Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”
— First Samuel 27:1
David recognized it would be impossible to convince Saul that he was not a threat. Realizing that Saul would one day kill him if he remained in Israel, he escaped to the land of the Philistines again. This time, however, he went with his army of six hundred. Again he went to Achish, king of Gath. He dwelt among the Philistines for a year and four months, and the rest of his men also dwelt in homes there.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 83.
Tomorrow: “Returning as a Different Man” (2)