David's Deceit Continues: 1 Samuel 29:1-11
Honesty genuinely is always the best policy. Lies beget more lies. More lies beget stress at having to keep all the lies straight. Honesty, on the other hand, is easy to keep straight because it is our actual experience. Honesty allows us to move forward in life rather than trying to blend what really happened with a reality we are trying to spin.
Before the battle, Achish and his security pass alongside the rest of the Philistine army. This is half inspection and half demonstration of force. Achish wanted to see his army and see who had shown up to fight with him. He also wanted his men to see his lack of fear and his confidence.
As Achish parades by, David and his entourage go with him. The Philistine lords raise an issue as David passes by. The Philistines were about to fight a Hebrew army. Having Hebrew mercenaries fighting with the Philistines would cause chaos. Who could say that David wouldn’t turn on them, even if he and Saul were enemies? How much might it confuse the Philistine warriors to have to make a quick battlefield decision about whether the Hebrew in their vicinity was friend or foe? Battlefields were chaotic, and the fewer things on the battlefield sowing chaos, the better.
Achish’s generals can’t tell Achish what to do, but they can suggest a safer course of action. They suggest Achish send David back to Ziklag. Achish protests, but his generals carry the day. It is hard to argue with their logic.
When Achish comes to David and explains his need to leave the battle, David acts wounded. He continues his deception. He asks Achish innocently what fault Achish has with him? The question is meant to illustrate David’s feeling of being slighted.
David continues to be deceitful. The reason Achish trusts David is because David hasn’t been telling Achish all the details of his activity. David has been telling Achish what he wants Achish to hear and then covering up his deceit by slaughtering whole villages of Achish’s allies. Achish’s trust in David is ill-founded.
David doesn’t seem to be affected by either time Achish tells David he is blameless. There is no guilt within David. Therefore, David is not acting righteously as Achish sends him away. While it is impossible to know if David planned to turn on Achish or fight against his own people, David is not being honest with Achish.
God is using the Philistine generals to protect David from having to fight his own people. God gave David a way out of having to lift up arms against them. However, because of his deceit, David is not in a position to receive God’s out without losing face. Because he covered his actions and made Achish believe in his loyalty, he has to feign being offended by Achish’s dismissal from the battlefield. The deceit continues. Honesty genuinely is always the best policy.
