1 Samuele 27:2 Commento

David was a man after God's own heart, and yet he had his faults, which are recorded, not for our imitation, but for our admonition; witness the story of this chapter, in which, though, I. We find, to his praise, that he prudently took care of his own safety and his family's (Sa1 27:2-4) and valiantly fought Israel's battles against the Canaanites (Sa1 27:8-9), yet, II. We find, to his dishonour, 1. That he began to despair of his deliverance (Sa1 27:1). 2. That he deserted his own country, and went to dwell in the land of the Philistines (Sa1 27:1, Sa1 27:5-7). 3. That he imposed upon Achish with an equivocation, if not a lie, concerning his expedition (Sa1 27:10-12).

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 27 David, fearing he should perish by the hand of Saul at one time or another, went into the land of the Philistines, which Saul hearing of, sought no more after him, Sa1 27:1; and finding favour in the eyes of the king of Gath, desired a place in his country might be given him to reside in; and accordingly Ziklag was given him, Sa1 27:5; from whence he made excursions into the land of the Amalekites, and others, and utterly destroyed them; but imposed on the king of Gath, pretending he had made his road into the southern parts of Judah, Sa1 27:8.

And David arose,.... From the place where he was: and he passed over; the borders of land of Canaan: with the six hundred men that were with him; having neither lost any, nor had any added to him, since he was at Keilah, Sa1 23:13, unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath; whether this was the same Achish David was with before, Sa1 21:10, is not certain; it seems as if he was not the same, since he is described as the son of Maoch, as if it was to distinguish him from him; though it is not improbable that he was the same person. Some think (a) that he is described not from his father, but from his mother, whose name was Maacha. The circumstances of David were now very much altered from what they were when he went to Gath before; then he went secretly, now openly; then as a person unknown, now as well known; then alone, now with six hundred men; then when discovered he was seized by the princes of Gath, and brought before the king, and was driven from his presence; but now he came either at the invitation of Achish, hearing how he had been treated by Saul, and thinking to attach him to his interest, and make him more and more the enemy of Saul, and so free himself from a very powerful one, and of whose wisdom and prudence, and military skill, and courage, and valour, he might hope to avail himself; or David sent an embassy to him, to treat with him about his coming into his country, and settlement in it, and terms to mutual satisfaction were agreed upon. (a) Hieron. Trad. Heb, in 2 Reg. fol. 78. E.

“What,” you say, “have you to do with the kings of this world, in whom Christianity has never found anything save envy toward it?” Having said this, you endeavored to reckon up what kings the righteous had found to be their enemies, and [you] did not consider how many more might be enumerated who have proved their friends. The patriarch Abraham was both most friendly treated, and presented with a token of friendship, by a king who had been warned from heaven not to defile his wife. Isaac his son likewise found a king most friendly to him. Jacob, being received with honor by a king in Egypt, went so far as to bless him. What shall I say of his son Joseph, who, after the tribulation of a prison, in which his chastity was tried as gold is tried in the fire, being raised by Pharaoh to great honors, even swore by the life of Pharaoh4—not as though puffed up with vain conceit but being not unmindful of his kindness. The daughter of a king adopted Moses. David took refuge with a king of another race, compelled thereto by the unrighteousness of the king of Israel.

“When the Philistines held him in Gath”; this is recounted in the text of the book of Kings [Samuel]. David was terrorized by attacks of Saul and thought that he would be hidden in the city of Gath among the Philistines. But we have said that all this is to be explained as mystical allegory. Gath denotes “winepress,” the squeezing which every Christian endures, but then he makes the harvest most abundant when he has been pressed by the rods of afflictions. So the church reasonably and appropriately speaks in this heading. Though weighed down by the persecutions of the Philistines, that is, by outsiders, [the church] pours forth the deserving merits of its saints with abundant freedom as though they were liquid nectar.

And David arose, and he went himself, etc. The Lord leaves the seat which He used to hold in the hearts of the Jews from ancient times and went to acquire the Gentiles for His faith, He himself and the ministers of His word, notable by their multiplicity, that is, intent on perfect work in this present time, and suspended in their mind by the undoubted hope of heavenly things in the future.

David flies to Achish, king of Gath, who receives him kindly, and gives him Ziklag to dwell in, where he continues a year and four months, Sa1 27:1-7. David invades the Geshurites and Amalekites, and leaves neither man nor woman alive, Sa1 27:8, Sa1 27:9. He returns to Achish, and pretends that he had been making inroads on the Israelites, and Achish believes it, Sa1 27:10-12.

David arose, and he passed over - unto Achish - There is not one circumstance in this transaction that is not blameable. David joins the enemies of his God and of his country, acts a most inhuman part against the Geshurites and Amalekites, without even the pretense of a Divine authority; tells a most deliberate falsehood to Achish, his protector, relative to the people against whom he had perpetrated this cruel act; giving him to understand that he had been destroying the Israelites, his enemies. I undertake no defense of this conduct of David; it is all bad, all defenceless; God vindicates him not. The inspired penman tells what he did, but passes no eulogium upon his conduct; and it is false to say that, because these things are recorded, therefore they are approved. In all these transactions David was in no sense a man after God's own heart. Chandler attempts to vindicate all this conduct: those who can receive his saying, let them receive it.

SAUL HEARING THAT DAVID WAS FLED TO GATH, SEEKS NO MORE FOR HIM. (Sa1 27:1-4) David said in his heart, . . . there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines--This resolution of David's was, in every respect, wrong: (1) It was removing him from the place where the divine oracle intimated him to remain (Sa1 22:5); (2) It was rushing into the idolatrous land, for driving him into which he had denounced an imprecation on his enemies (Sa1 26:19); (3) It was a withdrawal of his counsel and aid from God's people. It was a movement, however, overruled by Providence to detach him from his country and to let the disasters impending over Saul and his followers be brought on by the Philistines.

Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath--The popular description of this king's family creates a presumption that he was a different king from the reigning sovereign on David's first visit to Gath. Whether David had received a special invitation from him or a mere permission to enter his territories, cannot be determined. It is probable that the former was the case. From the universal notoriety given to the feud between Saul and David, which had now become irreconcilable, it might appear to Achish good policy to harbor him as a guest, and so the better pave the way for the hostile measures against Israel which the Philistines were at this time meditating.

David at Ziklag in the Land of the Philistines - Sa1 27:1-12 In his despair of being able permanently to escape the plots of Saul in the land of Israel, David betook himself, with his attendants, to the neighbouring land of the Philistines, to king Achish of Gath, and received from him the town of Ziklag, which was assigned him at his own request as a dwelling-place (Sa1 27:1-7). From this point he made attacks upon certain tribes on the southern frontier of Canaan which were hostile to Israel, but described them to Achish as attacks upon Judah and its dependencies, that he might still retain the protection of the Philistian chief (Sa1 27:8-12). David had fled to Achish at Gath once before; but on that occasion he had been obliged to feign insanity in order to preserve his life, because he was recognised as the conqueror of Goliath. This act of David was not forgotten by the Philistines even now. But as David had been pursued by Saul for many years, Achish did not hesitate to give a place of refuge in his land to the fugitive who had been outlawed by the king of Israel, the arch-enemy of the Philistines, possibly with the hope that if a fresh war with Saul should break out, he should be able to reap some advantage from David's friendship.