11/07/2020 - LIKE IN THE BEGINNING

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Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.   1 Samuel 27:9

The Gesurites were Canaanites and therefore should have been eliminated from the beginning of the Israelite battles to take possession of the Promised Land (Josh 13:2-3). However, for some unknown reason, Israel left this small kingdom, but fierce and evil, occupying the territory given them by the Lord. As David knew and obeyed God, to whom He was loyal, he made inroads against such a people and destroyed them.

Many people claim to be God (if they are, only He can say it), but they show no fear of the Lord and call David a liar for speaking to Achish who struggled in one place while going elsewhere. Because they do not understand military strategy, they confuse those who hear them, and they begin to say the same. Now this is the spirit that calls Jacob a thief, because he supplanted Esau when he sold him the birthright (Gen. 25:32).

God took His servant to Gath without canceling the command to destroy the Philistines themselves, and Achish was their king. David took advantage of that monarch’s carelessness to do what he had been commanded over 500 years ago and fought the wars of the Lord. The group that walked with David were not bandits, but servants of the Most High, who faithfully obeyed Him.

Many of these defenders of “morals” accuse us of evil for expelling evil spirits that destroy lives with all sorts of evils. Incidentally, this Hell has already done with Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum (Luke 4:34). You owe no allegiance to the devil and anyone but God. As you take a stand in life, learn not to be carried away by excess fidelity to man (Ecc 7:16).

The Philistines would be angry with David if he revealed to Achish what he was doing for Israel. Therefore, the future king of Israel created alibis not to be discovered; after all, he was God’s agent among the adversaries. A little later, if the Lord had not intervened, the future Israelite king would have gone to war against his own people. But the merciful God caused the Philistine princes to rise against him, whom he was commanded to return to and stay in Ziklag (1 Sam. 29: 2-11).

Upon returning, the Lord’s chosen learned that the Amalekites had invaded his city and taken the women captive. He then set out against his opponents, defeated them and rescued the women. At the same time, in the battle to which they would not let him go, Saul and Jonathan died. Then the son of Jesse went to Hebron, and there he was anointed king of Israel.

Looking at God’s way of working in David’s life, one can pity those who accuse him of being disloyal to Achish. Such an accusation comes from the heart of the devil and goes through the mouth of anyone who dares to speak of the Lord’s anointed. Mercy to those who do not see the heavenly Father in action!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares