1 Samuel 27:1-12
1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perisha one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.
4 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.
5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?
6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
7 And the timeb 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,c 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.
10 And Achish said, Whitherd have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.
11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.
12 And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterlye to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
David's sense of his danger increased until he became almost pessimistic, and he said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul." And who can wonder at, or blame him? Long and weary indeed had been his period of suffering.
The whole story is parabolic. The anointed king was driven out by the rejected king. All this was repeated long after in the history of the one true King. The difference, however, is marked. No fear ever made the anointed One quail. He also spoke, and often, of the fact that men would kill Him, but always ended with the prophecy of His ultimate resurrection and victory. Moreover, He never crossed over to the Philistines for refuge. This David did, going to live in Gath.
From there he made occasional raids on other ancient enemies of his people, and with success. In order to hide this from those among whom he dwelt he was driven to the expedient of untruth.
When a man is in a false position no matter how strenuously he may desire to be true to divine purpose, he is inevitably in grave danger of violating some fundamental principle of his loyalty. It is impossible to see David taking refuge in Gath without feeling that he had allowed himself to lose that clear vision of God which had made him invincible against Goliath.