Living in Ziklag - Part 3 - Daily Darkness

By John Dubois - January 02, 2012

I’ve come to regard the phrase “Living in Ziklag” as a symbolic reference to living a dark and deceptive two-faced life.  What was it like to live there?

David was living the life of a double agent.  He pretended to be loyal to Achish, the king of the Philistines, but he was still loyal to his own people.  So, he led his men in attacks on neighboring peoples - some maybe allies, some maybe enemies.  After each attack, he returned to Achish and he lied and told him that he had attacked the regions of Israel.  The plunder from the attacks was evident, and such drastic actions were persuasive, so Achish trusted David, concluding that David had truly made himself an enemy of his own people.  It was an effective strategy - militarily speaking.  Perhaps it was even justifiable, the other nations where enemies as well, and deception is permitted as an act of war.  Perhaps.

But, all of this conquest and deception came at a price.  1 Samuel 27:11 says that David feared that his victims might inform on him.  So, he never “left man or woman alive”.  There is every indication that this included the children as well.  He killed everyone, and the text tells us that this was his practice “as long as he lived in Philistine territory.” - as long as he lived in Ziklag.

I propose that the text is telling us that this was not otherwise his military practice.  He was not normally a warrior who so ruthlessly killed every one.  Regardless, the memories of this kind of collateral damage are the most difficult for warriors to deal with.  Surely David and his men accumulated numerous images -  memories of innocents begging for mercy and life, but David could not afford to risk any mercy at all.

The point is, living a deceptive life comes at a much higher cost than expected.  And, there’s lots of collateral damage.  People all around us - innocent people - get hurt and get hurt bad. 

It’s awful living in Ziklag, and the price we pay is great.