THE NET OF INCONSISTENCY. 1st Samuel 29 The whole course and bent of a life lived for God can be changed by one act of inconsistency. One's reputation and good name can be lost when we "weave webs" of our own making because of "the fear of man." We need God's guidance and assurance in times of need and discouragement. If we are not careful and conscious of our own weakness and inability, we sadly take matters into our own hands. In those dangerous times, we can make a decision that ruins our Christian testimony, reputation, and self-respect.
David and his men were following the army of the Philistines right beside Achish, the king, as a bodyguard. The same man who had delivered Israel from these very people had joined with them and, for over a year, had identified himself with them. What would have been his thoughts as he drew near to Aphek and realized that just across there at Jezreel was Saul, the anointed king he had spared before because of his consciousness of God with him? Jonathan, his closest friend, was getting his armor ready to battle. What would he do if they met on the battlefield? Brothers and kinfolks were in that army they were facing and going to do battle against. Those were the people he had been anointed to lead, and he was preparing to fight them. One wonders how far a person can go when they abandon the path of faith and go against their own conscience.
It is possible for us to put ourselves in such a position when we are away from the Lord that we find ourselves trapped in a web of our own making. The discouragement comes when we allow ourselves to take our eyes of faith off of God; deceit that follows discouragement creates further strands of ties to the world that entangle us, and lies that we think will make things easier for us form a net of our own making surrounding us. In such a condition of soul and life, we find we are helpless and unable to extricate ourselves from the bondage in which we are found. We cannot escape from the claims of our own inconsistency.
God orchestrated a way for David to escape from a bad situation. He had conducted himself prudently, showing his fear of the God of Israel. He had to be careful how he interacted with Achish, not bring danger to those who followed him, and yet not be unfaithful to God. The only way this could be done was by God’s intervention. The grace of God worked on David's behalf through the suspicion of other Philistine leaders who wisely asked, "What do these Hebrews here?" God used the pride and jealousy of others to cut the bonds of inconsistency David had made for himself and those who followed him.
"What are Christians doing in this place?" could well be asked by those who love the world, live in the world, and think like the world, rightly ask when a child of God shows up at some event or place that is inconsistent with the life of a Christian. Those who love the world know there is no real connection between real Christianity and those who love God. Our lives are different. Our goals are different. Our words and attitudes should be different. What would a Christian be doing in a place where non-Christian activities are going on? As believers in Christ, we should never be found where we would not be content to have our Lord with us.
The Philistine commanders insisted David go back to Ziklag because they had experienced Israelites in the Philistine army before. When the battle went against the Philistines, the Israelites turned over to the army led by Saul and Jonathan, and the Israelites won the battle. The commanders expected David and his men to do the same and take Philistine heads as war trophies. So, Achish yielded to the demands of his commanders even though he indicated he trusted David. On David’s part, he pretended to be disappointed to maintain his deception, but he was likely relieved. He and his men did not linger and left for Ziklag in the early morning.
Sometimes, we are slighted and rejected but know the outcome is good. It is hard to turn around when we go the wrong way. When we begin to compromise with those who oppose God or ignore His word, it is a blessing to be shut out of their company and confidence and be cut off from their friendship. Real believers will be thankful that a way has opened for us to return to the Lord and His people even though we have been humbled, humiliated, and rejected by others. It is the mercy of God when we have a way out of the path of self-will and deception. Doubt leads to unbelief, and unbelief to the world of deception, man’s opinion, conflict, and duplicity. God’s grace alone can deliver us when we are boxed in on every side by our sinful choices. A bad conscience and a deep sense of guilt in the heart snares us when we take our own way.
David was not led by the Lord when he went down to the Philistines, and the Lord did not lead him to go with them to battle with Israel. How gracious it was of God to use his enemies to stop his backsliding and willful actions. He probably had a good conscience for the first time in a year when he was sent back to Ziklag. There may have even been a glimmer of light in his soul when he and those who followed him got an early start to get away from where his snare would have captured him, and the consequences of his lack of faith would have been poured out on him.
When we are rescued from the path of our own self-will and are delivered from the effects of our unbelief, we are in a position where we can start over and begin in a humble way to regain lost ground, and the "years the locusts have eaten." We can do nothing about the lost fellowship, of no significant communion with God, of no song in our hearts that results from going our own way without divine guidance. But we can begin again with our God of recovery. "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
We lose our joy and song when we are away from the Lord, and sadness settles down like a dark cloud on our souls. We lose fellowship and communion with God and His people, and worship is almost impossible. When we are not where we should be, doing what we should for the glory of God, we dishonor Him. Probably the greatest loss we cause is dishonoring God with our disobedience, doubts, and fears because we acted independently.
When God in grace stops our willfulness, even though we may be embarrassed and ashamed, we are glad we have been stopped. Then we are in a condition of soul because of repentance and humility to turn again to the Lord and seek the face of God. There will be consequences we must accept that cannot be avoided, but sometimes those scars left on us will remind us of a time we never want to be repeated. Inconsistency may not seem all that important until we have passed through the "Aphek experience," and then we will realize the seriousness of what we have done.
God called them out from among the nations of men and called them to be for Him alone. The same is for us as for them; He has separated us to be singularly His own. We don’t belong with the warring crowd of people who are seeking their own pleasure and sin—those who oppose God’s righteousness and truth. Our Lord has already won the cause we serve. Our public place is to be where we show God’s glory forth.
People have a right to ask, “What are you doing here with this noisy crowd who have released restraint as they seek fun? This is not a place for you; it is much too loud and irreverent for one who claims to be linked with God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You belong where you will normally enjoy God in a quiet, respectable, and reverent place, not this noisy venue. Not where people live for momentary pleasure and the gratification of the flesh.”
A believer’s joy comes when they live by faith, and the Holy Spirit reveals God as our gracious Father, who shows us His grace without measure. From every persuasion, creed, and opinion, men who have “tasted and seen that the Lord is good” come together to find common ground. Some will leave a conviction here: forsake what is biblical there, and with a few “feel-good” things, they hope you’ll come around to be like “everybody else.” So why are these “Hebrews,” these “called-out” ones here? Has God called us to join what He called us out of? No, we are separated. It is to Him we draw near and stay with our Lord in the “promised land,” not in the land of the Philistines.