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. 6 He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.” 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity. 8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the secret places he murders the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. 9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 So he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength. 11 He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.” 12 Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble. 13 Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.” 14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none. 16 The LORD is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land. 17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, 18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.”
In some ways the flight of David to Gath appears to conflict with all that has gone before, for up to this point Yahweh God had always ensured that David remained in Israel/Judah and had protected him there. We need to remember that when David had previously fled to Gath (21.10-15), it had resulted in his being humiliated and driven back into Israel, and this fact, combined with the later words of Gad the Prophet (22.5), suggests that being in Israel/Judah was God’s purpose for him at that time even though he was an outlaw. In this regard it has to be pointed out that in this chapter there is no mention of God, with the inference being drawn that his action here was also not of God. David has just gotten sick n tired of all that happened against him so he took matters into his own hands again.
It is easy to understand the reason why David moved to Gath. He had at last realized that there was no hope of any further reconciliation with Saul, and had no doubt also recognized that a broody and constantly changing Saul would never finally leave him and his men to get on with their lives. Furthermore, he was once again a married man, and his wives were with him, and it would appear that many of his men also had their families (‘households’ - 27.3) with them, possibly sheltering them from the vengeance of Saul. Life in the harsh wilderness was no life for such as them. Thus, the idea of being mercenaries to the Philistines and living a ‘normal’ life must have appealed to them. While David had previously been rejected at Gath as an individual who had recently slain Goliath, it was very unlikely that a strong band of Habiru mercenaries would be rejected by the Philistines, as previous references have suggested (14.21).
27 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 escape 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.”
Musing in his heart over the whole situation that they faced David concluded that the time had at last arrived when he and his men must leave Israel. It had become quite clear to him that Saul was never to be trusted whatever he might say and that those of his men’s families who were with them could not be expected to go on living in wilderness conditions in constant fear of pursuit. Better then to take his now experienced military force and put them at the disposal of someone who would appreciate them. The employment of such mercenary forces was a feature of those times. It was true over many centuries, for in a world where nations were continually seeking to grow rich at the expense of those around them (2 Samuel 11.1), kings were always looking to augment their own armies with experienced foreign mercenaries so as to make themselves more effective.
It was quite clear to him that once they had moved out of Israel the news would reach Saul so that he would cease to pursue them. They would no longer be his concern. Thus, they would be able to relax and live without the constant fear of Saul being on their tails. Of course, they would be required to earn their keep. They would be expected to take part in border raids and seize booty, and to take part in any major engagements that their employer required of them. But it would be better than living in the wilderness, surviving on minimal provisions.
2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
Having come to his decision David made overtures to the king of Gath and clearly came to an understanding with him, for he and his ‘six hundred’ (six small but effective military units) passed over the border and went to Gath with their families.
3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.
So, David and his men, with their households of women and children, settled down in Gath, David having with him his two wives Ahinoam and Abigail.
4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.
The news that David had left Israel and was living in Gath reached Saul, and the result was that he stopped looking for him. He did not expect the king of Gath to hand David over nor did he want to fight them. The Philistines and the Israelites were at constant enmity and saw themselves as independent of each other.
Achish clearly saw the sense in this and gave David the city of Ziklag, with its environs, which was probably sparsely occupied at the time. Ziklag was in the far south, in the Negeb. (That it was near Beersheba is suggested by Nehemiah 11.28). There its surrounding area was especially vulnerable to attacks from the warlike tribes that roamed the Sinai Peninsula. Achish may well therefore have seen this as a means of making that area, which was under his control, secure. And from there David in his turn attacked these tribes and obtained from them much booty, including large quantities of cattle, sheep and goats. Achish would receive his share of it, being informed erroneously that it had been obtained by attacking Israelite towns.
5 Then David said to 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. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”
Whatever the reasons David approached Achish and asked to be given a city some distance from Gath to avoid cramping the royal city. This probably indicates that many of the Gittite aristocracy were somewhat not very comfortable by the presence of David and his men, and were in some way expressing their hostility, claiming that this was the royal city of Gath, a place in which such a foreign element were not welcome. If this was so Achish would be aware of it and might well have seen David’s suggestion as very wise. He had little to lose and much to gain by giving to David a sparsely populated town guarding the approach from the south, especially if David was able to keep the surrounding area safe and use it as a base from which to carry out his foraging expeditions, thus enhancing Achish’s wealth. It does, however, illustrate the confidence and trust that Achish had in David. He saw him as someone reliable.
6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
So that day Achish gave Ziklag and its surrounds to David. That is why when David became king of Judah the city would become conjoined with Judah and the city became seen as a Judean city under the control of whoever was king over Judah at the time.
David appears to have ruled the city and its surrounds as an independent city state, while acknowledging Achish as his leader. The terms on which he received the city would have been laid out in a treaty. It would include the obtaining of booty, a proportion of which would be given to Achish, as a result of raids on ‘foreign territory’ (which Achish would see as including Judah), and an expression of willingness to serve Achish directly as mercenaries when called on. To this city and its environs flocked many who were disaffected by Saul’s rule, to serve under David who had once been a popular Israelite commander (1 Chronicles 12.1-7). From it he sent ambassadors to Judean cities gaining their friendship (30.26-31). He was founding his own small kingdom and it was giving him great experience for the future, with an influence that Achish never dreamed of.
8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
From Ziklag David made raids on fierce and warlike tribes in the Sinai Peninsula. It appears that the Geshurites and the Girzites, of whom little else is known (but see Joshua 13.2), were similar to the Amalekites, and somewhat like modern Bedouin, although they may have been more settled than the nomadic Amalekites, in desert cities and oasis encampments. They no doubt constantly raided the Negeb of Judah, and the Negeb of the Philistines, and it is possible that these raids on Philistine territory were one reason why Achish was glad to place Ziklag as a buffer between them and Philistia. These tribesmen had been there in the Sinai Peninsula up to the borders of Egypt for as long as men could remember, and they were seen as a constant threat to the more settled peoples of the Negeb, swooping down unexpectedly on unprotected areas and people, seizing both their cattle and flocks, and their people to sell into slavery.
We know that the Amalekites had been responsible for attacks on the children of Israel shortly after leaving Egypt (Exodus 17.8-16), the kind of act for which they later came under God’s curse (15.2-3; Deuteronomy 25.19). And while Saul had wiped out one of their prominent tribes they were very numerous and separated into several different tribes, some of which had escaped his intentions. The Geshurites and Girzites may well therefore have also been coming under that general curse. David’s action would, in fact, partly be a retaliation for raids made on what he now saw as his territory.
9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.
Wherever he could find them David, in defense of his territory, sought out these warrior tribes, smiting the land where they could be found, and slaughtering them all, including both men and women. And in the process, he took away their sheep, oxen, asses, camels and other goods, most of which they themselves would have obtained by the same method. David’s policy of mass slaughter no doubt sounds harsh to us today, but it is doubtful if those who heard of it then thought the same. All knew that any Amalekites who were left alive would simply join up with other similar tribes, strengthening them for further raids on innocent people, while their women would be seen as wild, wicked, and useless as wives, and likely producers of more vengeful children once they connected up with other tribes. They were probably as fierce as the men. Harsh as it may seem eradication was therefore seen as the only way of dealing with them. Any other route simply resulted in further problems of a particularly vicious kind.
David would then come to Achish bringing his spoils so that Achish could receive his no doubt generous share, and the remainder would be divided up among David’s men.
10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.”
Achish was naturally interested in where David had been carrying out his raids and was erroneously informed that it had been ‘against the Negeb of Judah, and against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negeb of the Kenites.’ These areas were far enough off and remote enough for Achish not to be aware of what was going on there, and they would anyway no doubt constantly experience raids of one kind or another. That was a consequence of living in such places, which was no doubt why Samuel had earlier sent his sons to act as war-leaders and judges there (8.2). There was also probably some truth in his statement. No doubt when he heard of Amalekite raids on those areas he entered them (with the consent of their elders) in order to deal with the Amalekite invaders within those territories.
‘The Negeb’ was a vague term covering a large area of the dry south, with its lesser rainfall, which extended into the Sinai Peninsula. Thus what David said was a half-truth. He is not depicted as actually saying that he had attacked the peoples themselves, only their area. He may well have found Amalekites wandering in those areas. And there were Amalekite ‘cities’ in the Negeb.
The Jerahmeelites were a semi-independent clan like the Kenites, who had friendly relations with Judah, and gradually became Judeans by adoption (compare 1 Chronicles 2.9 ff). The Kenites had been spared by Saul when he had slaughtered the Amalekites (15.6), and had previous associations with Judah (Judges 1.16). They had assisted Israel on their journey through the wilderness. The Negeb may well have been at this time a fruitful area as a result of careful use of what rainwater it experienced, which was cleverly used for irrigation, but it depended heavily on oases and springs. It was also an area suitable for grazing large flocks. It would thus be seen by the nomadic tribesmen (and by Achish) as a very suitable area from which to obtain spoils.
11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
The writer now tells us that one reason why David never left any living witnesses to his attacks was so that no one could inform on his activities. However, we must not discount the fact that he also knew that they were under Yahweh’s curse and therefore dealt with them accordingly.
To us, of course, all this killing is rightly abhorrent. But then most of us live in a society where there is an adequate police force, and where there are organized prisons. We do not live on our wits, faced with constant attacks from merciless tribesmen, with no one to protect us but ourselves. The sentence of death on them was the consequence of the fact that they were seen as regular murderers who would never learn their lesson and therefore needed to be finally dealt with in the only way possible to render them harmless, death.
12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore, he will be my servant forever.”
Achish believed David’s half-truths, and gloated. He considered that by turning his own people and their allies against him it would mean that David forever remained faithful to those who had not been turned against him, his employers. In other words, they would serve Achish faithfully, as bound to him, into the distant future. They had nowhere else to look.
