55 Philistines Reject David

First Samuel 29 opens with the Philistines preparing to attack Israel. And while sadly, that is not an unusual event, it was in this instance, because David and his six hundred men and their families, were living in the Philistine town of Ziklag. In addition, the Philistine leader, Achish expected David to fight alongside him against David’s countrymen.

There were several unusual even which would take place, even before the battle ensued:

1 Conflict Amongst the Philistines

Even the Philistine king Achish was faced with conflict, as his military leaders were all against David and his men joining their ranks:

1 Samuel 29:1-3

With the area around Aphek as the staging area for the Philistine attack, they had already moved quite a distance into Israelite territory. 

Interestingly, the Philistines didn’t first mount an attack at the area of southern Israel (the areas of Judah and Benjamin). Those areas were located closer to Philistia, and ordinarily would have been the first areas to be attacked. However, they completely bypassed those areas, and instead directed the attack further into the land of Ephraim.

It seems that Achish thoroughly believed David, who told him that he’d been conducting raids (and defeating) those in southern Judah, when all the while he’d been doing so against other surrounding nations.

So, in Achish’s mind, he seemed to believe that southern Israel was already neutralized, and the heart of the battle should be towards other areas.

As shown in verse 2, the Philistines amassed a very large army, with regiments numbering hundreds and thousands. And as seen in the previous chapter, Achish expected David and his men to form the regiment personally serving him:

1 Samuel 28:1-2

David appeared to be willing to fulfill his word, and Achish’s desire, and to fight alongside the Philistine king:

1 Samuel 29:2

While David seemed to be willing to fight alongside the Philistines, as seen in verse 3, the other Philistine commanders objected to the presence of David and his men, who they referred disparagingly as “these Hebrews” who continued to be their enemies.

David was an example of a believer who is engaged in activities, or with people he shouldn’t be. And sadly, like David, believers in that state, become more comfortable among unbelievers than with God’s people.

2 The Philistines Reject David

Even though Achish attempted to vouch for David, he was unable to persuade the other Philistine leaders to accept that David was truly on their side:

1 Samuel 29:4-5

The other commanders, logically determined that David could easily turn on them, and begin fighting for their brethren. They became angry at Achish, believing that he was placing all of them in jeopardy.

The Philistine leaders recommended sending David and his men back to Ziklag. This shows how the Lord’s protective hand was upon him. Rather than having David and his men killed, they were simply dismissed from the battle.

Verse 5 shows that the Philistines were well acquainted with David’s military abilities, and even the song the Israelite women had composed lauding his accomplishments on the battlefield.

3 David Returns to Ziklag

Achish reluctantly instructed David to return to his new Philistine homeland of Ziklag:

1 Samuel 29:6-11

While Achish used the phrase “Surely as the Lord lives,” the Bible doesn’t give any indication that he began following David’s God.

It just seems that he was using words which he felt would have struck a chord with David, although interestingly, David himself wasn’t walking closely with God during his time in Philistia.

As further seen from the king’s words to David, Achish believed that David had been “upright” or truthful with him. He also stated that David’s “going out and coming in with me in the army is good in my sight”. David had completely fooled the Philistine king, who believed that David had been raiding and defeating his fellow Israelites, which obviously pleased Achish.

While Achish desired to both protect David, and to prevent an uprising within the Philistine army, in verse 8, David was almost pleading to Achish, to allow him to take part in the battle.

Even though David was apparently unaware, God was protecting him, not only from the outraged Philistine army, but from entering the battle and fighting against his brethren.