Faults

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

FAULTS

1 Samuel 29:1-11

29:1 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him." 4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master's favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: "'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" 6 So Achish called David and said to him, "As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don't approve of you. 7 Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers." 8 "But what have I done?" asked David. "What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" 9 Achish answered, "I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, 'He must not go up with us into battle.' 10 Now get up early, along with your master's servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light." 11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

NIV

The key to this entire chapter lies in the exchange between David and Achish. It is interesting to know the locations of Aphek and Jezreel, and they are not very close in proximity, with Jezreel being located near the Jordon and Aphek in a northern direction, and closer to the Mediterranean Sea. Marching towards battle would take hours, so this would be why there was plenty of time for the discussion between the Philistine rulers and Achish and then between Achish and David. But the key is that Achish found no fault in David; in fact, he tells David that he was as pleasing as an angel in his eyes. It appears David has changed his mind about Saul and now would take the opportunity to fight against him, but we can also see the hand of God at work in David through the Philistine rulers. The LORD does not want David involved in the destruction or death of Saul, for the LORD has planned how Saul would die, and by sending  David back, he would not fight against the people he would soon rule over as their king. This also shows us the loyalty of David, in some sense; however, we wonder if this was not David’s plan to cozy up to the Philistines so they would take Saul’s life, and he could ascend to the throne. Yet, David had many opportunities to kill Saul, and he did not. But we think our lesson is about the fact that Achish did not find any fault in David. First, we believe it would be best if we took on the attitude of Achish. Surely, David is not a perfect man, but Achish, even if he was looking, did not find any fault in David. This would give us the clue that we should not even be looking for one fault in another. If we love them, then according to God’s definition that he gave Paul to write in the letter to the Corinthians, we will not even look for one fault in another. If we are living with love in our hearts, perhaps we should see others as pleasing in our eyes as an angel of God.  Secondly, David asked, what had he done, what had Achish found that was against him? This could also be a clue as to how we should live. We should be aware so as to not offend someone, or live with a heart of love so that others would not find any fault in us. The problem is that we are flawed humans, and we make mistakes, as unfortunate as that is. Sometimes we operate from our emotions rather than from our faith or our obedience to the Lord. We would think the Spirit would speak up and influence our actions, reactions, words, and responses. But do we get in the way, that “self “ popping up, wanting its own way? It is a war that wages within, we do want, we do not want to do, and we don’t do want what we want to do. Oh Lord, help us be who you meant us to be, for we know you find no fault in us, because you removed it as far as the East is from the West. Let us see any faults in us and none in others.