The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him." – 1 Samuel 29:3

Today's Scripture Reading (April 30, 2022):  1 Samuel 29

Battles can be delicate, and a war's final result is never a foregone conclusion. There is always a measure of uncertainty. Some things can be done to increase the chances of winning the battle and strategies that can be employed to give an advantage to one side over another, but there are no guarantees. And the home side always seems to have the edge over the invading forces because they know the terrain.

The Philistines and Israel had been at war ever since Israel's entrance into the Canaan. Sometimes Israel won the battle; at other times, the battle was delivered to the Philistines. But neither could win decisively; they simply won the battle at that moment rather than the war. On the part of the Philistines, their history in Canaan would continue until the Babylonians totally defeated them in 604 B.C.E. By the 5^th century B.C.E. (400s), the Philistines as a distinct group had completely disappeared. Israel's path also changed, again because of two significant invasions. It was the Assyrians in 721 B.C.E for the Northern Kingdom and the Babylonian invasion of the Southern Kingdom in 586 B.C.E that brought these nations to their demise. But in the end, neither the Philistines nor Israel could destroy the other. And of the three kingdoms, the Philistines, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, Judah was the only group that ever really came back as a political entity.

But that does not mean that the Philistines and Israel didn't try to eliminate each other. And one Philistine attempt to destroy Israel took place in 1010 B.C.E. According to the story found in Samuel, the Philistines had gathered their forces at Aphek while Israel camped out by a spring in Jezreel. The problem was that the Philistine Empire existed on the Southwest coast of Canaan and Jezreel was in the North, deep inside Israelite territory. But the Philistines believed that this was their opportunity to deal a death blow to Israel.

The various Kings of the Philistine cities had gathered all of their forces to fight Israel at Jezreel. While the Philistines were at the front preparing for battle, David, who had been living in Philistine Territory, had his forces at the rear of the battle group. But the other Philistine leaders questioned David's inclusion in the battle. Achish had no reason to doubt that David would fight against his former king when the time came for the battle. But the other Philistine leaders were actually right. Neither Achish nor David saw that David had no business being here. There is no way that the savior and future King of Israel could have anything to do with a battle for Israel's demise. Not in this battle. He needed to take a step back and allow the events to happen. The man who had refused to kill Saul on at least two occasions had no business being anywhere near the battle that would end Saul's life. S.o, the question of the other Philistine kings was not just right, but it contained Godly wisdom. The Hebrews could not have anything to do with this fight. They had to be sent back.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 30