When You Fight Your Friend

It is an ancient maxim of warfare that if you are going to have victory, you must divide and conquer. Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese general, advocated this thousands of years ago. Napoleon used divide and conquer. General Joshua among the Israelites used divide and conquer. God Himself often would not just diminish an opposing army; He would turn the army against itself. In other words, He would divide and conquer. In my own hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee there was a battle during the Civil War where there were men from Kentucky on both sides, shooting at each other. They were divided. They were confused. It was a civil war.

In I Samuel 27 and 28 you have two men who both belonged to Israel and God, but who acted as if they were enemies. I am talking about David and Saul. Saul was the one at fault because he was pursing David when David had done nothing amiss. In response I Samuel 27:1 says, “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines.” He had escaped to Philistia once before and literally taken the sword of Goliath with him. So, because Saul pursued David as an enemy, David sought refuge with the enemy.

David sought the Philistines. Saul sought a witch. I Samuel 28:6 says, “And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not.” Saul had outlawed witches in the land, but he was relegated to seeking help from one to get guidance from Samuel who was dead. It is ironic that Saul ignored God’s word through Samuel when he was alive, but now was desperately seeking the word of Samuel when Samuel was dead. What we can learn from all this is that when you fight your friend, you aid your enemy.

I talked to our summer staff this morning at the Bill Rice Ranch. Some of them are working in the stable, the dining hall, the cabins, and so on. I told them they would be tempted to be irritated with those around them, especially if they haven’t often been around people who are not their family or church. They may be good people and love the Lord, but they are going to be irritated with others at times and tempted to think that they are the enemy when they are not. Let me apply this to your home church. Not everyone in your church is just like you. There are going to be people who are going to irritate you, but let me remind you that when you fight your friend, you aid your enemy.

First, you misuse your energy. When Saul had pursued David before, messengers came to Saul and said, “Hey, you better stop chasing David because the Philistines have attacked the land.” Because Saul treated David like he was an enemy, the actual enemy attacked Saul. In I Samuel 28 David was compelled to fight his own people because Achish, the king of Gath, said, “Come with me and fight against Israel.” David replied with a coy answer. He didn’t say he would or wouldn’t fight with him, but said, “Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do.” He did give an answer, but both David and Saul were misusing their energy because they were fighting as if they were enemies, but they weren’t.

Secondly, you half your resources. I Samuel 28:5 says, “And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart was greatly trembled.” Saul was missing hundreds and hundreds of soldiers that would have been on his side had he not been chasing them. David could have helped. There was a day when David fought with Saul against the Philistines. Now he was with the king of Gath and being urged to fight against Israel, which he did not do. Nonetheless, you half your resources when you fight your friend.

Third, you confuse people. Both David and Saul were dishonest. In I Samuel 27 David was taking raids against the enemies of Israel and then claiming to the king of Gath that he was fighting Judah and Israel when he went out on these forays. He lied. He said he was going against Israel when he was not. In I Samuel 28 Saul had outlawed this witch he had sought, yet he was desperate, so he sought her help in bringing up Samuel from the dead. When she discovered the truth “she cried with a loud voice…saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.”

Both the witch and the king were deceived because both David and Saul had deceived them. Your enemy is not flesh and blood. It is not the people of your church. Consult God when you can. There was a time when Saul could have consulted God, but he ignored God’s leading, so God no longer answered. As for David’s part, I Samuel 27 says that David thought he was going to perish, so he would be better to go with the Philistines. Saul consulted a witch; David consulted himself. Both lost out because they were missing the help God could have given by providing direct guidance and by the mutual help they could find in each other.

You have everything you need to do what you need to do today. Don’t misuse your energy. Don’t half your resources. Don’t confuse people. When you fight your friend, you aid your enemy. There is a better way to live.