(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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1 Samuel 21:10–15, “And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?”
David had remained loyal to the king of Israel and had kept true to the Lord but now he found himself forced out of his own home and away from his friends. He didn’t know what to do so he went to Achish the king of Gath. He had previously beaten Goliath, the Philistine giant, who came from Gath in a battle. At this stage, David had lost hope because everything seemed to be against him and he was afraid that he would be killed if he remained anywhere in Israel. However, the courtiers and military leaders in Gath recognised David and told their king about him. David was even more afraid that he would be killed. David still had faith in the Lord and he knew that he had been anointed king over Israel but he had run out of hope. He was tired and afraid and was acting out of instinct rather than faith because he was so afraid that he would be killed. When David realised that the Philistines in Gath were talking about him he pretended to be mad so that they wouldn’t kill him. When they thought that David was mad, they sent him away because they didn’t want another madman hanging around. The attitude to people with mental illnesses was quite different in those days that it is today.
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