Bible reading for September 3. I Samuel 27. "So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day." (1 Samuel 27:6) REFUGE AT ZIKLAG. For about a year and a half David takes refuge with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. Saul ceases his pursuit of David, and Achish figures that David is now an enemy of Israel. There is deception on David's part, and his alliance with Achish will soon cause a dilemma for the Philistines in an upcoming battle. David's actions here seem dubious at best. Note: not all actions in the Bible, even by normally "good" characters, are commended to us for imitation. Sometimes the biblical narrative is presented without comment on the rightness or wrongness of actions by the characters. A good rule of interpretation is -- no example of Scripture is normative (that is, we ought to imitate it) unless it is accompanied by a biblical command. The story of David among the Philisti...