Achish, the Philistine king, made David his "bodyguard for life," even though David had been deceiving him at every turn. He had not been attacking the cities of Judah, as he told Achish, but the cities of the Canaanites, not leaving any survivors so that none could be the wiser. Achish should not have trusted David. The other Philistine commanders were wise to refuse David's participation in the battle against Judah. 

What I find disturbing is the irony of trust. Saul should have trusted David, whose loyalty was genuine. But Achish should not have trusted David, whose loyalty was based on a string of lies. 

Now, we could say that David was a really good liar. After all, he was able to convince Abimelech that he was mad, and then convince Achish that he would be his loyal servant. What is more, he was able to convince the priest, Ahimelech, that he was on a secret mission for Saul. 

Yet, in all these events God's providence was certainly leading everything to fulfill what God had planned for David, namely, to be His chosen king of Israel.

The same thing could be observed with respect to the patriarch, Jacob. He too forged his destiny on a string of strategies and lies. He tricked Esau, his brother, into selling him his birthright for a bowl of soup. He colluded with his mother to deceive his blind father, Isaac, to give Esau's blessing to him. He and his uncle both tried to trick and deceive each other to gain the upper hand. He would later lie to his brother about his travel plans. Yet, again, in spite of the less than noble means by which Jacob became the great partriarch through whom would arise the twelve tribes of Israel, God was still providentially in control. 

Why do we not look with much disfavor upon what David did or what Jacob did to get to where they were? Isn't it because these are our heroes? Even aside from the lies, they both did some terrible things, but we fault them only a little. Why? Is it not because they were chosen by God for greatness?

Yet, friends, let us not whitewash the flaws in these men but give the glory to God, who uses flawed men to accomplish his good, holy and perfect will. That is why Paul wrote,

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God (2 Corinthians 3:4-5).

Our competence comes from God! Our adequacy, our worth, our claim to faith and every goodness come from God!

Friends, while we look at David and see some noble qualities, we should not for this reason elevate David beyond the rest of humanity as more righteous or more noble or more faithful than others. In relative righteousness, David was better than Saul, but David was no saint. His greatness was not so much in his righteousness but in God's grace toward him. 

So it is with us all. Our greatness is not in our righteousness but in our humility before God, even to acknowledge our depravity and entrust ourselves wholly to the justifying grace of God. So Paul also wrote,

But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (2 Corinthians 10:17).

Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Friends, what is our righteousness? Is it not simply our affirmation of God? And often we affirm Him most when we are most trusting in Him and most diligent to obey His Word. We affirm Him most when we acknowledge our weakness and His strength and when we recognize that all that is good and all that is good in us come from Him, the Father of lights, who does not change (cf. James 1:17).

Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead themaway and depart.” Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day (1 Samuel 30:22-25).

Notice that those who did not want to share the spoil of battle with those that remained behind were called "wicked and worthless men". Now, while their claim seemed justified from a purely human standpoint, they failed to understand that even they did not deserve any of the spoil because it was God who had granted them victory over their enemy. 

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God. (1 Samuel 30:6 NLT)

If you recall the context of this verse, it occurs after the wives, children, and flocks of David and his men were taken in a raid by the Amalekites. It is clear that in the years before David finally becomes king, there was no lack of situations in which David's life was in danger. He was in danger when he confronted Goliath. He was in danger every time he went out to battle against the Philistines. He was in danger from Saul, who tried to kill him while in his service. He was in danger from any number of people that might betray him to Saul. The mighty men of Israel were chasing him to kill him. He was in danger from the enemies of Israel. And now, he was even in danger from his own men. 

Now, why God found it needful to bring David through all of these dangers is unclear; however, there is one thing we learn from all of these experiences. It is that "David found strength in the LORD his God." When David called out to God, God answered Him. What is more, God promises David that He would never take away His covenant love from any of his descendants as He did from Saul (2 Samuel 7:15). When Saul called upon God, God no longer answered him. God had become his enemy. But God was always with David. And He was with David's descendants, even the most wicked of them, so that when they humbled themselves and called upon Him, He would answer, forgive and restore them.

Friends, we do not have a relationship to God like Saul but like David. As for Saul, God's Spirit was taken away and an evil spirit was given to torment him. But we have the Spirit of Christ living within us (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9-11). The Spirit is a seal upon our lives, serving to guarantee the completion of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). He ever serves to remind us that we are God's children (Romans 8:16). It was this very same Spirit that empowered the first disciples to be mighty witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8) and the same Spirit that emboldened them to be witnesses in an environment of ever-growing persecution (Acts 4:31).

David faced life-threatening dangers constantly, "but David found strength in the LORD his God." So it is with us today. Whatever forces around may threaten our wellbeing, our families, or even our very lives, let us be assured of our unshakable hope in Christ. And let us, by His Spirit, find strength in the LORD our God! Carefully read these words of encouragement:

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then can condemn? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39 TNIV)

My friends, is there anything greater than this?!

What a tragic ending it is that Saul and his sons all died in the battlefield!  The end of the lives of people who do not have the Spirit of God is cruelly described here in today's text.  Whether we like it or not, this is the reality for everyone who has perished and will perish without Christ.  When Saul was told that he would be killed along with his sons in the upcoming battle, why wouldn't he just repent of his sin and ask for a second chance to get right with God?  Samson was disobedient but God heard his prayer at the end.  Hezekiah knew his end was coming and granted by prayer more years to live on earth.  Wasn't that because he was pressured by his general and soldiers?  Whatever the reasons were, he could've or should've asked for forgiveness from God who is merciful and compassionate to those with contrite heart!  I see Saul's devastation in many people of my time as well.  When they face their personal end time, I find their confidence in themselves all of a sudden diminish but even that lack of confidence and uncertainty in the life after death cannot tear down the wall of resistance toward God's grace.  Mystery!  The very fact that brings many people to Christ such as imminent death seen in Saul is not true for everyone unfortunately.  This reminds me of the two criminals who were crucified with the Lord.
 
"One of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
 
We can find many stories similar to this.  I wish sometimes this were like a mathematical formula that works always and gives us same answer whenever we plug in numbers.  However, when it comes to salvation, there's no such thing as predictable pattern.  Some say we should emphasize signs and wonders which open people's hearts for Christ.  Others say there must be better programs that young folks may pay attention to, eventually resulting in their salvation.  But nothing works as we expect.  In conclusion, the faith in God's sovereignty and our subsequent obedience will surely advance His Kingdom in people's hearts. 

I second Marsha's question about mediums and such.  Evidently is possible to contact the dead spirits?  We've read earlier that it is not a good thing (was it one of the laws that God gave Moses?), but people evidently HAD the ability to do it at one point.  Do they still (though most are fake I'm sure).  I would think that it would be a great evil that would allow you to disturb a resting spirit.  Would contacting a spirit create other issues, such as ghosts or possessions (like what Marsha suggested)?

This is all some really weird, out there stuff.  I grew up watching scary movies, so while sensationalized, it's crazy to think there could be a thread of truth to them.

The mediums and spiritest, the Urim, dreams and the ephod, what role do these things and people play today?  Samuel was contacted from the grave by the medium, is this possible then?  It is unsettling to think that these people might actually be able to do what they claim.  By doing so, couldn't they be susceptible to demons? 

It is interesting to read how God protected David from needing to fight and kill the Israelites on the side of the Philistines.

And, I know that it is silly, but, what a LONG time to wait for a meal!  She slaughter the calf and then cooked it.  I am sure that this was not a short process.  It makes waiting only a couple of minutes for your meal to be fixed and served seem even faster.

If Samuel is dead, why are the two books named after him?

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Yujin's response to the naming of the two books of Samuel...Samuel died near the end of 1st Samuel, so it is unlikely that he wrote all of 1st Samuel nor any part of 2nd Samuel. A case can be made for the prophet Nathan or Gad as the author or another unnamed prophet. It is important to remember that in the Jewish Canon, the two books are one. They likely bear the name of Samuel because he was the most significant prophet during this period and was pivotal in the anointing of both Saul and David, who are the focus of 1st and 2nd Samuel.