God's Plans to Protect

I've read First Samuel dozens of times. I've read through the life of David. The flight from Saul. The battles. His escape to the Philistines.

But somehow I didn't connect the accounts and see God's protective hand in the life of David.

Let me help you put the puzzle pieces together, starting in 1 Samuel 27.

Attempting to escape Saul, David fled to Gath (BTW: Gath's hometown hero, Goliath, was killed by David a few years earlier.) The king of Gath allowed David and his men, about 600 at this time, to settle in Ziklag. David gained the confidence of the king by leading raids. However, the king didn't realize that he was attacking the Philistine cities.

The Philistines began marching toward Saul and his armies. David and his men joined, but the other Philistine kings didn't want him to be part of the army. They were afraid that David would turn on them in the midst of the battle. So the king of Gath sent him back home.

When David and his men returned to Ziklag, they discovered that their wives and children had been taken by the Amalekites. It took them several days to track them down, recover them and return home.

So what was going on in the battle between the Philistines and Saul?

Saul and his sons were killed in the battle.

Remember how David had been careful to protect Saul, God's anointed?

It looks like God orchestrated the raid on Ziklag to keep David and his men out of the battle. In order to keep David and his men away from the temptation of killing Saul. Or at least to keep them from being accused of killing Saul.

Because of the difficulties that David had, he could not be involved or implicated in the death of the king of Israel.

God's plans may not have seemed clear to David at the time, but God allowed the crisis to protect David.

The changes in our plans may not fit our idea, but God may be using them to protect us from greater harm.

There are places that we might want to go. But God changes those plans.

There are people we'd like to see. But God changes those plans.

Perhaps it's because God has a greater plan and a greater perspective to see that plan.

He does.

So we can trust Him and the changes that come our way.