King Saul had a lot going on. He had to govern his country, monitor the activities of the Philistines who regularly invaded Israel, and defend his throne against David, although David never tried to take it from him. Samuel told Saul that someday David would be Israel’s king, and for Saul that was the biggest problem of all. He didn’t want the throne to pass from his family.

While Saul fought to hold onto crown and country, God gradually delivered it all to David.

David Spares Saul’s Life

Saul had a network of spies helping him keep track of David. The Ziphites pinpointed where David was staying and sent word to King Saul. He responded with three thousand troops and stopped exactly where he was told David was staying. David was out in the wilderness, however, and he returned that night to find Saul’s camp with his army asleep all around him.

God put Saul and his men into such a deep sleep that David was able to creep undetected into the center of the camp and right to Saul’s side. David’s cousin Abishai was with him and he offered to kill Saul with one blow from his spear.

“But David said to Abishai, ‘Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives,’ he said, ‘the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.’” 1 Samuel 26:9-11

David settled for taking Saul’s spear and water jug, then he quietly left the camp, climbed a nearby hill and called to Abner, Saul’s general. Abner woke up, startled, and couldn’t figure out what was going on, but Saul recognized David’s voice and called out to him, “Is that your voice, David, my son?” 1 Samuel 26:17

David Tries to Understand Saul

David asked Saul why he pursued him. If the Lord sent Saul because God was displeased with him, David was ready to make an offering to the Lord. If other people had a vendetta against David and told Saul lies about him, they should be cursed before God. If neither of those things were true, why did Saul bother to chase a flea like David?

Saul admitted that it was a personal vendetta and that he alone was responsible for pursuing David.

“I have sinned . . . Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong.” 1 Samuel 26:21

Saul invited David to come back home, but David knew better than to do that. He gave Saul’s sword back and said,

“The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.” 1 Samuel 26:23-24

David went on his way and Saul went back home. It was the last time they saw each other.

David Hides Among the Philistines

Despite Saul’s assurance that he would no longer try to harm him, David decided to return to live among the Philistines. He took six hundred men and all of their families and went to King Achish in Gath. When Saul heard where they were, he stopped going after David.

David proposed that Achish give him and his army a town of their own and Achish gave them Ziklag. David remained in Philistine territory for sixteen months. During that time more skilled soldiers joined David and his army grew.

South of Ziklag was territory that belonged to the desert people, including the Amalekites. David’s army raided them for supplies and took livestock, food, and clothes for themselves and their families. They didn’t leave any living witnesses to tell King Achish where David carried out his raids.

When David reported his activities to King Achish, he lied and said that he was raiding Israelite towns. This accomplished two purposes for David. He was free to go on raiding, and he convinced Achish that he was loyal to the Philistines, not Israel.

The next time the Philistines prepared to go to war with Israel, Achish said to David,

“You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.” 1 Samuel 28:1

Achish trusted David so much that he made him his bodyguard for life.

Saul Brings Samuel Back

The Philistines set up camp at Shunem and when King Saul saw them he was filled with terror. He sought the Lord for guidance, but God didn’t answer him. As a last resort he consulted a medium who claimed to be able to speak with the dead. Saul desperately wanted to consult with Samuel who had died earlier.

The medium was shocked when she actually was able to call Samuel from the grave to meet Saul.

“Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’” 1 Samuel 28:15

Saul wanted Samuel to tell him what to do about the Philistines since God no longer spoke to him. But all Samuel could tell him was that the prophecy he had already given Saul was now coming true. God was going to tear the kingdom away from Saul and give it to David. The Philistines were going to kill Saul and his sons the next day.

The Philistine Commanders Reject David

The Philistine and Israelite armies moved into position for battle the next day. The Philistines marched in units of hundreds and thousands, with David and his troops bringing up the rear. But the commanders of the Philistines objected to this saying, “What about these Hebrews?”

King Achish couldn’t see why anyone doubted David and his men after a peaceful year together and all of the good will David had cultivated for himself. The Philistine commanders became angry at Achish’s naiveté.

“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?” 1 Samuel 29:4

Achish had to break the news to David that he wasn’t going into the battle against the Israelites.

“’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

Achish couldn’t oppose his commanders so the next morning the Philistines marched up to Jezreel to meet Israel and David took his men home to Ziklag. However, David did acquire more soldiers for his army. Some men from Manasseh joined him before he left the Jezreel Valley.

Psalm 56

Psalm 56 records David’s misery while he was among the Philistines. He knew they suspected him and wanted to stop him if they could. He fled to them to get away from King Saul who was seeking to take his life. David felt cornered and he knew only the Lord could help him.

A memorable part of Psalm 56 is verse 8, which says, “Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record?”

In place of the phrase “list my tears on your scroll,” many translations say “put my tears in your bottle.” David hoped God would remember every tear he cried.

How comforting to think that God keeps track of people’s tears. David believed his tears mattered to God.

His Psalm assures us that our tears matter to God, too.