1 Samuel 27: 6-7
So on that day Achish gave him
Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. David
lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.
Ziklag? Really David? Sixteen months living in a town given
to him by a Philistine king. What a detour living with the enemy. David’s life
and story is so long, so deep, so complex, and so inspiring that the bible
details his biography in four separate books. David is a giant in the Old
Testament, he is held up as a great warrior – king – poet. A self-made man that
rose from the obscurity of a shepherd, to one of the richest most powerful men
in the world. On top of all that, the bible says David was a man after God’s
own heart. So, what was he doing in Ziklag?
Life is not a straight line, even with God’s blessing. David was anointed to be the next king of Israel by Samuel, the problem was there was a current king, Saul. The waiting for God’s promises to be realized in life can be long and painful. The waiting gives ample time for a detour. Everyone has a Ziklag, everyone has a time in life which they have knowing wandered off and ended up far from the promised land. In these times, we must repent in the truest since of the word.
To repent, in a literal since, is to turn.
As we wonder through Ziklag, at some point we must yield to the internal call of the Lord and turn around.
In the end, the Lord redeems the time in Ziklag (it has
belonged to the kings of Judah ever since). The lost 16 months of David’s life
living with the enemy resulted in an increase in land for God’s kingdom. The
times we spend in our own detour is not lost to God. It is often these painful
and selfish times the Lord redeems into forged character and impact on the
lives of others.
Stop and turn. Whether you wandered or ran far from God, now
is the time to turn. Let your heart turn to the Father whose arms are always
open and waiting to embrace.