David’s Deliverance
In the semifinals of his high school wrestling tournament, Dave cracked a rib on his right side. He won the match but wondered how he’d survive the championship with a damaged ribcage.
In the finals, Dave limped out to the mat on his left, uninjured leg. So his opponent targeted Dave’s left leg throughout the match. Dave protected his right side and won.
Another “Dave” used deception to extract himself from a tough situation. David had been fleeing a murderous King Saul. He found refuge among Israel’s enemies, but word soon got to the enemy king that David was a Hebrew war hero (1 Samuel 21:11). Fearing for his life, David “pretended to be insane . . . making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard” (v. 13). The ploy worked (vv. 14-15).
Good people can debate such tactics and arrive at different conclusions. But Psalm 34 sheds light on David’s experience. There, David credited not his deception but God for his deliverance. He sang, “I sought the Lord, and he . . . delivered me from all my fears” (v. 4). And again, “This poor man called, and the Lord . . . saved him out of all his troubles” (v. 6). David had sought safety with the Philistines, but he found his only reliable refuge when he turned to God (vv. 8, 22).
By Tim Gustafson - Our Daily Bread Ministries
1 Samuel 21:10-15
David at Gath
10 That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”
12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15 Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”
