This is a tragic chapter. The enemies of Israel had invaded the land. God  provided a deliverer - King David. However, rather than channelling their energies against their enemies - the Children of Israel are fighting ... each other. All the while, what must the Philistines be thinking? Any time the arm of the flesh is flexed, self takes priority - and the results are ugly. This passage teaches us the true depravity of the human heart and makes us long for the Messiah was died to forgive us and to change from the inside out.