DIVINE DISTRACTION FOR THE STUBBORN PURSUER
1 Samuel 23:19-29
The Ziphites wanted to buy the favour of Saul the king by betraying David. They went to inform Saul of David’s hideout and promised to help Saul by delivering David to him (1 Samuel 23:19,20).
Saul’s benediction to them was an empty one: “Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have compassion on me” (1 Samuel 23:21). This was mere sentiment. Helping a wicked man in his wickedness is not showing compassion. Helping a vicious person to attain his deadly goal is not having compassion on him. Such accomplices can never be blessed of the Lord as Saul said. In fact they are always cursed (1 Samuel 26:18,19; Proverbs 28:10; Psalm 109:1-20).
Saul pursued after David following the details provided by the Ziphites. He almost caught David. Were it not for the message that came from home to Saul, he would have succeeded in killing David.
However this shows the greatness and the wisdom of our God. There may be many devices and strategies in the hands of the stubborn pursuer but the Lord knows how to thwart them all.
May the Lord keep the enemy busy on other pursuits so that he will have no time to chase after us. May the Lord give the enemy an assignment that changes his focus of attention from us to another target.
DETERMINATION OF THE STUBBORN PURSUER
1 Samuel 18:9,11,17,21-25; 19:1,10,11,14,15,20-22; 20:24-31; 23:11-25; 24:2; 26:2; Exodus 14:8-13; Genesis 31:22-29,36.
David through the anointing of the Lord brought down Goliath (1 Samuel 17:45-51). Saul took notice of him and conscripted him into his army (1 Samuel 17:55-58; 18:1,2). However when the women sang and ascribed greater honour to David, Saul became very jealous and angry (1 Samuel 18:6-8). “And Saul EYED David from that day and forward” (1 Samuel 18:9). It was an evil eye. Saul was determined to destroy David.
The scripture records twenty one (21) attempts of Saul to kill David. He used javelin, woman trap, dowry, etc. (1 Samuel 18:11,17,21-25; 19:1,10,11,14,15,20-22; 20:24-31; 23:11-25; 24:2; 26:2).
Although Saul could perceive the presence of God in David’s life (1 Samuel 18:12,28), he still decided to be his avowed enemy (1 Samuel 18:9,29). He was a stubborn pursuer that was determined to see the end of his target.
Saul as a stubborn pursuer used every available tactic to get at killing David. He was ready to bribe his way through, to kill whoever stands in the way of killing David including Jonathan his son (1 Samuel 20:27-34).
He had informers and spies all over the land trailing David’s movements and bringing relevant information to him (1 Samuel 23:7-9,19-29; 24:1,2; 26:1,2).
Saul was like Pharaoh another stubborn pursuer that will not let the children of Israel go free (Exodus 14:8-13) and like Laban who determined to pursue Jacob and to bring him to judgement (Genesis 31:22-29,36).
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DEEDS OF THE SPYING PEOPLE
1 Samuel 23:7-9,19-29; 24:1,2; 26:1,2; 21:7; 22:9,22; Nehemiah 2:10,19; 4:1-3,7,8; 6:1-9,16-19; Galatians 6:6-9
The Ziphites were among Saul’s spies in the land (1 Samuel 23:19-29; 26:1,2). They were very keen on betraying David and they were Saul’s right hand men.
Spies, informers and gossips always endanger the lives of innocent people. David’s life was endangered many times by such people (1 Samuel 23:1-29; 26:1,2; 24:1,2). Many priests of Nob lost their lives because of the gossip and frame-up of Doeg (1 Samuel 21:7; 22:9,22).
Spies are always clogs in the wheel of progress. At the time of Nehemiah, they fed the enemy with information that was used to slow down the work of rebuilding the broken walls (Nehemiah 2:10,19; 4:1-3,7,8; 6:1-9,16-19).
After the Ziphites have informed Saul of David’s hideouts and shown their willingness to betray him and hand him over to Saul (1 Samuel 23:19-21), Saul told them to get all their information correct with all the details and then return to him again (1 Samuel 23:22-24).
DISTRACTION FOR THE STUBBORN PURSUER
1 Samuel 23:26-29; Isaiah 59:19; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Genesis 31:24-26,29; Numbers 22:12; 2 Kings 7:6,7.
Based on the information for the Ziphites, Saul went to pursue David in the wilderness of Maon (1 Samuel 23:25). Saul and his men compassed David and his men and Saul’s men came close to trapping David (1 Samuel 23:26).
Just before Saul caught up with David, God brought a distraction to Saul that created opportunity for David to escape: “But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land” (1 Samuel 23:27).
Saul in his bid to catch David left the whole nation unprotected and vulnerable. The enemy invaded the land in his absence. Now that this message came to him, he left pursuing David to go after the Philistines: “Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines … And David went up from thence …” (1 Samuel 23:28,29).
When the enemy comes like a flood and comes close to overrunning us and flushing us away, the Spirit of God raises up a standard against the enemy (Isaiah 59:19). When the enemy comes close to entrapping us, the Lord makes a way of escape for us (1 Corinthians 10:13).
May the Lord always give the stubborn pursuer that is almost catching up with us a distracting assignment so that we can have opportunity to escape.