Trouble and True Friends: Daily Thoughts from 1 Samuel (1 Samuel 23:15-29)

In a sense, I was not rescued. But the consequences were still obviously part of God’s orchestration and He was caring for me. Part of His care was the encouragement of others. What was so difficult was that the people I thought trusted and loved me could not stand up for me and in the end stood against me.

David is in the fight of his life, being pursued by Saul because he is Saul’s rival for the kingdom. Who will be for him and who against him?

David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon? Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.

Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi. (1 Samuel 23:15-29, ESV)

God desires to encourage us in our days of trouble, even while our enemies seek to harm us, and He desires to demonstrate how capable He is of caring for us.

Jonathan, Saul’s son, no doubt at great risk to himself, comes to David to encourage him, strengthening his hand, that is, giving him a sense of courage in desperate conditions. He even prophesies that his father will not find David and that David will become king. He predicts that he will be at David’s side, not an heir to the throne but a trusted servant of David. Once again he makes covenant with David. Who is God using in your life to encourage you?

And then, when Saul is near to capturing David, God sends a Philistine raiding party against Israel that Saul must intercept and Saul leaves off pursuing David, frustrated, we may be sure. How do you see God orchestrating circumstances in your life to prevent your downfall?

Unhappily, we will also see in days of trouble who is really on our side. The Ziphites are afraid of Saul and know what he did to the priests at Nob and out of self-preservation turn on David, even though David had rescued them from the Philistines. When we have fearsome enemies some will seek to take care of themselves by allying with those against us. Others will show that they really don’t have love for us and will not be an encouragement to us. We may say that in such times we find our true friends. God uses troubles to unveil which relationships are genuine and which aren’t.