Sarah
At this time, the Philistines were preparing to fight a major battle against the Israelites.
The Philistine army gathered at Aphek, and everyone was lined up in neat battle formation. The Israelites were not sitting around either. They were camped by the spring of Jezreel.
Both sides were getting ready to fight.
And David?
At this time, he was with the army of the Philistine king Achish.
David and his men were following behind Achish, getting ready to go into battle together.
But then, several Philistine commanders spotted David.
One of them was immediately confused:
“Wait a minute! Why are these Hebrews here?”
They quickly asked Achish:
“Why did you bring David, the man who served under Saul, the king of Israel?”
Achish quickly explained:
“Don’t worry about him. He has been with me for quite a while. From the day he came to me until now, I haven’t found anything wrong with him. He has always behaved himself while he has been with me.”
But the Philistine commanders didn’t believe him at all.
They immediately got angry:
“Send him back!”
“This man cannot go into battle with us!”
“If you bring him onto the battlefield, who knows what kind of trick he might pull?”
“What if he suddenly turns against us and, in order to make peace with his master Saul again, uses the heads of our men as a gift to Saul? Wouldn’t that be the end of us?”
The more they talked, the more they remembered David’s reputation.
“Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands!”
“You want a man like this to go with us and fight against the Israelites?”
“We don’t trust him.”
The commanders had only one thing in mind:
David absolutely cannot go into battle!
Achish saw that all of his commanders disagreed, and there was nothing he could do. So he called David over.
Achish said to David:
“David, let me tell you the truth. In my eyes, you have always been a good man.”
“You have been with me for a long time. I have watched you come and go, and I have never found anything wrong with you.”
“Honestly, I see you like an angel of God.”
“But…”
“Our commanders don’t want you here.”
“They say you cannot go into battle with us.”
So Achish finally said to David:
“You should go back.”
“Tomorrow morning, as soon as it gets light, take your men and leave.”
“Don’t stay here.”
“Otherwise, before the battle even starts, we might end up fighting among ourselves.”
David heard this and, on the outside, seemed pretty upset.
He said:
“What have I done?”
“From the day I came to you until today, tell me, what have I done wrong?”
“Why won’t you let me go with you into battle?”
“What is it that they don’t trust about me?”
Achish said to him again:
“David, I know that you are a good man in my eyes. I don’t doubt that.”
“But it still won’t work.”
“The Philistine commanders simply won’t agree. You go back for now.”
So early the next morning, David and his men got up.
They left the Philistine army and headed back.
And the Philistines?
They continued toward Jezreel, preparing to fight the Israelites.
From this, we can see:
God was protecting David.
The Philistine commanders did not reject David because they feared God, but their distrust became a way God used to protect David. Sometimes, when a door suddenly closes, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t want you there. It may mean that God has another plan.
David did not know what would happen the next day.
Sometimes, rejection is actually protection.
Some roads that don’t work out are not necessarily failures.
Some people who don’t stay are not necessarily losses.
Some doors that close do not necessarily mean God doesn’t want you.
Sometimes, God knows there is danger ahead, so He leads you out before you even see it.
You may think you were “sent away.”
But maybe—
God was saving you.
当时，非利士人正准备与以色列人展开一场大战。
非利士军队在亚弗集结，列好了整齐的战斗队形。以色列人也没闲着，他们在耶斯列的泉水旁安营扎寨。
双方都在厉兵秣马，准备开战。
那么大卫呢？
此时，他正跟随非利士王亚吉的军队在一起。
大卫和他的部下跟在亚吉身后，准备一同上阵杀敌。
然而，几位非利士将领注意到了大卫。
其中一人立刻感到疑惑：
“等等！这些希伯来人怎么会在这里？”
他们随即质问亚吉：
“你为什么要带大卫来？他可是曾效力于以色列王扫罗的人啊！”
亚吉赶紧解释道：
“不必担心他。他跟随我已经有一段日子了。从他投奔我那天起，我就没发现他有什么不妥之处。他在我身边时，表现一直都很规矩。”
但非利士将领们根本不相信他的话。
他们立刻发怒道：
“把他送回去！”
“这家伙绝不能跟我们一起上战场！”
“要是带他上战场，谁知道他会耍什么花招？”
“万一他突然倒戈，为了跟旧主扫罗重修旧好，拿我们士兵的脑袋当礼物献给扫罗呢？那我们岂不是死路一条？”
他们越说，越想起大卫那响亮的名声：
“扫罗杀敌千千，大卫杀敌万万！”
“你竟然想让这样的人跟我们一起去攻打以色列人？”
“我们信不过他。”
将领们态度坚决，只有一个念头：
大卫绝对不能上战场！
亚吉见众将领都不同意，也无可奈何，便把大卫叫了过来。
亚吉对大卫说道：
“大卫，我跟你说实话吧。在我眼里，你一直是个好人。” “你跟随我已经很久了。我看着你来来去去，从未发现你有什么不妥。”
“老实说，在我眼中，你就像上帝派来的天使。”
“但是……”
“我们的将领不希望你留在这里。”
“他们说你不能随我们一同上阵杀敌。”
于是，亚吉终于对大卫说：
“你还是回去吧。”
“明天一早，天一亮，你就带着你的人离开。”
“别留在这里。”
“否则，仗还没打起来，我们自己内部可能就要先起内讧了。”
大卫听了这话，表面上显得颇为不悦。
他说道：
“我做错了什么？”
“从我投奔你那天起直到今天，请告诉我，我有什么过失？”
“为什么不让我随你们一同上战场？”
“他们究竟有什么理由不信任我？”
亚吉再次对他说：
“大卫，我知道，在我眼中你是个好人，这一点我深信不疑。”
“但这事终究行不通。”
“非利士的将领们就是不答应。你还是先回去吧。”
于是，第二天一早，大卫和他的部下便起身了。
他们离开了非利士军队，踏上了归途。
至于非利士人呢？
他们继续向耶斯列进发，准备与以色列人开战。
由此可见：
上帝一直在保守大卫。
非利士将领拒绝大卫并非出于敬畏上帝，但他们的不信任却成了上帝保护大卫的一种方式。有时，当一扇门突然关闭，并不意味着上帝不希望你在那里；这可能意味着上帝另有安排。
大卫当时并不知道第二天会发生什么。
有时候，被拒绝其实是一种保护。
有些走不通的路，未必就是失败。
有些留不住的人，未必就是损失。
有些关闭的门，未必意味着上帝不要你。
有时候，上帝预见前方有危险，便在你察觉之前，先将你带离了那里。你或许以为自己是被“打发走”了。
但也许——
是上帝在拯救你。