When “Crazy” Works


1 Samuel 21:10-15
10And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” 12And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

Having been driven from his homeland by Saul’s murderous threats, David runs to an interesting place. He runs to Gath, one of the five cities of the Philistines. It hasn’t been all that long since he defeated the hero of the Philistines, Goliath, so the memory of that event lives on in the minds of these people. But remaining in Israel is not a good option, so into enemy territory he goes.

The Philistines are familiar with David. His reputation proceeds him. They know of the heroic songs Israel sings of David which means he will not be able to remain anonymous. So he comes up with a different plan; he feigns insanity. It’s a calculated risk. He stays in the city gates, so that everyone can see him, makes “marks on the doors” (which means he peed on the city gates) and allows spit to run down his beard. These actions get back to Achish, the ruler of Gath and his response is almost comical. “Don’t I have enough crazy people of my own?” And with that, Achish ignores David. He is safe for the moment. You have to admire the outcome of these actions. The Philistines decide not to care about David’s presence, and he is, for the moment, safe from Saul. I love the non-violent plan David employs at this time.

I think what strikes me here is the creativity David uses to solve a big problem. This label of “insane” allows him the freedom to move about and bit of a breather from the threats on his life. It seems a small price to pay for his security. How often do we take the time to engage our creativity to solve a problem? Running into enemy territory seemed like a dumb idea, and yet a little creative thinking leads to a break from the threats on his life. And this may seem a bit out there, but I have asked God for some good ideas on more than one occasion. He is a God of infinite creativity. Take a look around at this incredible planet He has given us to live on and you will see that He will never run out of ideas. I am absolutely certain that all of my best ideas were not born in my mind, but in His. It may seem like a little thing, but allowing God to move with His ideas is really exciting and fun. His capacity to create is infinite and I’m grateful He allows me to share in that characteristic.

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