Have you ever been betrayed? Maybe you gave your heart to a special someone, only to find that him or her cheating on you. Or maybe a co-worker told lies about you to your boss, in order to get a promotion that you deserved. Or maybe, when you became the victim of old-fashioned gossip, the friends that you thought would stand up for you instead repeated something that just wasn’t true.

David would understand. He was hiding out from King Saul near the town of Ziph, about 5 miles south of Hebron in the Judean hill country. But even though David hadn’t done anything to provoke Saul’s wrath, and even though Saul thus had no good reason to accuse him of treason, the people of Ziph ratted David out, promising to “surrender him into the king’s hand” (verse 20). And so David was once again on the run, traveling even farther to the south, with Saul in hot pursuit.

So, what do you do when you find yourself betrayed? Do you rely on your Christian friends to lift your spirits? David certainly could have done that. In fact, Saul’s own son Jonathan proclaimed that, regardless of his father’s murderous plans, David would one day be the king of Israel. Moreover, Jonathan essentially renounced his own claim to the throne, affirming instead his loyalty to David (verse 17). Such selfless friends are hard to find, and are truly encouraging to us, especially when we are under attack.

But it wasn’t Jonathan that saved David from Saul, was it? No, ironically enough, it was the Philistines. By attacking another part of the Israelites’ territory, they forced Saul to abandon his pursuit of David, even though he was closing in on him (verses 27-28). Thus, it wasn’t the actions of David’s friends, but the sovereign providence of the Almighty God that made sure David escaped from his mortal enemy.

And didn’t God do the same sort of thing during the ministry of the Son of David? For Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest disciples when Judas identified Him with a kiss. And that betrayal led directly to Jesus’ death. But it wasn’t Jesus’ friends who came to His aid. Instead, the Father raised Him from the dead on the third day, transforming what appeared to be the worst of defeats into the greatest of victories. Yes, all that Jesus’ enemies were able to do was to implement the perfect plans of God.

And the same thing is true for all who trust in Christ. For no matter how we may be betrayed, and no matter how powerless our friends may be to put a stop to our suffering, God continues to be in control of all the circumstances of our lives, working all things together for our good and for His glory, in order to mold us more and more into the likeness of the One Whose death led to our new life (Romans 8:28-29). May we trust in His plans for us today.

I Samuel 23:15-29 (NASB)

15 Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.
16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.
17 Thus he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father shall not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.”
18 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house.
19 Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?
20 “Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”
21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD; for you have had compassion on me.
22 “Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.
23 “So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall come about if he is in the land that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
24 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.
25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.
26 And Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them.
27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.”
28 So Saul returned from pursuing David, and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape.
29 And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.