1 Samuel 29:6

4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, ^a“Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to ^bbattle, lest ^cin the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these ^dmen?

5 Is this not David, ^aof whom they sang to one another in dances, saying:
^b‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and ^ayour going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day ^bI have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you.

7 Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight ^aas an angel of God; nevertheless ^bthe princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’

10 Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants ^awho have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. ^aAnd the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does 1 Samuel 29:6 Mean?

1 Samuel 29:1-7

In verse 4, the word "reconcile" is ratsah, meaning "to be pleased with, to accept, to favor, to satisfy." The Philistine princes themselves specified what David would have to do to be acceptable to Saul, to regain his favor: He would have to change sides in the middle of the battle. Once he did that, he and his men could slay a large number of the Philistines in a kind of sacrifice to Saul—to show Saul that he, David, was on his side and therefore should be accepted.

So, David would have to make a sacrifice. He would 1) have to turn traitor, 2) have to slay a lot of Philistines, and 3) have to put his own life on the line. In reality, if he would have done this, he would have made himself unacceptable to either side! He would have sacrificed just about everything. This was one reconciliation that David did not want to do! Even though he argued a little bit with Achish to reinforce his cover, saying, "I don't want to return. I want to stay here with you," he and his men went back to the land of the Philistines and did not fight in that battle.

Even in a case like this, some sort of sacrifice would have to be made to bring about reconciliation. Sometimes the sacrifice that is made has consequences itself. We have to make sure that the sacrifice that we make to reconcile with another will not put us into deeper water with God. So when we consider reconciliation, we must think deeply about it; it is not something we should do carelessly or automatically. We must really take the matter to heart to understand fully what we are doing. We have to try to predict what will happen as a result, so that it does not cause greater problems down the road. Reconciliation is not an easy subject and often not easy to do.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Cost of Reconciliation

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What Does 1 Samuel 29:6 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

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