David was desperate! Saul was relentless. With tears of regret, Saul would acknowledge his sin in pursuing David (I Sam. 24:16-21), but within a short time he would be after him again.
Three times, the men of David’s own tribe had betrayed him. Even though he saved Keilah from the Philistines, they would turn him over to Saul (23:11). Twice the Ziphites of Judah revealed David’s hiding place (23:19; 26:1).
Nabal was of one of the leading families of Judah (Caleb was his ancestor), yet he scorned David’s plight, and offered him no help (25:3,10).
What could David do? The word of the LORD had come — David had been told to stay in Judah (22:5), but he was finding no help there. Where could he go?
He went to the world! “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines.” And there, in the world, he found refuge: “It was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him” (27:1,4).
A complaint of no help
From time to time, we have talked with those going through personal difficulties. They often complain that little or no help has been received from the brethren and sisters, especially when financial or marital problems arise.
Sometimes the complaint has no validity as when people refuse help, or when they only want sympathy or are looking for justification of wrong conduct.
In other cases, however, there is truth in their criticism. A serious need arises but no help is forthcoming. They have talked to some brother or sister only to find confidentiality was betrayed. They find ecclesial members shunning them as if they had a contagious disease. Others offer no understanding; they just give stern admonition to persevere no matter what.
So the troubled person turns to the world — and finds temporary relief.
Compromise required
When David turned to the Philistines, he learned a bitter lesson. From a temporal point of view, Achish, the Philistine, was a help. He was cooperative, hospitable, understanding and appreciative. He understood David’s sensitivity about staying in Achish so he generously gave him Ziklag as a place to live. When he thought David was slaying the Philistines’ enemies, he showed no jealousy as had Saul. He lauded him, promoted David and loyally stood by him when other Philistine leaders were suspicious.
But the believer and the world have different standards, different goals, different friends and different enemies. To retain Achish’s friendship, David feigned he was fighting Israel and her allies. That satisfied Achish. The Israelite’s were enemies of Achish and the fact that they were Yahweh’s people meant nothing to him.
To cover his deceit, David employed excessive violence. He could leave no survivors to reveal the truth. Achish knew David was slaughtering women and children when he returned with booty but no slaves. But Achish didn’t care. As long as he was benefited, Achish was content to let David practice brutality. Thus to maintain friendship with the world, David lived 16 months under a canopy of deceit and violence.
The world is no different today. “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Where else to turn
But if the people of God are not helping us, what are we to do? That was David’s dilemma. His own tribesmen were scorning his leadership, betraying his confidences and ignoring his predicament. If he could not get help from his brethren, what was he supposed to do?
He was to wait upon God. Eventually he had no other choice. Circumstances left him bereft of Samuel, Jonathan, family, comrades and the Philistines. Samuel and Jonathan were dead, the Philistines threw him out, Zildag was looted and burned, his family was taken captive and his comrades wanted to stone him so “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (I Sam. 30:6). David was put in the position of being alone with God. And God helped.
The world helped too, for a while, but eventually its help collapsed. And when the world did help, it required David to compromise right principles.
Friends who are enemies
The last half of I Samuel is replete with examples of those who seemed to be friends but were really enemies of a person’s eternal welfare.
David’s men were loyal to him when others drove him into exile. But twice these “friends” urged him to kill Saul when to do so would have been disastrous for David’s standing before God (I Sam. 24:4; 26:8). They supported his attack upon Nabal when David sought to avenge himself by his own hands. In that case, the woman who gently and eloquently criticized his action was his real friend, for she kept him from sinning against God (25:33).
Sometimes our real friends are those who tell us when we are doing wrong. They are the ones who are seeking our eternal good. If we are spiritually minded, we will react like David and appreciate the instruction. If we are carnally minded, we will respond like Saul and bitterly resent any rebuke.
Saul reckoned Jonathan as his enemy when the crown prince questioned his hostility against the innocent David. “Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman…” (20:30). In fact, Jonathan was his true friend for he was willing to put his father’s eternal welfare ahead of his own popularity with the erring king.
Many times we want sympathy, not help. True help often involves personal criticism, for frequently our problems are partially our own fault. A true friend who has our eternal welfare at heart will summon the courage to tell us what we should hear, not what we want to hear.
True friends give real help
If we turn to the world for solace, we will often find those who are sympathetic but who are unable to relate their help to our eternal welfare. They may well give us much sympathy and support but it may come at the expense of our spiritual well-being. In that case, they are friends who are enemies.
True, there are cases when the spiritual family should help and they do not. In those circumstances, however, turning to the world is not the answer. Waiting upon the Lord is!
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One