1 Samuel 23:1-29

Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors. ² Therefore David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. ³ And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? ⁴ Then David enquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶ And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷ And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. ⁸ And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. ⁹ And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. ¹⁰ Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. ¹² Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. ¹³ Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. ¹⁴ And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. ¹⁵ And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. ¹⁶ And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. ¹⁸ And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. ¹⁹ Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. ²¹ And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have compassion on me. ²² Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. ²³ See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. ²⁴ And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David; wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. ²⁷ But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. ²⁸ Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth. ²⁹ And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.

One thing we discover as we look at the life of David, as with the lives of others in Scripture who walked by faith, is God’s providential hand guiding them through all of life. David was far from a perfect man. There were many times when he failed to trust in the Lord as he should have, yet God consistently led him, corrected him, and molded him according to His will. After God brought Abiathar to David through the murder of the people of Nob at the hands of Saul and Doeg, we come to 1 Samuel 23 where Saul is informed of David’s whereabouts and goes down to find him. As we look at David’s life on the run from Saul in the events of 1 Samuel 23, we find that the major theme of the chapter is found in the use of the word “hand.” The word occurs nine times in the chapter referring to Saul’s hand six times (v. 7, 11-12, 14, 17, 20); David’s hand twice (v. 4, 16); and Abiathar’s hand once (v. 6). The theme of the chapter looks beyond all of their hands to God’s hand that guides everything that comes to pass. It presents God as the great provider of those who serve Him. This passage reveals to us four things that God provides for His people.

First, we learn that God provides strength for His people. In the first five verses of 1 Samuel 23, we find that, because Saul had been neglecting his duties as king of protecting the people and instead turned on his own people (the priests and people of Nob), that the Philistines rose up against the people of Keilah. Keilah was in the lowlands of Judah near the Philistine border, about eight miles NW of Hebron. Since Saul had neglected his duties as king, the people of Keilah were left helpless and David recognized that they were in need, so “David enquired of the Lord” as to whether the Lord wanted him to go and protect Keilah. After the Lord told him to go, David’s men were afraid to go, so he enquired of the Lord again. After the Lord affirmed His will and promised deliverance to David a second time, David and his band 400 plus men went to fight against the Philistines and “saved the inhabitants of Keilah.” What we learn from this is that as David acted as the anointed king that God had called him to be, he sought the Lord for help, the Lord provided strength to David and his men, and the Lord promised His presence with them. It was on that basis and on that basis alone that David and his men were victorious. Likewise, you and I must recognize that the spiritual warfare we engage in on a daily basis (whether we are aware of it or not) must be fought in the Lord’s strength and not in our own. We are to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10) by putting “on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11-18).  God has provided “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). He gives strength to His people.

Next, we learn that God provides direction for His people. One good thing that God worked through the evil actions of Doeg and Saul from 1 Samuel 22 was that their actions drove Abiathar the priest to David. David then had both a prophet (Gad) to speak to him from the Lord and a priest to inquire of the Lord for him; two things that King Saul no longer had through his own sinful actions. David would fail on multiple occasions to inquire of the Lord, but here in 1 Samuel 23:6-14 is an instance where he wisely did inquire and it was through that that God provided David direction regarding the loyalty of the people of Keilah that he and his men had just delivered. God warned him of their bad intentions and led him down to “the wilderness of Ziph.” James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” You and I have access to God through our High Priest and Mediator, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Timothy 2:5). We have also been given the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in His will (Romans 8:12-16; John 14:16). In addition, we also have the written Word of God that is sufficient to equip us to every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is through His Spirit leading according to His Word that God directs us today. As David reflected in Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Will we seek God’s direction? Will we follow it?

Thirdly, we learn that God provides encouragement for His people. One of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is those that God has surrounded us with in the body of Christ. God provides encouragement through a variety of means in our lives: His Spirit dwelling in us, His Word, and sometimes through circumstances. However, he often uses others to come alongside us and give us what we need at just the right time. In 1 Samuel 23:15-18, we see the final interaction between David and Jonathan recorded for us in Scripture. Jonathan was able to find David during his time in the wilderness of Ziph while he was on the run from Saul. Verse 16 tells us that Jonathan “strengthened his hand in God.” What does that mean? Verses 17-18 tell us. First, Jonathan reassured David of God’s promises. He reminded David that he would surely one day be king and that Saul’s hunting of David was because of that reality. He put David’s circumstances in light of God’s promises. Secondly, David and Jonathan made a covenant together before the Lord. Exactly what was stipulated this time we don’t know, but it was most definitely in connection to the promise Jonathan had just reminded David of. It was Jonathan promising loyalty to the will of God being lived out in David’s life. True encouragement from God’s people today does not come from us sharing how we accomplished something or got ourselves through a difficult time. That is strengthening people in ourselves, not the Lord. Instead, true Christian encouragement is first reminding and situating the circumstances and troubles of life in light of God’s revealed will, His Word. Second, it is promising loyalty to one another to see God’s will fulfilled and lived out in each other’s lives. That means that true encouragement is obedience and pushing one another to act in accordance with God’s will, according to faith and not according to how we feel. Hebrews 10:24 tells us, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” and Hebrews 3:13 says, “exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” God uses others to encourage us as we serve Him. Are we an encouragement? Do we listen to those He has providentially put into our lives to help us (see Ephesians 4:11-16)?

Lastly, we learn that God provides protection for His people. The Ziphites proved themselves no better than the people of Keilah. The Ziphites, to prove their loyalty to Saul and possibly gain from helping Saul, informed Saul in Gibeah of David’s whereabouts. Saul pursued David to the wilderness of Ziph and then followed David when David fled to Maon. Saul came very close to catching David when there was a point where David and his men were on one side of a mountain and Saul and his men were on the other (v. 26), but God providentially intervened through Israel’s enemies the Philistines. Saul received word when David was within his grasp that the Philistines had “invaded the land” (v. 27). Because of God’s deliverance here, the place was called “Selahmmahlekoth” which means “Rock of Escape.” It literally means “Rock of Slipping,” as in “slipping away” because it was there that God delivered David from Saul. There are times when you and I feel cornered. Perhaps it’s temptation, trouble, opposition, etc., but in those times where we seem like obedience is impossible to us and our strength, God provides a way. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” David would write in Psalm 54 regarding the treachery of the Ziphites, “Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul… For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies” (Psalm 54:4, 7).We are not exempt from trouble, opposition, or temptations in this life, but we have the promise that God will preserve us through it all. Do we trust in Him? Will we be faithful and obedient through those trials?

The purpose of 1 Samuel 23, other than telling us the story of God’s provision for David on the run from Saul, is to teach us that God is sufficient for all that we may encounter in this life of serving Him. He “hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). He provides strength, direction, encouragement, and protection for His people. The struggle is, will we trust in ourselves and what we can do, or will we inquire of Him, trust in Him, and obey Him?