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Chapter 29: David and his Men are dismissed from the Battle
1 Samuel 29:1-11 ~ The Other Philistine Commanders distrust David
While part of the Philistine army is encamped at Shunem (27:4) in the north, the rest of the Philistines from the five city-states gathered at Aphek, forty miles south of Shunem.
Question: What was significant about the city of Aphek earlier in Samuel's career? See 1 Sam 4:1-2, 10.
Answer: Aphek was the site of the first major battle with the Philistines in 1 Samuel when the Philistines defeated the Israelites (4:1-2, 10).
When the other Philistine chiefs see that David and his men are marching with Achish of Gath they are distressed. They are uncomfortable going into battle with David and his men in the rear of the army where they could turn and attack them. The chiefs call them "Hebrews," which is the disdainful way foreigners refer to the Israelites. It is probably a reasonable fear since David and his men would either have to kill fellow Israelites or do exactly what the Philistines fear they might do. Notice that in trying to impress upon the other Philistine chiefs David's loyalty to him that Achish stretches the time David has served him to "a year or two" in verse 3; whereas the actual time has been a year and four months (27:7).
It appears that God has intervened to control the events so that David and his men are rescued from their awkward position by the decision of the other Philistine chiefs.
Question: How many times does the Gentile ruler, Achish, profess that he finds "no fault" with David?
Answer: He professes David's worthiness in that he has found "no fault" in him three times in 29:3, 6 and 10.
Question: What descendant of David's in the Gospel of John will also be pronounced to have "no fault" by a Gentile ruler (in the literal Greek text)? Some translations have "no guilt" or "without guilt/fault." What is the difference between the two men pronounced without "fault"?
Answer: The Gentile Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, will pronounce that Jesus has "no fault" three times during His trial in John 18:38; 19:4 and 6. The difference is, of course, that Jesus really was without "fault," while David has been lying to Achish to protect himself, his soldiers, and his countrymen.
11 So David and his men got up early to leave at dawn and go back to Philistine territory. And the Philistines marched on Jezreel.
The next morning, before the march to the battlefield in the Jezreel Valley begins, David and his men march south to return to their town of Ziklag.
Chapter 30: Reprisals against the Amalekites
1 Samuel 30:1-10 ~ The Amalekite Raid on David's town of Ziklag
Ziklag had provided David and his men with a convenient base of operations against the Amalekites (27:8), but now the Amalekites have taken advantage of the absence of David and his men and have raided and burned the unguarded city. Fortunately this was a slave raid and not just a raid to gain plunder, so no one was killed. When David and his men discover what has happened, they are filled with grief and there is a public outpouring of uncontrolled weeping.
Question: What is the reaction of the grief stricken men?
Answer: They threaten David's life.
It is likely that David's decision to become a vassal of the Philistines had not been popular with many of the Israelites under David's command, and now they blame what has happened on David's decision that took them away to leave their wives and children unprotected. This is not the first time an Israelite leader has had his people threaten to turn against him when faced with disaster or hardship. Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb were threatened with stoning when they urged a reluctant and fearful people to begin the conquest of Canaan as God had commanded (Num 14:10). In that event, Yahweh intervened to save His faithful servants just as God now strengthens David's courage. David took charge of the situation by immediately turning to God for comfort and advice. He called for the priest Abiathar to bring the ocular devises so he could consult Yahweh.
Question: What message did David receive from God?
Answer: He was to go in pursuit of the raiders, and he was promised victory.
David and his men had been marching three days to return to their home in Ziklag, and now they must immediately set out to rescue their families without pausing to rest. Some of the older and less fit men become exhausted and unable to cross the Torrent of Besor, possibly one of the two major wadis of the western Negeb. David leaves these two hundred men behind to rest and to guard their rear flank.
1 Samuel 30:11-15 ~ David and his Men set out in pursuit of the Amalekites
David and his men find a young Egyptian in the desert. David immediately has the youth given food and drink from their stores, demonstrating David's compassion for those in need.
Question: For how long had the young man been without food and water?
Answer: It has been three days and three nights.
Question: How is David's treatment of the young man contrasted with the way the boy's Amalekite master treated him?
Answer: The despicable and heartless treatment of the young slave by his Amalekite master is contrasted with David's compassion. David is in a hurry to rescue his people, yet he stops to save an unknown Gentile from dying in the desert.
Question: Where does the young man say the Amalekites raided before coming to Ziklag?
Answer: They raided three sites: the Negev of the Cherethites, the Negeb of Judah, and the Negeb of the Caleb.
Question: What request does David make of the young Egyptian and what is his request in return?
Answer: David asks him to guide them to the raiders and he agrees if David will swear not to kill him or return him to his Amalekite master.
Once again David gives sanctuary to a refugee like himself.
1 Samuel 30:16-20 ~ David and his Men rescue their Women and Children
When David and his men caught up with the raiders, the Amalekites were worn out from celebrating the success of their raids. David waited until dawn to attack their camp and the fight lasted either until that evening (about 12 hours) or the evening of the following day.
Since David's men rescued all the people and the animals that had been taken in the raids, they also rescued the people from the other towns that were captured in by the Amalekites, including those captured from the town of the Gentile Cherethities.
1 Samuel 30:21-25 ~ The Division of the Booty taken from the Amalekites
Not all the men who are following David are patriots; some are men who are only out for themselves.
Question: What issue do these "rouges and scoundrels" raise when David's force is reunited with the men left behind? How does David settle the issue?
Answer: Some of the men who defeated the Amalekites do not want to share the booty with the men who stayed behind. David settles the dispute by insisting that they will share the booty as equals.
With this pronouncement David established precedence for Israelite warriors who capture booty in battle that was still observed at the time this account was written down by the inspired writer.
1 Samuel 30:26-31 ~ David's Gifts to certain Towns of Judah
All the towns that are listed are in southern and southwestern Judah. Eleven of the towns are Judahite but two are not. The towns of Jerahmeel and the Kenites were Gentile communities in the extreme southern lands of Judah who had a relationship with the tribe of Judah.
Question: Why did David send gifts to these particular towns? See verse 31.
Answer: These were towns that were friendly to David and his men during their homeless period and shared their food with them. David is repaying their generosity.
This was unprecedented generosity and shows that David was not only grateful for also wise and politically astute. It is a gesture that will not be forgotten by the people of Judah.
Chapter 31: The Battle of Mount Gilboa and the death of Saul
1 Samuel 31:1-7 ~ Saul's last Battle
The story now returns to the Israelite battle with the Philistines and the fulfillment of Samuel's prophecy concerning Saul and his sons.
Question: When Saul requests that his armor bearer kill him to prevent him from falling into the hands of the "uncircumcised" Philistines who will make sport of him, of what Israelite hero from the Book of Judges might he have been thinking? See Judg 16:13-31.
Answer: It is possible that Saul was thinking of Samson's fate at the hands of the Philistines.
Saul begs his armor bearer to kill him and when he refuses, Saul commits suicide. There are very few cases of suicide recorded in the Bible. For example:
- Ahimelech in Judges 9:54
- Samson in Judges 16:30
- Saul and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 31:4-5
- Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 17:23
- Zimri in 1 Kings 16:18
- Judas Iscariot in Matthew 27:3-5
Saul had one surviving son who apparently was not in the battle or like Abner survived the battle. His name was Ishbaal ("[the] man is lord/master"), but he is called Ishvi in 1 Samuel 14:49 and also Ishboseth ("man of shame") in some Hebrew translations. Abner will make Ishbaal king of Israel, but Ishbaal is a weak man and Abner will be the real power behind the throne. Ishbaal will reign for only two years (2 Sam 2:8-10).
Saul had successfully halted Philistine expansion into the tribal lands of northern Israel and prevented the Philistines from crossing the river into Transjordan, but now that Saul is dead and his army defeated, the Israelites of the Jezreel valley towns and even Israelites across the Jordan River abandon their towns as the Philistines move in and take possession.
The death of Ish-bosheth
1 Samuel 31:8-13 ~ The People of Jabesh-Gilead rescue the Bodies of Saul and His Sons
The abuse of enemy corpses by Gentile armies was common. It was a way of showing rage, hatred, and contempt towards the enemy. The impalement of corpses was intended to designate shame and demoralize the opposing army and the enemy's people. Saul was beheaded and his body and the bodies of his sons were desecrated and hung from the walls of Beth-Shean, a city located between the Jezreel Valley and the Jordan River Valley. The important walled town of Beth-Shean, now in the possession of the Philistines, was strategically located and protected the ancient primary trade route called the "Way of the Sea" which passed by the town and extended from Egypt, through the Levant and into Anatolia and Mesopotamia.
Saul failed to be obedient to the commands of Yahweh and therefore he failed to produce a dynastic kingship. God gave the Israelites what they asked for in a human king even though He was their true, divine king. However, God used this turn in salvation history and His people's desire for a human king to rule over them in His plan to one day return mankind to the true divine kingship of the man-God Jesus of Nazareth; a descendant of David and the promised Redeemer-Messiah and King of kings. David's story continues in the study of the Second Book of Samuel.
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A Daily Defense
Day 119 The Real Presence and Scripture
CHALLENGE:“Jesus was clearly speaking symbolically when he said, ‘This is my body’ and ‘This is my blood.’ His body and blood are not literally present in the Eucharist.”
DEFENSE:Other passages make it clear that Jesus was speaking literally.
We live in an age that is biased against miracles. It’s easy for us to interpret things as symbols rather than miracles. When faced with this decision, we need to check our instincts by making a careful reading of the text. Sometimes it will indicate what we are reading is symbolic, but sometimes it will indicate what we are reading is miraculous.
It is helpful to remember that Jesus instituted the Eucharist in a culture more ready to accept miracles than ours. Indeed, the apostles had seen Jesus perform many miracles, and he had empowered them to perform miracles, too (Matt. 10:1, 8; Mark 6:7; 13; Luke 9:1). They would have been more inclined to interpret his words as indicating a miracle than we are.
Other passages confirm that they took his words in this way. Paul states that the eucharistic elements are a participation in, not just a representation of, Christ’s body and blood (1 Cor. 10:16). He warns that those who profane the Eucharist “will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27). He says that “any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor. 11:29), and that the consequence of this can even be death (1 Cor. 11:30).
Similarly, in John 6, Jesus repeatedly stresses the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. When challenged on how this can happen (6:52), Jesus becomes more emphatic, stating: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (6:53) and “my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (6:55). After this teaching, “many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him” (6:66). Rather than clarifying the matter privately for the core disciples, as elsewhere (Matt. 16:6, 11–12, 17:19, 24:3; Mark 4:34; Luke 10:23), he asked if they, too, will leave (John 6:67). Jesus was willing to lose core disciples rather than weaken this teaching or explain it as symbolic.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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