SUNDAY October 13, 2019
Rejection
Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.” So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
1 Samuel 29:9-11
David was able to hide his actions from King Achish. He had no clue of what David had been doing. He had killed men, woman, and children from lands that were not enemies of the Philistines. He took their spoils and made it seem he was attacking Israel.
David was able to conceal his conduct from the king, but he could not fool the Philistine commanders. They knew of David’s famous victories and realized the danger of what he was capable of inflicting on them. David could turn on them in the battle and cause a lot of damage among their ranks.
King Achish, under pressure, yielded to the advice of his commanders, but he still liked David. In his heart he was conflicted because he saw that David was an incredible man. King Achish had nothing wrong to say about David, in his eyes, he was blameless. David would not be allowed to join them in the battle against Saul. In the end, King Achish ordered David to go home––back to Ziklag.
While David reluctantly left in the morning with his men, the army of the Philistines went to Jezreel to face Saul and his army in battle. David still did not recognize the hand of the Lord in this situation. God used the Philistines’ rejection to draw David back to Himself.
…Every Christian has his own cross waiting him, across destined and appointed by God. Each must endure his allotted share of suffering and rejection.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!