Yahweh's providential protection of David ch. 29

As Saul reached the depth of his fortunes, David attained the height of his popularity thus far. This chapter seems to antedate the previous one slightly. The writer appears to have incorporated it in his narrative here to highlight the contrasts between Saul and David in chapters 27-31.

 The Philistine commanders' fear of David 29:1-5

The lords or commanders of the Philistine city-states mustered their troops and marched north to the town of Aphek.²⁸⁰Aphek stood near Philistia's northern border with Israel. The Philistine lords were on their way to the Jezreel Valley to battle King Saul. Jezreel was a town on the northwestern slope of Mt. Gilboa about three miles south of Shunem (cf. 28:4). David and his 600 mercenaries were bringing up the rear in the Philistine procession. The Philistine lords noticed David and his men and asked each other why Hebrew soldiers were accompanying them since they were going to war against the Israelites.²⁸¹Achish, whom David had deceived into thinking that he was no longer loyal to Saul, came to his defense. David had lived in Philistia now for almost one year and four months (cf. 27:7). The other Philistine kings could hardly believe how naive Achish was being. They saw that David would probably turn against them in the upcoming battle to regain acceptance with his lord, Saul. They proceeded to use the same phrase Achish had used to defend David, "Is this not David?"to impress on their gullible comrade what a danger David posed to them. David had not only slain many of Israel's enemies, including many Philistines, but he also enjoyed solidarity with Saul in the minds of all the people, which the song they quoted implied.²⁸²

 David's exemption from the battle 29:6-11

Achish swore in Yahweh's name to David, probably to impress the truth of what he was saying on David, that David had been upright and pleasing to him. Nevertheless David had not won the confidence of the other Philistine commanders, and so he had to return to Philistia. David again (cf. 17:29; 20:1; 26:18) asked, "What have I done?"He had done nothing to deserve this rejection. He then professed to want to go into the battle and to fight the enemies of "my lord the king."David probably wanted Achish to think that he was referring to Achish as "my lord,"but he really meant Saul, I think. It seems incredible that David would really have entered the battle and fought for the Philistines against the Israelites. Thus David continued his deception. For the third time Achish vindicated David (vv. 3, 6, 9).²⁸³David had been as a divine messenger to the Philistine king, a source of much blessing to him (cf. Gen. 12:2-3).²⁸⁴Nevertheless the other Philistine rulers would not allow him to enter the battle. Consequently David had to return south with his men, the former servants of David's previous lord, Saul. David did as Achish ordered in the morning, and the Philistines proceeded north to engage Saul near Mt. Gilboa.

This chapter is an encouraging revelation of how God takes care of His own when they are under extreme stress. David had come close to running out of ideas about how he could preserve his life (cf. 27:1). He had apparently received no special guidance from God in answer to prayer. The name of God does not appear in chapter 27 or in chapter 29, except in Achish's references to Him, suggesting that God's guidance was scarce while David was in Philistine territory.²⁸⁵David had even resorted to deception to protect himself (cf. 27:10-12; 29:8). Nonetheless God continued to guard His anointed servant, even in a foreign land. He convinced Achish of David's loyalty, which yielded a measure of protection for David. He also convinced the other Philistine lords of David's threat to themselves, which resulted in their sending him far from the scene of battle.

"The very same Philistines who will finally dispose of Saul (ch. 31) are the ones who unwittingly rescue David."²⁸⁶

In short, God providentially caused the reactions of people, as different as those reactions were, to protect David (cf. Rom. 8:28). Even when we do not sense it, God cares for us, as a shepherd (cf. Ps. 23). God takes care of His own, even when we are under great stress and are not entirely obedient.