1 Samuel 23

1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”

4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10David said, “LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”

And the LORD said, “He will.”

12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”

And the LORD said, “They will.”

13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18 The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20 Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.”

21 Saul replied, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me. 22 Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth. 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

Points of Interest

• ‘the Philistines are fighting against Keilah’--Keilah is a border town between Israelite and Philistine territory; so it may have been in frequent contention (Walton et. al). The Philistines are taking advantage of Saul’s distraction to gain some ground in their constant back-and-forth war with the Israelites. As king, Saul should be protecting his people against the Philistines; instead, he’s putting all of his efforts into destroying the person who has historically most helped him do so.
• ‘How much more, then, if we go to Keilah’--David’s outlaw band has had to be careful and lay low to avoid being discovered by Saul’s forces. They’ve been successful in Judah, David’s homeland, where they are among sympathetic people and in the places most familiar to most of them. They’re the typical guerrilla force, able to melt into the population or the landscape at the first sign of trouble. David is now wondering whether or not they should engage in a pitched battle to rescue Keilah. This idea makes his men nervous, not so much because they’re afraid of fighting the Philistines as because now Saul will know exactly where to find them.
• ‘Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him’--all priests wore ephods; thus, in yesterday’s passage, the author uses ‘men who wore the linen ephod’ as a synonym for ‘priest.’ But this isn’t just any old ephod but the ephod, apparently a particularly important and holy relic, probably even the original ephod of the first high priest Aaron, from the time of Moses, 400 years before. I think the author mentions it here because it is in some way instrumental in making inquiries of the Lord. At this time, speaking to and hearing from God is mostly considered a special skill, the realm of prophets and priests. Even with the priests, having the right equipment matters. In our story so far, we’ve occasionally seen things break out of these strict bounds, with Saul and his men inspired to prophesy; but apparently that’s a rare occurrence, so rare that it provokes the surprised comment, ‘What? Is Saul a prophet now?’ So, in his conversation with God, David uses the ephod-wearing Abiathar as a middleman. Abiathar would use these mysterious objects called ‘the Urim and the Thummim,’ which were some sort of accessory to the high priestly uniform, to receive guidance from God. We don’t know exactly how the Urim and the Thummim worked, but it’s worth noting that whenever David asks for direction from God, he presents two binary options (‘Should we stay or go?’ ‘Will Saul come or not?’ ‘Will they betray us or not?’); so probably there was some way in which it would ‘come up’ Urim or Thummim, like flipping a coin. Urim, for example, might mean help Keilah, but Thummim would mean stay hidden.
• ‘to go down to Keilah to besiege David’--again, we see that Saul is neglecting his kingly duties. When Keilah was being besieged by the Philistines, he couldn’t be bothered to go to help. Now that the town is safe, he suddenly springs to action, to besiege the town himself and capture David. Saul is actually attacking one of his own loyal towns. This puts David into a very difficult position. He is doing Saul’s job for him, while at the same time making sure that he himself doesn’t get captured by Saul.
• ‘Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?’--this is harsh. David has just rescued them, and the ungrateful citizenry turn right around and plan to hand him over to Saul. This is certainly a cowardly act, and yet you can understand why they do it. When Nob showed friendliness to David, Saul wiped the whole place out.
• ‘about six hundred in number’--the size of David’s forces continues to grow. After this major battle and the risky move of coming out of cover, rather than losing men to wounds or desertion, he actually has a 50% larger army.
• ‘Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh’-- Saul is running all around the desert following every false lead, trying in vain to track David down, with Jonathan quietly at his side. It turns out that Jonathan knows all along exactly how to find David. But he only uses his information when he thinks David might need him, not when his father wants it. Jonathan is the opposite of the people of Keilah.
• ‘You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you’--I bet being king of Israel seems pretty far away for David right now. Not so long ago, he was pretending to be a madman among the Philistines, and even now he and his band are constantly on the run. Jonathan, the one person in the world who stands to lose the most--in one way of looking at things--if David does become king, goes out of his way to encourage David. Jonathan believes God’s promises to David and looks forward to them coming true. He reminds David that the same God who rescued him from the lion and the bear and the Philistine giant will also rescue him from Saul.
• ‘Even my father Saul knows this’--Jonathan knows that while Saul looks unstoppably powerful he’s actually desperately afraid.
• ‘The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah’--Gibeah is Saul’s capital. The people of Keilah may succumb to Saul’s threats, but the Ziphites go out of their way to inform on David. They’re making the most of the situation to curry favor with the king.
• ‘Saul broke off his pursuit of David’--apparently this is such a big attack that even Saul, obsessed as he is by pursuing David, can’t ignore it.
• ‘That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth’--that is, ‘Rock of Escape’ or ‘Rock of Parting.’

Taking it home

• For you: Having first listened to God’s instruction to save Keilah, David later follows up with God, at which point he gets the useful information that the citizens of Keilah will nonetheless hand him over. Multiple check-ins with God seem to be the key to God’s guidance being truly helpful to David. What’s the last thing you felt like you heard from God? Spend some time today checking back in with God about that. Ask what his next set of instructions would be for you.
• For your six: Pray that your six would develop a vibrant relationship with God where they are regularly checking in with him. Ask your six if they ever pray and if they ever feel like they have heard anything from God.
• For our church: Saul’s squanders so much of his talent, potential, and influence because he is distracted by chasing David. Ask God to protect our church from being distracted and chasing things that will only lead us off course. Ask God to help us focus our time and energy on the things God has for us.
• For families: Spend more time talking about what God has called you to as a family. Pray together and ask God for more details: what does it look like? what is our role? what is really important? where do you start? It is okay to ask God to repeat what he said so you can make sure you heard right. Make a picture, poster, or list of the things God confirms so everyone in the family can see them.