Finding Grace in the Lord

1 Samuel 29–30

Paul J. Bucknell

Moral dilemmas | Difficult testings | Rewards and conclusion | Questions

Purpose of 1 Samuel 29-30

1 Samuel 29-30 offers a clear picture of God’s incredible grace and how He interacts with His people. Grace is available during our disobedience as well as during times of discipline. The main point is that God is always with us.

Ever feel like giving up? For some people, giving up isn’t uncommon. Everything might be going well, but then suddenly all efforts seem pointless. David faced many frustrations in his life. Although not all problems are caused by our wrong decisions, some are. David quickly learned that God can correct a person.

David approached this training in two ways. During these tough times, he realized how abundant God’s grace was.

A) Handling Moral Dilemmas (1 Samuel 29:1-11)

Reflection: Think of a moral dilemma you might face where you don't know how to resolve it without dishonoring your Lord. What would you do?

We're unsure what David and his men were thinking when they went to war against Israel. Did they have some secret plan to betray the Philistines? We're not sure. Did they secretly scheme to gain King Saul's favor and take control of the Israel government? That seems unlikely because of David’s previous sensitivity about not harming King Saul. Still, they definitely discussed this issue carefully. Again, we have no record of what they were thinking. However, we do know what the Philistines were thinking.

The Philistine army’s thoughts (29:1-3a)

“Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” (1 Samuel 29:1-3a, NASB used unless noted).

Time for a reality check. David’s well-known army and victories were gathered for battle behind their own Philistine forces while facing the Israelites. They were understandably concerned. David was an Israelite and had previously fought strongly against the Philistines.

The Philistine king’s thoughts (King Achish) (29:3b)

And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?”” (1 Samuel 29:3b).

Background: Why did King Achish like David so much? 1 Samuel 27:8-28:2 reveals a case of major deception (not to be emulated). David was reckless with his deceit. From 1 Samuel 27:8 to 28:2, David repeatedly deceived King Achish of the Philistines. He made the king believe that David was killing Israelites, but in reality, he was destroying other enemies of Israel. King Achish’s trust in David was so strong that he wanted to make David his own bodyguard (28:2).

The Philistine armies’ thoughts (29:4-5)

“But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, ‘Make the man go back, that he may return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men? “Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” (1 Samuel 29:4-5).

Ultimately, King Achish was pressured by his generals to dismiss David from the army. This decision also carried risks. From the Philistines' point of view, David might have become upset and caused serious damage to the Philistines for this insult. They considered David’s potential reluctance to help the Philistines in the future as less threatening than if he had secretly defeated the Philistines while fighting the Israelites.

Resolving the problem (29:6-11)

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. 7 “Now therefore return, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” 8 And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” (1 Samuel 29:6-8).

We should recognize King Achish’s kind words here. Part of this was sincere, and maybe part of it was out of fear that David could cause harm if he became upset. David pretended to be disappointed, acting as if he really wanted to defeat the Israelites (29:8). He played this situation perfectly. David was likely very glad to escape this moral dilemma. God had rescued him and his men from a terrible situation they had gotten into. The world understands revenge but not forgiveness. King Achish thought that David was acting out of hatred in fighting Israel, especially King Saul, who had chased him out of the country. Achish couldn’t understand David’s true heart of compassion and forgiveness. That’s why he was so easily deceived.

Understanding the situation

So, what truly happened here? We observe God’s infinite grace shown in two ways.

Intervening grace

David and his men escaped a dire situation. They had no good options. If they pulled back, the Philistines would quickly see through David’s plan and attack them. If they moved forward, David and his men would be fighting against the Lord and His people.

God stepped into this tough situation and solved what seemed impossible. He used the Philistine generals to pressure King Achish into reconsidering sending David. Because the Philistines started this proposal, David and his men weren’t seen as spies or a real threat to the Philistines. (If they had truly believed the Israelites were a danger, the Philistines, with their large army, would have just destroyed David and his men. But they didn’t.)

Application: We should recognize that, regardless of how tough our situation is, God can create a way to escape. God’s intervention allowed David and his men to escape a nightmarish scenario. If we find ourselves in a very tough situation with seemingly no good solutions, we should trust God to help us find a way out. God is able. He is willing. Trust Him. It’s quite likely that many Psalms reflect the deliverance David experienced here.

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Compassionate grace

There is another lesson, however, perhaps even more important. David had, through his own actions, led himself and his men into this terrible situation. Many times, the problems we face are not caused by our mistakes. This was not the case here. Over the years, David lived a life of deceit and false loyalty.

We should see this incident as a moment when God revealed how fragile David’s plan was, effectively breaking it apart. Now, David and his men found themselves in a terrible jam with no way out. David was powerless. Some of our worst predicaments stem from our own wrongdoings. Think of a child born out of wedlock, a single lie that snowballs into a thousand, or a revenge plan we've been nurturing for years—then suddenly, we’re trapped, and our scheme is uncovered. There’s no escape.

The question here is, why would God help David? He clearly did not deserve it. We don't even see him praying. God exposed David’s plan and then delivered him.

Application: God did this to teach David a powerful lesson in grace and compassion. Even though a person deserves the worst, we can still choose to live by grace. We see the teaching, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). David was merciful to King Saul. Perhaps because of this, God showed David extreme grace. We do not know for sure, but only that God’s grace came down upon David.

When God chooses to bless us, we should turn to His abundant grace for our life’s mistakes. In some cases, we have completely failed. Don’t give up. Expect God’s gracious work in our lives and learn from His grace. As God has been gracious, we are called to be gracious. Strive to be like the Lord. However, we should not think this is the end of the story. In the next chapter, we see that the training continues.

Moral dilemmas | Difficult testings | Rewards and conclusion | Questions