My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 54

1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?” O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Selah

As we begin in Psalm 54, some background information is critical to consider. Even David, at the time of his writing this psalm, provided the reason for this psalm of thanksgiving, and it will do us well to understand his situation.

David was on the run from king Saul. He had been anointed king of Israel, and Saul was having none of it. As the king of Israel, Saul had the resources of the government, and of those who seek his allegiance as the authority in the nation.

As an aside, this is one of the fallouts when we replace God in our lives with a human leader. The transferred allegiance to a mortal leader can divert from God’s will, even becoming a tool to persecute those who seek to follow God. So treacherous and yet such an appearance of godliness!

Let’s take a moment to review the passage in 1 Samuel 23, where the treacherous Ziphites approach king Saul to inform him of David’s whereabouts.

1 Samuel 23

19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?
20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”
21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me.
22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning.
23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

I am curious if the king required his subjects to “rat” on David. Had an edict, or law been passed that required citizens of the nation of Israel to report on David’s whereabouts? I haven’t found anywhere in the text where Saul formally distributed an edict amongst the citizens of Israel, requiring the citizens to inform on David’s whereabouts. Yet it must have been common knowledge that Saul was after the future King. Hearing of the King’s desires can be as powerful as a formal law for those who seek the Kings favor. And of course, as we read in this background passage, the Ziphites were definitely seeking the king’s favor.

The Ziphites were from the area defined in the map to the right, which also provides the location of Horesh, where David was in hiding, and where the Ziphites were able to locate him. Yet notice the distance to Gibeah, where the Ziphites had to travel to inform Saul of this development. It is close to 25 miles as the crow flies, approximately a days journey for the Ziphites to get to Saul. A days journey there and a days journey back! These folk were determined to get on Saul’s good side!

They bring him good news, and then he, as king of Israel, sends them back for verification. Never enough eh? Give me more information says Saul. This is the spirit of a bossman, a man who is never satisfied, a proud man that uses people.

Notice also that king Saul blessed these folk, but as we well know, these men were treacherous men, seeking to find favor with a king that has had the kingdom taken from him. Did the Ziphites know of Saul’s loss of the kingdom? That is uncertain, but Saul’s vengeful character, his selfish manner and his desire for power should have given the Ziphites guidance on the wisdom of sharing this information.

They should have considered who they were telling secrets too, for I was once told that if a man complains about someone to me, he will complain about me to someone. It is a rare man (or woman) who considers the person’s character he reveals info to, instead of simply looking for instant gratification, as the Ziphites seem to be seeking. Certainly, the Ziphites were ignoring Saul’s character, being deceived by his godly platitudes and were not recognizing the type of man they were revealing sensitive information to.

It is our wisdom to understand those we share sensitive data with, as the Lord himself has informed us in the gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Definitely the need for wisdom is paramount for us as believers in today’s treacherous world, and yet we can have confidence in sharing the love of God with those we come in contact with. He is good, and provides direction in our lives as we look to Him. In all our discussions with those we come in contact with, let us not seek the favor of anyone other than the Lord Himself.

I have spent a bit of time reviewing the context of David’s condition as he writes this Psalm. We shall return to our Psalm in our next post, where David pours out his heart concerning the impact these Ziphites were causing in his attempt to stay alive.

May God bless you as you seek his way this wonderful day.

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