Scripture Daily

Context No. 1966 of 4322 · 1 Samuel

Context · Reflection

1 Samuel 26:1-5: in context

1The Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Doesn’t David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?” 2Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 4David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had certainly come. 5Then David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army. Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped around him.

The Ziphites come again to Saul, betraying David's hiding place; and Saul, who had once wept and repented of hunting David, sets out once more with three thousand chosen men to seek him in the wilderness. David, learning that Saul has indeed come after him again, sends out spies and moves carefully, coming near to observe Saul's camp. The old threat, which had seemed resolved, has returned; and David must face it once more.

There is a wearying reality in this passage: the trouble that comes back again. Saul had hunted David before; David had spared him; Saul had wept, confessed his wrong, and gone home. It had seemed resolved. And now, here is Saul again, coming after David with three thousand men, the old threat returned as though the reconciliation had never happened. David must face once more the danger he thought was behind him. This is an experience we know: the trouble that returns, the opposition that comes back, the difficulty that seemed resolved only to rise again. We deal with a problem, overcome an obstacle, make peace with an adversary, and think it settled; and then it returns, and we must face it again, and the return is discouraging, for we had thought it was over. There is no dramatic lesson in David's situation here, only the steady reality of a faithful man facing a recurring threat and dealing with it again, carefully and without despair. And that steadiness is itself instructive. When a trouble we thought resolved comes back, the temptation is to despair, to feel that our earlier efforts were wasted, that we can never be free of it, that the return proves our situation is hopeless. David did not despair; he faced the returned threat as he had faced it before, carefully, faithfully, doing what wisdom required. Sometimes our troubles are not resolved once and for all but must be faced again and again, and the call is not to despair at their return but to keep responding faithfully. We are pressed on every side, Paul says, yet not crushed; pursued, yet not forsaken. The return of an old trouble is not proof that we are abandoned or that our situation is hopeless; it is, often, simply the shape of life in a fallen world, where troubles recur and must be met again. David faced Saul's renewed pursuit without despair, dealing with it faithfully once more; and when our own troubles return after we thought them resolved, the call is not to despair but to keep meeting them faithfully, trusting the God who is with us through the recurrence as through the first encounter.

When a trouble or opposition I thought resolved comes back, and I am tempted to despair, feeling my earlier efforts were wasted and my situation is hopeless, can I face the returned threat as David faced Saul's renewed pursuit, without despair, responding faithfully once more, trusting that the recurrence is not proof I am abandoned but that God is with me through it?

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