Preparing for Sunday - 1 Samuel 26-27

This Sunday David gets a second chance to kill Saul, and he won't take it. Then, one chapter later, with Saul finally off his back and a fresh blessing still ringing in his ears, David walks straight out of the land God gave him. Read 1 Samuel 26-27 before we gather, and watch how a man can obey God beautifully at midnight and talk himself out of trusting Him by morning.

Critically Think

1. Read 26:1-5. Who tips Saul off this time, and how many men does he bring? Where have you met the Ziphites before in this series (23:19)? What does the narrator want you to notice about Saul lying "within the encampment" with his army around him?
2. Read 26:6-8. David asks who will go down with him, and Abishai volunteers. How does Abishai read the moment in 26:8, and what exactly does he claim God has done? Does his sentence sound like faith to you?
3. Read 26:9-12. David gives three reasons he will not touch Saul (26:9, 26:10, 26:11). What are they, and what does 26:10 say about who settles Saul's account and when? Then look at 26:12. Why does nobody in a camp of three thousand men wake up, and who does the narrator credit for that?
4. Read 26:13-20. David shouts across the valley to Abner first and then to Saul. What does he accuse Abner of failing to do (26:15-16)? In 26:19 David says he has been driven out from the heritage of the LORD. What does he say his enemies have told him to go do?
5. Read 26:21-25. Saul says, "I have sinned," and, "I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake." Set that next to his words in 24:16-21. What is different this time, and what is exactly the same? Keep in mind that these two men never speak again after 26:25.
6. Read 27:1-7. Watch the phrase "David said in his heart." What conclusion does David reach, and how does it square with what he had just told Saul in 26:23-24 and what Abigail told him in 25:28-29? Who does he go to for safety, and how long does he stay?
7. Read 27:8-12. How does David actually survive those sixteen months in Philistine territory, and what does Achish come to believe about him in 27:12? What is the cost of a plan that works?

Prayerfully Meditate
Abishai said: "God has given your enemy into your hand this day." It sounded like faith. It was really just an open door with a spiritual accent on it. Where has an opportunity lately been talking to you like it was a word from God?
David told Saul that the LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, and then, a handful of verses later, he told himself he would die by Saul's hand. A man can refuse the spear at midnight and still lose heart by morning. What true thing did you say out loud last week that you are no longer living like this week?
Notice where the collapse happens. Not in an argument, not under torture, but in his heart, alone, in one sentence (27:1). Nobody talked David out of trusting God. He did it himself. What sentence have you been rehearsing privately that God has never once said to you?
David's plan worked. Saul stopped hunting him, and sixteen months of relative quiet followed, paid for with raiding and lying. God does not need your shortcut to keep His promise. Where have you been calling something a blessing mostly because it made life easier?

Intentionally Act

1. Read 1 Samuel 26-27 slowly before Sunday. Mark every place David speaks about the LORD's hand, and every place he reaches for his own.
2. Write down your own 27:1 sentence, the thing you keep saying in your heart about how this is going to end. Then find one promise in Scripture that answers it, and carry that verse with you this week.
3. Name the Abishai voice in your life, the counsel that sounds spiritual and points straight at the shortcut. Say it out loud to someone who will tell you the truth.
4. Pick one person you have every right to strike back at, and do something kind for them instead before Sunday.
5. Learn the songs below before we gather, so we can sing our confidence back to God with one voice.

Songs
'Tis So Sweet
Trust in God  
Gratitude
How Deep the Father's Love For Us