Enemy of My Enemies

But David kept thinking to himself, "Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe." (1 Samuel 27:1 NLT)

David is going through a rough season of his life.  King Saul want's him dead for no reason.  "Upright" people don't support him because they fear Saul.  So, David decides to follow that old adage, "The enemies of my enemy are my friends."

So David took his 600 men and went over and joined Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. (1 Samuel 27:2 NLT)

Even his "600 men" are not considered men of God in their day.  Look where they came from:

So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men. (1 Samuel 22:1-2 NLT)  

The numbers grew over time, but these were men who were running from the law, and hung out with David.  Now they were hanging out in Philistine territory.  They will spend some time living there, lie regularly to the Philistine King acting like they are on his side, and stay in the territory of his enemy to protect themselves from Saul.

I'm not really sure what to think about all this.  There's a men's Bible study I meet with on Saturday mornings and we are walking through the Bible looking at men and their decisions.  We remind ourselves regularly that a "man of God" is not someone who is perfect or does God's Will in all circumstances.  Even when God works out their decisions for their good, doesn't mean they made a "good" decision.  It just means God doesn't let their bad decisions get in the way of His Plan.

So, I say it again.  I'm not sure what to think about this.  David works hard to maintain his personal integrity (following God) even when he hangs out with criminals.  He doesn't let them influence him to, for example, kill Saul.  But he spends quite a bit of time purposefully deceiving the Philistines.  Was there another way?  Could he have stayed alive with a different plan?  I guess we will never know.

Life is often the art of making difficult decisions in the midst of imperfect circumstances.  In our men's Bible study, we often come to the conclusion that we need to pray and consult God's word before making a decision.  At least that way, we know we are with Him no matter what the circumstances.