Bible Commentaries
1 Samuel 27

Verses 1-12

Chapter 27

Now David made a negative confession in chapter twenty-seven, and if what these people are preaching today, David would've been killed by Saul. If what they say is true, "If you are what you say," if words have a creative force, and words become a creative force, and you can say it into existence, and so forth, then you've got God's divine fiat power and you've become as God.

But David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul ( 1 Samuel 27:1 ):

What a negative confession. "One day Saul's gonna get me." Now if what they teach is true, then it should follow that Saul one day killed David. But that didn't happen. Don't let people lay a trip on you because you may have a negative personality, and say negative things. "Oh, that's gonna happen to you. You shouldn't be saying that. That's just what's gonna take place." That's not true. There are a lot of negative people that have positive things happen to them, and a lot of positive people that have negative things happen to them. The Bible says, "The sun shines on the just and the unjust alike, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust"( Matthew 5:45 ). I don't care who you are, you're gonna have problems in your life, and you're gonna have good times in your life. You can say negative things and not have to go around cringing, fearing, "Oh, I said it and now it's gonna happen." David said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul."

there's nothing better for me than I should speedily escape the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of seeking me any more in the coast of Israel: and I'll escape out of his hand. So David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him to Achish, the king of Gath ( 1 Samuel 27:1-2 ).

Now Gath is one of the major five Philistine cities. It lies about ten miles inland from Ashdod. and Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ashkelon both being on the coast, and Gath made sort of a triangle about ten miles inland from these two Philistine cities, down in the southern part, fifty kilometers from Beersheba, this city of Gath.

The ruins are still there today. We stopped by just the other day, and looked at the ruins of the city of Gath. In my mind I tried to picture David as he first came to Achish and let the spit run down his beard, and slobbered all over, and acted like a madman, scrabbling on the walls. I could see the walls of the ancient city of Gath, and I could in my mind picture old David there doing his little scene in front of Achish.

Now this time he comes to Achish again and he is seeking actually political asylum almost because Saul was after him. So Achish received David, and David said, "Look, I don't need to dwell in this city, but just give me a city around here.

I don't need to dwell in the royal city. So he gave him Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 27:5-6 ):

So David then and his men began to invade areas around them. Now though I admire David for a lot of things, yet I don't admire David for other things. This I cannot really find any real excuse for David's actions. He would go out and he would totally wipe out a city, and he'd kill everybody so that there'd be no one to come back and tell people what was happening. He was making excursions against these cities.

And when Achish would see him, he'd say, [Well, where you been?] Where have you been building a road today? And he said, Over against Judah ( 1 Samuel 27:10 ).

Actually he was wiping out a lot of these little Philistine villages, and Canaanite villages and making out to king Achish that he was fighting against Judah.

So he thought [Oh boy] they're gonna utterly hate David over in Judah now ( 1 Samuel 27:12 ).

But he would kill everybody so that there'd be no one to tell what he was doing. That is not at all right, it isn't admirable. I don't have any excuses for David in these actions. The only thing I think that it does point out is that God can use men that aren't perfect. David was far from perfect. I think that many times we have some kind of a concept that only God, God only uses perfect people. That isn't so. Many times we disqualify ourselves from serving the Lord, being used of God, because we're so conscious of our own imperfections. But God used David and that's always an encouragement to me. If God could use a guy like David, then God can use a guy like me because I'm far from perfect also. He can also use a person like you, because I don't think you're so perfect either. "