1 Samuel 29

1 Samuel 29:1

3. David Discharged by Achish (Chap. 29)29:1-5 As the Philistines gathered together for battle, David and his men joined them, marching with Achish . . . at the rear of the column. Some of the princes of the Philistines wisely objected to David’s presence. They realized that he might turn on them during the battle. How could he better reconcile himself to King Saul than by producing a row of Philistine heads? Was this not the David who had been praised as the killer of more Philistines than Saul himself? 29:6-11 Their arguments were reasonable, so Achish requested David to return to Ziklag. David’s answer seems unworthy of a man of God. He protested that he should be allowed to enter the fight against “the enemies of my lord the king"even though these enemies were his own people. David had lied to Achish before (chap. 27), and this was probably another attempt to deceive the Philistines. If, as seems unlikely, he actually intended to fight against Israel, God prevented it and saved him from the shame of killing his fellow Israelites and strengthening the arm of the Philistines against them. David would not be allowed to use Goliath’s sword against Israel.