I Samuel 23:1-29
When David Livingstone, the missionary pioneer,
was working in Africa, some friends wrote: “We
would like to send other men to you. Have you
found a good road into your area yet?”
Livingstone wrote back: “If you have men who will
only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t
want them. I want men who will come if there is no
road at all.” (In Reader’s Digest [8/89], p. 143.)
By way of contrast, a cartoon in Leadership (Summer,
1988, p. 81) poked fun at the low level of commitment
required in many modern churches. It pictured a
church building with a sign in front which read,
“The LITE CHURCH: 24% fewer commitments,
home of the 7.5% tithe, 15 minute sermons, 45
minute worship services; we have only 8
commandments–your choice. We use just 3
spiritual laws and have an 800 year millennium.
Everything you’ve wanted in a church … and less!”
Today we see David on the run once more.
Last week we saw how Saul dealt with conflict man’s way.
Today we are going to see David handle conflict God’s
way.
I Samuel 23:1-5
David’s Faith: Prayer and Obedience
Notice David’s heart for others here.
He’s on the run, hiding from Saul who wants nothing
more than to kill him, but he hears of the misfortune of
Keilah and seeks God’s guidance.
David prays and asks God if he should attack the
Philistines and God answers in the affirmative.
Church, when we are faced with a difficult situation, we
should respond like David in prayer.
Prayer should be our first option, not our last
resort!
Isn’t it interesting that we don’t read anything about Saul
praying?
Next, David’s band of misfits admit their fear to David.
They think it’s bad enough to be in Judah, but to go to
another city and fight the Philistines doesn’t seem like
the safest thing to do.
But God doesn’t always call us to the safest options, He
calls us to obedience.
Nevertheless, David prays again asking for God’s
guidance.
The Lord tells David to get up and go attack the
Philistines and God assures David that He will give them
into his hand.
We also see David’s obedience because he takes his men
and fights with the Philistines. God keeps His promise to
deliver them into his hand. God used David’s obedience
to rescue Keilah.
Obedience is a result of faith.
I Samuel 23:6-14
Remember Abiathar from the last chapter. He was the
son of Ahimelech who escaped Saul’s murderous
rampage.
Abiathar was a priest and he brought an ephod with him
when he found David to tell him what happened to his
family and the 85 priests.
Saul is Outside of God’s Will
Saul heard that David was in Keilah; he credits God with
delivering David into his hand, but this isn’t really true.
Saul isn’t seeking God’s will, he is singularly focused on
killing David. Remember the spirit of the Lord had
departed from Saul from the time that the spirit came
upon David when he was anointed as the future king.
One commentator wrote, “If you are out of the will of God, you are ignorant to the ways of God.”
So Saul summons his men to go down to besiege David
and his men.
David’s Continued Prayer for God’s Guidance
David learns that Saul is coming to destroy Keilah and
David so he again prays to the Lord for direction.
David asks God two questions.
Will the men of Keilah surrender me to Saul?
Will Saul come down?
God answers the second question first, Saul will come
down.
David repeats the first question again.
God tells him that the people of Keilah will in fact
surrender David.
This is just absurd isn’t it?
David has just protected them from the Philistines and
they are going to betray him and hand him over to Saul.
Before Saul could get there David escaped from Keilah
and when Saul heard that David was no longer there he
gave up his search.
Verse 14 is the focal point of this whole chapter.
Saul sought David every day, but God did not give him
into his hand.
God had chosen David to be the next king of Israel,
nothing can change that.
When God ordains something, no one can change it, no
matter how hard they try.
I Samuel 23:15-18
Jonathan Encourages David
David escaped Keilah to the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.
While he was there Jonathan, Saul’s son, came to David
and strengthened his hand in God.
This is another way of saying that Jonathan encouraged
David.
One commentator called Jonathan the Barnabas of the
Old Testament.
He encourages David that God has chosen him to be the
next king of Israel. He reminds David that Saul also
knows this.
Remember what Samuel told Saul in chapter 15?
“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you
this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours,
who is better than you.”
I Samuel 15:28
It’s good for believers to encourage our brothers and
sisters in Christ. We should point them to God’s promises
and the truth of His word.
You never know when your words can make a difference
in someone’s life.
The Bible says that Jonathan and David made a covenant
before the Lord. This is likely a renewal of the covenant
that they made back in chapter 18.
Sadly this is the last time David and Jonathan will see
each other.
I Samuel 23:19-24a
Ziphites Betray David to Saul
David is hiding out in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.
These folks are from the same tribe as David – the tribe
of Judah.
But they are anything but loyal to David.
Once they realize he is there they run straight to Saul
and tell him of David’s whereabouts.
Very specific details including the hill that David is
camped out on.
And they promise to hand deliver David to Saul if he
would come to Ziph.
Saul’s words are full of hypocrisy as he pronounces a
blessing of the ones who would betray the man after
God’s own heart.
The spirit has left Saul and he isn’t even seeking God’s
direction in prayer. He’s seeking his own desires.
Saul is also filled with distrust.
Rather than take the word of the Ziphites, he encourages
them to go back and make double sure exactly where
David is because he knows how slippery he is and he
doesn’t want to miss him again.
I Samuel 23:24b-29
God Protects David from Saul
Now, David has moved on from the wilderness of Ziph to
the wilderness of Maon, south of Jeshimon.
The Bible tells us that Saul and his men are on one side
of the mountain and David and his men are on the other
side of the mountain.
David is trying to get away from Saul, and getting very
close to capturing David.
Before Saul can accomplish his goal, God intervenes and
sends the Philistines to attach Saul’s land. A messenger
comes and delivers the news to Saul.
Saul chose to leave David and turn his attention to the
Philistines.
This was God’s providence once more because God had
chosen David to be the next King and Saul was not going
to change that.
God always keeps His promises.
APPLICATION
This chapter teaches us the importance of faithful prayer.
It also teaches us about encouragement.
Remain Faithful in Prayer
Saul neglected prayer, but David sought the Lord
consistently in this chapter.
We can learn from David’s example of going to the throne
of grace with confidence.
Encourage Others in their Trials
We must not underestimate the power of encouragement.
Think about how much that encouraging word means to
you when you are struggling.
Let’s be the body of Christ and encourage one another.