Have you ever had to live in enemy territory? Maybe you just feel like it. When you read this text on the future King David living among the Philistines, don't moralize the text, which would remove mercy and God's sovereignty from the story. Also, don't secularize it, which would honor how smart and brave David was being and trivialize God. Instead, let the text stand with you and teach your life about how one might live among those whom disagree, because we all live in Ziklag. We all live in this world and as Christians that means we live both among the enemy and as an outpost of our Lord.
So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy. [1 Peter 1:13-16]