In England, Canterbury Cathedral began restoring broken windows in the 1880s. Some of the replacements are quite modern; this window is from the 1950s. No explanation of this window was found; some travelers noticed some windows look a bit like cartoons. This unusual window has the cross shining at the top of the window.1 Samuel 27
1 But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."
2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"
6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10 When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.' " And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."
It’s a popular concept today to determine God’s purpose for our lives. Proverbs would agree with the idea of seeking God’s wisdom. Our church did a bible study called “Essential 100s”- knowing these 100 chapters gives a good basic understanding of the bible. We discovered something interesting from each chapter. Evil men promote God’s will; sometimes by acting as a force of evil trying to stop God and sometimes just as self-interested humans. Good men try to do God’s will and sometimes cannot, but God’s will is always accomplished. Sometimes in weakness, God’s will is best displayed as His strength and His love prevail.
1 Samuel 27 is an excellent example of God’s will working through the intricacies of man. Our generation hates the violence of the bible and refers to the barbaric God of the Bronze Age. But this last century is one of the most violent in the history of the world. David was told in 1 Samuel 22 to remain in Israel. God didn’t seek the violence David brought about.
David is displaying his desire to disobey God and create a safe place for himself. The other side of David, his leadership, creates a safe place for the 600 men following David. Allowing them to have families, and lives based on families, instead of running from cave to cave. God sees David’s leadership and allows David’s departure from Israel to create the final conclusion between Saul and the Philistines.
Saul did not grant David a place to live in peace, but the Philistine king gives David a Judean city that remains in David’s care for a lifetime. Achish had self-centered interests and God used them to allow Israel to have a coming time of peace.
The stained glass window today has darkness in some areas, people seemingly intent on climbing upward without really paying attention to each other. But the top is the light shining from God’s cross. What today’s chapter shows us, again, is man intent on his own purpose, but the greater purpose is God’s.
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
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