Our Enemies
Today's Scripture: 1 Samuel 29
1Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.
2And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.
3Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?
4And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?
5Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
6Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.
7Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
8And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
9And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.
10Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.
11So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Today's Scripture Meaning:
David objected to by the Philistines. (1-5) He is dismissed by Achish. (6-11)
Verses 1-5: David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.
Verses 6-11: David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
Today's Scripture Application
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of 1 Samuel with Chapter 29 and we see the Philistines starting to distrust David. What catches my eye is the delay in the awareness of the Philistines of this one who had caused them so much trouble. In making application we see how the Lord is in control of our enemies. It was if they didn't realize the David was among them. It reminds me of a missionary to communist China years ago that was smuggling in Bibles into the country which was a crime that, at the time, could have landed him in prison. He told me of how the guards searched every bag but his as he loaded the train. He said it was if they didn't even see him as he walked through their line. The Lord kept the eyes of the guards closed and unaware of Missionary. How about you? Do you understand that the Lord can keep blind the awareness of your enemies? Let us learn from our text today and life of David to understand the Lord can protect us from our enemies.
