Unfinished Business

1 Samuel 27:7-9 (7) And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. (8) And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. (9) And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. In this chapter we see David fleeing to the land of the Philistines for refuge (1SAM 27:1) and the propriety of this decision is somewhat in question since faith is by the word of God (ROM 10:17) and the word of God to David earlier concerning his security was that he should be in Judah (1SAM 22:5). At other times he inquired of the LORD concerning such decisions (1SAM 23:2; 1SAM 23:9-12; 1SAM 30:7-8) but we read of no such inquiry here. This at least suggests a fault on David's part. It was later said concerning the prophets of old that "...holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2PE 1:21) but it seems that here a holy man of God moved when the Holy Ghost spake not. So it is that the Spirit chose to record both the saints' polish and their pimples, their gloss and their dross, that we might be inspired by the former and admonished by the latter. Now there was a certain amount of subtilty about David's sojourn amongst the Philistines for he used the city given him of the Philistine king (Ziklag, 1SAM 27:5-6) as a base of operations to take care of some unfinished business of the LORD. Amalek had long ago for wickedness been marked for elimination (EXO 17:14-16) and Saul had been given a charge to do so (1SAM 15:1-3) but obviously did not so. David intended to complete the work that Saul had started. So it is that sometimes in kingdom ventures that men were sent forth to complete what others did not or could not: "...other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours" (JOH 4:38). Thus, John the Baptist came and ran his course well, preaching, "...Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (MAT 3:1-2) while knowing that he was only a warm-up act for Jesus Christ (JOH 3:28-30) Who would pick up John's dropped torch, preach the same kingdom message (MAR 1:14-15) and triumphantly set that kingdom up (MAT 16:17-19 c/w HEB 12:28). Saul's inadequate destruction of the church's enemy against David's satisfactory performance sets forth an interesting parallel with the Law and Christ. Saul minded too much the things of the flesh; David was much more after the Spirit. So too, "...what the law could not do because it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (ROM 8:3-4).