Today’s Scripture Reading (January
31, 2016): 1 Samuel 21
Earlier this
week, during the active shooting situation at the U.S Navy Medical Center in
San Diego, I caught part of an interview with a gentleman whose daughter and
grandson were trapped inside a parking garage near the place where shots had
been fired. They had gotten low in the back of the vehicle with tinted windows
and were waiting out the situation. Grandpa was on the outside of the parking
garage helpless to do anything as security personnel secured the building. But
the question that plagued me was simply ‘what would you do?’ When things get
desperate, what is your reaction? In this case, grandpa simply gave the best
advice he could think off. In the middle of occupied territory, all you can do
is stay low and hidden. Don’t move too much – something that was probably hard
with a young boy in tow – and don’t give away your position. Stay where you are
until it is safe come out. And grandpa was already pacing around the structure
waiting for the moment that the structure was declared safe so that he could
burst in and find his children. But there was really nothing else to do.
David was
desperate. And the reality is that he really did not have a positive avenue of
escape. Saul was hunting him down inside of Israel so even when he was at home
he was already in enemy territory, and because he was a military commander,
there would seem to be no safe havens outside of Israel either. But David has
to go somewhere, and so he decides to go to Gath – the home of a former giant
named Goliath.
It is likely
that David’s intention was to go into Philistine country and attempt to remain
anonymous. His hope was that if he and his friends could just keep their heads
low, maybe they could spend time in and around Gath and no one would notice.
And then, after Saul’s anger had died down a little, David could fade back into
Israel – still attempting to stay under the radar and below anyone’s notice.
But the reality was that David was much too famous for that strategy to work.
David arrives in Gath and almost immediately is recognized. And not only is he
recognized, but the people know all about his song. David is the one who has
killed tens of thousands. This is the great leader of Israel, and some seem to
believe, probably on the basis of the song, that David is the current king of
the neighboring nation - and not the future king.
I am not
sure whether it was a move of naiveté or genius for David to carry Goliath’s
sword into Gath. (David had picked up the sword from the priest Ahimelek before
venturing into Philistine territory.) David had been to Gath before, well, at
least almost. After killing Goliath he had joined the army of Israel as they
chased the Philistines back to the city. But now if he was recognized, the
sword would also remind people of the day that he had defeated their national
hero. The sword itself was not the best way to hide, but it was a way to remind
the people of the military ability of the one who now stood in their midst. And
hopefully it would provide a way for David to survive in the midst of his
enemies.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
52
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