David was caused to feel that he had missed his path. Far better would it have been for him to find refuge in God's strong fortresses of the mountains than with the avowed enemies of Jehovah and His people. But the Lord in His great mercy did not punish this error of His servant by leaving him to himself in his distress and perplexity; for though David, losing his grasp on divine power, had faltered and turned aside from the path of strict integrity, it was still the purpose of his heart to be true to God. While Satan and his host were busy helping the adversaries of God and of Israel to plan against a king who had forsaken God, and the angels of the Lord were working to deliver David from the peril into which he had fallen. Heavenly messengers moved upon the Philistine princes to protest against the presence of David and his force with the army in the approaching conflict. 691

David følte jorden brænde under sig. Han havde gjort langt klogere i at søge tilflugt i Guds stærke bjergfæstninger end at gå over til Herrens og hans folks fjender. Men i sin store nåde straffede Herren ikke sin tjeners fejl ved at lade ham i stikken i hans store dilemma, for skønt David havde mistet sit tag i Gud og havde forladt retfærdighedens slagne vej, ønskede han stadig inderst inde at være tro imod Gud. Mens Satan og hans hær havde travlt med at hjælpe Guds og Israels fjender med at bekæmpe en konge, der havde forkastet Gud, arbejdede Herrens engle på at redde David ud af den fare, han befandt sig i. Himmelske sendebud tilskyndende filisternes høvdinger til at protestere imod, at David og hans mænd drog med hæren i kamp.