Originally posted August 19, 2010. Reposted October 21, 2011.
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To me, 1 Samuel 27 is one of the most confusing passages of Scripture in the entire Bible. I have a hard time understanding this chapter in light of the fact that David is the only person in the Bible to be called “a man after God’s own heart”. How can the liar and ruthless killer we find in 1 Samuel 27 be “a man after God’s own heart?” Honestly, I’m just not sure. Then when you pile on the fact that David later committed adultery and murder, the whole “man after God’s own heart” title is a pill that’s pretty hard to swallow.
Why am I not “a man after God’s own heart?” Why don’t I get such a title? I mean, I try to honor God. I strive to live a life that pleases Him. I don’t cheat on my wife or my taxes. I have accountability and very clear boundaries in my life in order to remain virtuous. I haven’t murdered anyone and I try to be a man of integrity. Then again, in my heart I’ve committed all of these sins.
I have hated and lusted, which Jesus equates to murder and adultery. I’ve lied to and deceived others far too often. My sinful nature makes me a lying, cheating, killer. So while I don’t understand 1 Samuel 27, this passage gives me hope. If the lying, murdering, cheating David was able to capture God’s heart, maybe there’s something in me that can capture God’s heart as well.
At the very least, I can understand what David meant when he wrote Psalm 16:2 saying, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (NIV).
David thought to himself, “Sooner or later, Saul’s going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to Philistine country. Saul will count me a lost cause and quit hunting me down in every nook and cranny of Israel. I’ll be out of his reach for good.” So David left; he and his six hundred men went to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. They moved in and settled down in Gath, with Achish. Each man brought his household; David brought his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, widow of Nabal of Carmel. When Saul was told that David had escaped to Gath, he called off the hunt. Then David said to Achish, “If it’s agreeable to you, assign me a place in one of the rural villages. It doesn’t seem right that I, your mere servant, should be taking up space in the royal city.” So Achish assigned him Ziklag. (This is how Ziklag got to be what it is now, a city of the kings of Judah.) David lived in Philistine country a year and four months. From time to time David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—these people were longtime inhabitants of the land stretching toward Shur and on to Egypt. When David raided an area he left no one alive, neither man nor woman, but took everything else: sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, clothing—the works. Then he’d return to Achish.
Achish would ask, “And whom did you raid today?”
David would tell him, “Oh, the Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” He never left a single person alive lest one show up in Gath and report what David had really been doing. This is the way David operated all the time he lived in Philistine country. Achish came to trust David completely. He thought, “He’s made himself so repugnant to his people that he’ll be in my camp forever.”1 Samuel 27:1-12 (The Message)