Based on 1 Samuel 29 (New King James Version)
“Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. Then the princes of the Philistines said, ‘What are these Hebrews doing here?’ And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, ‘Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.’ But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, ‘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 battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?’ Then Achish called David and said to him, ‘Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.’ 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?’ Then Achish answered and said to David, ‘I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.’ So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.”
We can see in this passage that when a person loves the Lord, and lives according to that decision, God makes even his enemies be at peace with that person. As background, David had serious problems with King Saul, not because he had sinned against Saul, but because Saul had a serious problem of rebellion against God. And Saul was so rebellious against God that he even saw his servant David as an enemy and persecuted him as such. And David was forced, to save his life, to go to the land of the Philistines. David had to leave his home and his people for whom he had fought for years and live with the enemies of Israel due to the rebellion and madness of a man who did not fear God, nor did he want to honor him as such, the same God who had given him life and made him the first king of Israel.
And how can we see such peace that God gave David with the Philistines, bitter enemies of Israel (the same ones that Israel has today, because everything has its origin)? By David fleeing to be with Achish, a Philistine king, it would have been very easy for Achish to have killed David and all his men, because David had killed thousands of the Philistines in battle when he fought for Israel and Saul. But, even though Achish was a Philistine, he was a man who feared the Lord at the very least. And even though he was an enemy, he respected David and gave him refuge in his time of need. God had given David such peace that he was able to live in peace among the Philistines until his time to return to Israel was fulfilled. How can this be? David did not fight against the Philistines for pleasure, nor for his own glory, nor for any human reason, but because he wanted to please God. Whether you understand it or not (although today we can see why God commanded certain things to be done back then), it was God's will for Israel to fight against the Philistines. And although the Philistines were not God-fearing at that time, God made them reason that David had finally done his duty to his nation, and even in those wars, David did it justly and rightly, soldier against soldier, sword against the sword, and not with the cowardice of attacking women, the elderly, and children by surprise as the descendants of these Philistines (Hamas) did on October 7 of this same year. I believe that if King Achish were alive today, he too would seek to put an end to such who act with such cowardice and abomination. Nonetheless, although David was not perfect, but because his heart was with God, and he loved him, as a result, God gave him peace, even with his enemies. This is what the Word of God says: “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Proverbs 16:7. God’s counsel is perfect. If we do as God commands, with an upright heart, the Lord can also do the same for us today. God can also give you peace even with your enemies.
Now, there is only one exception where we may have peace with everyone, even when we are seeking to please God, and that is when we have to deal with people who are in rebellion against God, like the example we saw between David and Saul. Saul had no reason to seek David's life. David had been very faithful and never did Saul any harm. But Saul had such rebellion against God that that same rebellion ended his life. This is what the Word says, as an explanation of why we can have problems with other people: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12-13. When there are people that simply have a severe problem with God, they can rise up against us because they are influenced by spiritual evil, even when we are doing everything possible to be well with the Lord. And this is how God counsel’s us: “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For ‘He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’ And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.’ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:8-18. Finally, that is why we must have good works as a fruit of our love for the Lord, because everything we do has a consequence, for eternal good if we choose to do the will of God, although we may have momentary affliction for that now, or for worse if we do not choose to love the Lord and honor him with our actions. So, are you seeking to love the Lord and do as He commands? Lord bless! John. Support Israel. Pray for Israel. God will bless those that bless Israel.