Thus David forbore a second time from taking his revenge upon his enemies. Then David and his six hundred went upon their way, and Saul and his three thousand went back along the road by which they came.
XXXIX
IN THE LAND OF THE ENEMY
N the midst of David’s troubles with the king of Israel he received a present from the king of Gath. The king of Gath gave him a town.
It happened in this way. As weeks grew into months, and David, in spite of Saul’s fair words, did not dare to trust his head within reach of Saul’s spear, he said to himself at last, “I am afraid that I shall some day perish at the hand of Saul. What shall I do? Whither shall I turn? How can I get beyond his reach? I will go over to the enemy. I will offer my sword, and the swords of my six hundred men, to the Philistines.”
And that he did. And Achish, king of Gath, to whom he went, received him. But many of the Philistines were in doubt. They feared that David’s coming was but a plot to defeat and destroy them. “Some dark night,” they said, “David will rise up and kill us.”
Then David said to Achish, “Give me, I pray thee, some small place in the country, where I may dwell.” And Achish gave him the border town of Ziklag, far from the princes of the Philistines. So all the band with their wives and children settled in Ziklag.
Having Ziklag for their headquarters, they went out on forays and fought the Amalekites. They brought away whatever they could lay their hands upon, and no Amalekites remained to tell the tale. And when they came back from these adventures, Achish would say, “Where have ye made a raid to-day?” And David would answer, “We have been in the south country, in the land of Judah.” For in those days men did not understand, as we do, how wrong it is to tell a lie. And Achish believed this false report, and said to himself, “David is making war on his own people. He will never dare to desert us now and go back to his own land.”
At last, the time came for another war between the Philistines and the Israelites. In all the towns of the Philistines men were busy shaping bows and arrows; the blacksmiths at their flaming forges were sharpening swords and spears; soldiers were drilling on every village green, captains were making plans, and the army was assembling. Achish sent for David. “Now,” he said, “we are to make a great march against your old enemy, King Saul, and we shall need your help.” That was very hard for David; but when the march began, there he was with his six hundred, bringing up the rear. What else could he do?
Fortunately for David, the Philistine leaders would not have him. “What do these Hebrews here?” they said. And Achish answered, “They are trusty men. David has been sent into exile by Saul, his master, and has come with us to fight against him.” But the princes and the captains were not satisfied. “Make this fellow return,” they said; “he will attack us from behind. He will reconcile himself to Saul by bringing him our heads.”