Our Blindness

Sometimes, we wind up in terrible, awkward situations because of our stupidity or arrogance. When we do, we make things worse if we believe we can get ourselves out of the mess. Things improve only when we acknowledge our mistakes and take responsibility for them. If we have sinned, we need to ask God for forgiveness and the forgiveness of others we have sinned against. That is not easy but it is necessary.

David found himself in a highly awkward situation once. He had taken his 600 men and their families and moved to the land of the Philistines to escape the hand of Saul who was hunting him like a fugitive. David was tired of running and he wanted a place to call home. He did not pray about this decision and got no direction from God to make the move.

Achish King of the Philistines welcomed him and gave him a home in Ziglag. Things worked out for David for about 16 months. Then, the Philistines declared war on Israel and massed for an attack. David was asked to accompany them with his men in battle and he consented to do so. That is awkward when you will battle against the very people you believe you are called to govern someday.

But, as they were preparing to march the commanders (1 Samuel 29:1-11) objected to David going with them. They believed he would turn on them in the heat of the battle, and they trusted him. When Achish informed David that he trusted him, but his commanders did not and that he could not go to battle, David should have been relieved, but he was not. Instead, he complained, “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?” (1 Samuel 29:8).

You would think that David would thank the Lord that this door had closed but he did not. David has had his own plan, which he believes will extricate himself from this complicated situation. Later, David would come to see that God had a plan that would be much better than David’s. In the providence of God, David was kept away from the battle that would end Saul’s life. In the same providential arrangement, David’s desire to save his people from the Philistines was also blocked. Solomon wrote, “In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him” (Prov 21:1).

David’s first mistake was going to the Philistines and not trusting God to keep him and his people safe. The second mistake was attempting to save himself and not relying on God. The third mistake was trusting in his own plan instead of praying for God to reveal his plan. In all of this, David was teaching these mistakes to his sons, Absalom, Adonija, and Amnon, to be deceitful. We must remember that someone is always watching and learning from us, whether from our victories, defeats, or mistakes.