1 Samuel 27 vs 1-12
1 Samuel Chapter 27 Verse 1
· Most all Bible commentators see David discouraged in this chapter and making decisions and doing things that aren’t consistent with who he really is… I read through and studied this chapter and went another route but then after going back through it one more time, I do see it. And it’s because of what we are given here in the first sentence. That David said in his heart…
· He didn’t say this to the Lord, he didn’t say this to Abishai or any other of his generals or friends, he said this within himself. That is a statement of discouragement. It’s important that we lean on each other and that we take our concerns and cares to the Lord. Without being able to vocalize and work through things and internal struggles such as we are seeing in David, it is very true that thinking, conclusions, decisions are definitely impaired. Discouragement is defeated through discussion.
· Now, I do also perceive that no matter what Saul says to David, David knows that Saul won’t stop pursuing him. He’s moved around the land, he has left Saul’s table, he has protected Saul, he has saved his life now twice (at least), and all Saul can do in return is despise him. So, David makes a decision to leave the country all together…
· This action is definitely fueled or at least informed by David’s discouragement but I do also see that David is just doing what he has been doing this whole time… Looking for a way that there can be peace.
· This draws perhaps the clearest contrast between Saul and David yet. Saul who is haunted by envy, self-onset distress and self-focus cannot do anything but harm David while David who is intent on serving the Lord and set on doing what is right seeks peace at every opportunity, even at great personal cost. One filled with flesh, the other filled with the Spirit…
1 Samuel Chapter 27 Verses 2 - 4
· Do you remember Achish? It was a few chapters back, chapter 2. Achish was the king that David acted insane in front of… I’m not sure if going to the Philistines was a terrible thing for David to do…, I see virtue in it as I’ve already stated, but it is an interesting point that discouragement can so altar your thinking that you return perhaps to something that has in the past brought you shame. Discouragement is a very dangerous thing…
· AND…, This is Achish…, the King of Gath. Who was the champion, the prize of the people of Gath? Goliath! David had killed him and in a very obvious and public way, put all of the Philistines to shame and all of Gath. And yet we see here that David is welcomed in the home and land of the king of his enemy!
· This is one of the numerous payoffs of integrity in being bent on doing what is right, even when others will not. I like paydays. How about you? Use the word reward or benefit or compensation or profit…, use whatever word works for you to get the message as deep into your heart as possible! I like the word payday!!
· David helps Saul over and over again and Saul continues to seek and speak of evil about David. Saul has cursed David over and over again and David continues to seek and speak peace about Saul. Saul is a loser, he is afflicted in his mind, he suffers in his heart, has a ton of stuff and enjoys none of it! David is served by the king of his fallen foe…
· Deciding to be kind and one who serves whomever is around them is probably the smartest personal decision for personal benefit anyone can make! Kindness and serving folks around you turns everyone around you into an encourager. An uplifter. A supporter. A helper. If you are one that thinks often or at times, “Man, no one around me helps me…,” unless you are Mother Theresa (which I would venture to say you are not) then I would encourage you to check your kindness towards them!
· Even more than that, proven Mayo Clinic science here, kindness has been shown to drastically increase self-respect, self-grace, self-forgivingness, and self-esteem! It directly affects and chases away feelings of loneliness, improves low mood and enhances relationships in general. Increases productivity and increases results in one’s endeavors!
· Payday after payday after payday! One short lesson on kindness. Kindness is not what you think it is… It’s not giving someone the best version of you with all your quirks and traits. Kindness is manifesting and protecting the best version of someone else! What delights you probably doesn’t delight them! It’s to perceive through purposeful perspective (because you are selflessly investigating them while interacting), to perceive through purposeful perspective what it is that they need, that they love, that gives them joy…, and serving that up for them… That is kindness! Similarly, what bothers them, what annoys them, what irks them, what angers them, and ensuring that you are NOT serving those things up around them! The pathway and procedure to perpetual paydays interrelationally is kindness! If you want it, it’s available…
· Ok yikes, one super hard truth after all that… Bomb coming! Brace yourself! 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love suffers long and IS KIND.” Love and kind are the same thing. Love IS kind. Kind is love. Replace the word love everywhere you see it in the Bible with kind and use the definition I just taught you! Many people think they are loving…, a loving person…, at least to their own families and closest friends…, BOMB alert! Not if you’re not kind…, you’re simply projecting your self-focused satisfaction with yourself onto others that are not satisfactorily served by you…
1 Samuel Chapter 27 Verse 5
· See David’s kindness? Right there in verse 5, “Your servant.” Here comes the payday… How about a city, Daivd?
1 Samuel Chapter 27 Verses 6 – 10
· We aren’t given really any context for these raids. David is attacking the enemies of Israel from within the enemy of Israel. The Geshurites, Girzites and the Amalekites were all nations and cities of the Philistines…
1 Samuel Chapter 27 Verses 11 – 12
· I have no desire to attempt to justify what David is doing. David has sought peace with his king and he has been rejected to the point that living in the land is seemingly not an option for him. So, he defects. That’s the actual word used in a later chapter regarding David’s time with Achish and the Philistines…
· David still fights for Israel but he does it now in deception, in the shadows and with great brutality. These are not his best years… And even what he reports to Achish is deceptive and what he does to the people is to cover his actions…
· Here’s a thing about all this… This comes up again. Later in David’s life he will have another episode of immorality and to cover it up, he will have a good man killed… You can foresee Uriah’s death in David’s decisions here… The point to make here is that sin not dealt with now, issues of the heart that are damaging and destructive that don’t get dealt with just come back… You don’t suppress these character flaws for long… They revisit your life over and over and over again…
· I have a particular hostility against this relational violation and yet I see it in everyone and in myself. Deception. Hiding something. Half-truth. Fraud. David hides what is true from Achish and Achish believes him. Achish is pleased…, with a lie. And so, here’s the thing… Achish says right here, “Man, we are so close. This is forever…” And yet that’s not the truth…
· So there appears to be a bond, in the eyes of Achish…, but the truth is, there is no bond. The bond is a fraud. David and Achish could have been as close as David and Jonathan…, but they are not…, and Achish doesn’t know it. And David sleeps well, eats his dinner, plays his card games with his men…, goes on with life…
· I cannot wait to leave that part of this life behind. Where there is no more wondering and no more hiding. No more allowance for deception. Where all is revealed, laid out in the open, and the crazy and wonderful and real thing is, this is also where there is total acceptance and total unity.
· Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” You know what that is a statement of? LOVE. It is far better, in fact the only good, is to simply just be revealed and be known as you know yourself. Boy, we are terrified of that and 99.99% of people, I am confident, won’t go there… And 99.99% of people miss out on love. Because love has to see it all to in all be expressed…
· This is the confidence of God’s love for you. Because He does see it all. No hiding from Him. And He will willfully and love-fully embraces the cross for you and for me. We are the same if given the chance… We are made in the image of God…, and there is something about the human spirit that humility breeds bond. Revelation breeds unity. And every problem in every friendship, between co-workers, in every marriage and in every team is “a lack of communication.” Or so we are told. When it is truly one person or perhaps even the two so afraid of being revealed that they hide…, and so problems persist.
· It’s best to apologize, to forgive, to be as we will ultimately be once we are with Jesus…, to know just as I also am known… It is then and only then that love comes forth… Tragic to think that many people, perhaps the majority of people, go their whole lives and never give or experience love. Because there is no true revelation and there is no true kindness. Don’t, please don’t let that be your life!