DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- TO FLEE OR NOT TO FLEE

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – TO FLEE OR NOT TO FLEE

"So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped" (I Samuel 19:12); "Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah...." (20:1); "Now David came to Nob" (21:1); "Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul...." (I Samuel 21:10)

What's going on here? Not long before, David had stood up to the giant Goliath with unflinching fear. Now he is running for his life. Am I missing something?

Saul had determined to kill David because he was jealous of the praise the people were giving David. When Saul heard his subjects singing, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands," it must have been like a stab in his ego.

Saul had tried to kill David once before. One time as David was playing music for Saul, "Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night" (19:10).

Was David afraid of Saul or was something else going on? When is it proper to flee and when is it necessary to stand our ground?

The Apostle Paul faced this same scenario. The Jewish leaders were plotting to kill him, but the believers took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket, and he escaped (Acts 9:23-25; II Corinthians 11:32-33).

Even the Lord Jesus faced this question. "Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand," (John 10:39). Jesus knew that it was not His time to die.

I think the answer is that there is a time to stand and a time to flee. It takes discernment to know how to respond. There are times when we must take a stand for truth and godly principles. But there are other times when we need to back off and avoid the confrontation. As the old saying goes, "Choose your battles wisely." There are some things that are not worth dying for, or at least not at that time. But there are other times when we must be bold to stand for truth, regardless of the outcome. May God help us to know the difference.

Love, Dad