DAVID “FLED FROM SAUL and went to Achish king of Gath” to seek asylum (v.10). No reason is given for David choosing Gath as the place.
4 But Gath seems to be the wrong place to go to. Gath was the hometown of Goliath whom David killed (1 Sam 17:4). And the irony is, David came to Goliath’s hometown with Goliath’s sword in his hand (1 Sam 21:8-9). It seems so illogical and foolish to flee to your enemy’s territory to seek asylum. Perhaps, David was thinking that Achish would “welcome the defection of Saul’s prize lieutenant”.
5 It certainly seemed to David that Achish was his best hope, even though it was a great risk. He still took the risk, nonetheless. And this shows how desperate David was. Achish’s servants objected strongly to their king about David’s dangerous presence in Gath, reminding him that this man was the legendry David who had slain “his ten thousands” (v.11) – most of whom were the Philistines. But rather strikingly, they called David “the king of the land” (v.11).
The Philistines recognised David as king even though Saul was king of Israel.
6 God must be speaking to David through this in his wavering faith, reminding him of His calling for him. But David was “very much afraid” when he heard “these words” (v.12). For the first time in the story, David is described as being fearful. What would we have done if we were in the shoes of this desperate David?
4 David G. Firth, 1 & 2 Samuel, Apollos Old Testament Commentary (Apollos, 2009), 236
5 Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel, Focus on the Bible (Christian Focus, 2000), 218
6 David G. Firth, 236
