David Flees to Gath

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

Let’s continue with David’s escape from Israel.

1 Samuel 21:10-11
10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.
11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”

Let’s remember where we are in the life of David.

He was pulled from his duties as a shepherd, and sent on a errand to his brothers. The next day he is the champion of Israel. Soon he is stretched between family and the king, being offered two princesses of Israel for a bride. Within a brief span of time, he is commanding his own troop of soldiers, taking on deadly challenges the king throws him into, succeeding in every endeavor. Throw into the mix of this heady experience, a prophet of God anoints him as the next king of Israel!

Yet all this fame caused his popularity to become like a noose around his neck. The women of Israel sung a song of David’s exploits, comparing him with the king. This caused a problem, for the king was an unstable man, finding his self worth in the position of king, and this comparison threatened him and his position. Threatened him to the point of placing a death sentence on David!

Now he is on the run. The first place he heads to is a man of God in Nob, where he spins a yarn to get some food and a weapon from the house of the Lord.

This passage has him running from Nob to Gath, which is a major city of the Philistines, to Achish, the king of Gath and away from the Saul, the king of Israel.

David had no where to go that was safe, and his flight to a Philistine city speaks of his judgement of safety in Saul’s domain. Yet, what was he thinking by going into the very city Goliath was from? Ekron was as close, and to all appearances, did not have the history as with the City of Gath. He had humiliated Achish, the local king of Gath when he took down Goliath, and now he is at the kings doorstep.

Although 100% conjecture, let me suppose a couple of scenarios. Nob was located just northeast of Jerusalem (Jebus at the time) and if the Philistine territory was the next best place to find safety, David had two options that were closest. He could travel to Gath or Ekron. They both seem to be approx. 25 miles from Nob, so why choose Gath?

Did David understand that in the killing of Goliath, he performed without knowing, a service to Achish. Had Goliath become a threat to the power of Achish, as David had become in the mind of Saul? Was David now seeing Achish as a possible ally?

It appears that David’s assumption may have not have been accurate, for his reputation had proceeded him. Not only had the song of Israel’s women proceeded him, showing him to be a greater soldier than Israel’s king, it seems common knowledge amongst the Philistines was that David had become the king of Israel. Was this some misunderstanding, some gossip that had got out of control, or did the heathen of the land understand and believe the prophecy of Samuel, the anointing of David for future kingship?

So many unknowns, yet I notice truths popping out of this short passage.

Popularity is a two edged sword. David’s success in battle, above and beyond his kings abilities, produced a murderous king Saul, causing David to run for his life. That same popularity has met him in in another country, causing leadership in that nation to fear him.

If David’s anointing was known in Philistine, were the Philistines more accepting of the truth than the Israeli population? Also, if the Philistines had common (though erroneous) knowledge of David being king, would it not have spread amongst the Israeli population also. If so, David judged the heathen to be safer than the people of God.

This seems to be a common theme through the Word, where a man (or message) of God is rejected by the people of God, only to be accepted by those outside of the community of faith. Did not the Savior spend time in the Decapolis, on the northern shore, and also amongst the Samaritans. Was He not welcomed by those who had been rejected by the religious?

For David, he had nowhere to go, and his hope of finding refuge amongst the Philistines didn’t look good at this time. It is interesting that Achish appears in David’s life later, and actually provides him a city to reside in, but we will get to that passage a bit later.

For now, let David’s life be an encouragement for each of us, as we may be misunderstood by those who we share the faith with, not accepted by those outside of the faith, and at times have no where to go.

But that is not true, for we always have a faithful and merciful high priest.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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