1 Sa. 27: David the Philistine

1 Samuel 27:8 "Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)"

I guess what's most amazing about chapter 28 is that David still attacks Israel's enemies, using his band of merry men, in spite of not being in the employ of Israel. He can't stay in Israel, because he realizes that Saul will continue to pursue him. He moves to Gath, under the kingship of Achish. Who David duped into believing he was insane. But he wasn't. And if Achish can be fooled once, he can be fooled again. David spends his time (16 months) in Ziklag (the territory Achish gave him) raiding and annihilating the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites.

Friends of Gath. But he tells Achish that he is fighting Israelite settlements. This allowed him to live in peace in enemy territory. Achish was even of the understanding that David was a traitor to his people, and counted on David being his servant forever.

I think it's kind of ballsy to go back to Achish after the insanity ruse. Either Achish was just that gullible, or Achish forgot about it, or let it slide in order to have David on his side.

I don't want to leave out how Saul stopped pursuing David. And I don't believe it was because Saul leveled with David in the previous chapter. With David out of the country, Saul was able to be rid of David without killing him, which would have been a PR blunder of Biblical proportions, given David's popularity and legend. Saul also had to take care of his country, lest his approval rating plummet.