”And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.“
I Samuel 21:11-12 NKJV
a. Is this not David the king of the land? The Philistines of Gath recognized David as the king of the land of Israel. These ungodly men understood David’s destiny better than King Saul.
b. Did they not sing of him to one another in dances: The singing and dancing about David that swept the nation of Israel (1 Samuel 18:6-7) were also popular among the Philistines. If he didn’t know it before, now David found that there was a real price for fame.
c. David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid: David knew he was discovered and understood that King Achish would not let the man who killed Goliath go.
i. David’s words in Psalm 56 help us understand what happened here. The title of that Psalm identifies it as the song he wrote when the Philistines captured him in Gath. Apparently, although 1 Samuel 21 doesn’t detail it, the Philistines captured David when he came to Gath. David thought he could find anonymity or sympathy among the ungodly Philistines in Gath, but he was wrong. Psalm 56 describes David’s journey from fear to praise as a prisoner in Gath.
ii. Psalm 56 shows that the slide that started on the road from Jonathan and continued on into Gath has now stopped. David was on higher ground again. This was the difference between David and Saul. Both of them slipped but Saul kept sliding, while David turned back to the LORD.
Read Psalm 56: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2056&version=NIV
Turned Back to the Lord
David realized his mistake, asked for mercy and turned back to the Lord.
The Old Testament shows us what happened to ungodly nations and the people when turned away from the Lord. All the evil things that are happening in our land is a result of precisely that. We need a revival, to turn back to the Lord.
Will you join me in prayer for a revival for our government institutions, leaders, family and friends to turn back to the Lord?
Father God I lift up our divided country, our institutions, our leaders, our friends, our families and ask that the Holy Spirit draws them to your Son Jesus. Please start a revival so our Nation can once again be called a nation under God that does your will. Please heal our land. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Blessings