The Life and Times of

David Rescues Keilah (23:1-14)

1 Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are plundering the threshing floors.” 2 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and deliver Keilah.” 3 But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7 When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.” 8 So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Thy servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. 11 “Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down just as Thy servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Thy servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. 14 And David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

David’s servants bring him word that Keilah is under attack by the Philistines. Actually it is King Saul’s responsibility to deal with the Philistines (1 Samuel 9:16), but he is more interested in killing Israelites than dealing with the Philistine invaders. In a much more kingly response, David feels an obligation to come to the aid of his Israelite brethren and seeks divine guidance about whether he should engage the Philistines in battle. The Lord instructs David to attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah.²⁷

David’s men are uneasy about the decision to fight the Philistines, and they let David know it. Their apprehension is not really hard to understand. After all, this small force of 600 men (23:13) is not a highly trained group of soldiers, but a rag-tag group of discontented men who have fled from Saul (22:2). Most of these men joined forces with David while he was hiding in the cave of Adullam. More likely this cave was most likely in Philistine territory, and if not, on the very fringe of Israel’s territory. From here David and his men went to Moab, where they hid out in the “stronghold” (22:4-5). The prophet Gad instructed David to cease hiding out in foreign nations and to return to the land of his own tribe, Judah, which he did by hiding out in the forest of Hereth (22:5). In the dense, difficult terrain of this forest, David’s men must still feel relatively safe out of Saul’s reach. But it is an entirely different matter when David is instructed to fight the Philistines at Keilah. This is a much more difficult and dangerous venture. They will have to come out of hiding and out into the open to fight the Philistines, knowing this will expose them to an attack by Saul’s forces. Since Keilah is located approximately 20 miles southeast of Gath, David and his men will no longer be in the mountains hiding safely in the forest, but rather in the lowlands, out in the open, where they can be seen by Saul’s army and opposed by Philistine chariots. When David’s men protest the decision to rescue the people of Keilah, they seem to do so on the basis of the greatly increased risk. This is not the safe thing to do. It would be far safer to hide from Saul in the forest than to attack the Philistines on the open plains.

David listens to the objections raised by his men, but he is intent on obeying God rather than men. He “inquired of the Lord” a second time (23:4) and receives the same response, with the assurance that God has already given them the victory. With this assurance, David and his men approach the city of Keilah and attack the Philistines, winning a decisive victory and delivering the Israelites there from defeat and securing the Philistines’ livestock (23:5). How strange are the ways of God. A week earlier, who among them would have thought they would be eating T-bone steaks from Philistine cattle?

Having delivered the people of Keilah from defeat at the hand of the Philistines, one assumes these people would be some of David’s most loyal supporters. Surely they would give David and his men sanctuary from Saul. Saul learns of David’s presence in Keilah, however, and summons all of Israel to attack the city of Keilah, assured that this will result in the capture of David and his men. After all, Keilah is a fortified city. Saul supposes that the “double gates and bars” of that city will not keep him out, but rather will contain David and his men within.

David learns of Saul’s coming attack and wonders whether it is wise to stay in Keilah. David seems to want to avoid his own capture, but he is also concerned about the well being of the people of Keilah. Has he rescued these people from the Philistines only so Saul’s army can destroy the city? Fortunately, when Abiathar fled to join David, he brought the ephod with him by which the will of the Lord could be discerned (23:6). Wishing to know and do the will of God, David inquires of the Lord by means of the ephod. David has two questions to ask of God. First, is Saul really going to come to Keilah, as David has heard? Is his intelligence report accurate? Second, if Saul really does come to Keilah, will the people of Keilah betray David and turn him over to Saul?

The answer to both questions is “Yes.” Notice, however, that the answer to both questions is hypothetical, based upon some variables. Had David remained in Keilah, Saul’s men would have come and attacked the city. Had David remained and Saul’s men come and attacked the city, the men of Keilah would have turned David over to Saul. But knowing this leads David to leave Keilah before Saul arrives. Consequently, Saul does not actually attack the city, nor do the men of Keilah actually surrender David to Saul. But they would have, had David stayed.

The first thing to note about David’s inquiry and the divine response is this: God not only knows all things that will be, He also knows all things that could be, under any set of circumstances. It is one thing to know what the future holds. It is vastly greater to know what the future could hold, under differing circumstances. God’s omniscience (omniscient = to know all) is such that He knows all things actual and all things possible. This is precisely how God can be in control of all things (the sovereignty of God), without being responsible for men’s sin. For example, God knew that given the circumstances, Judas would betray the Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The betrayal of Jesus was a necessary part of God’s plan, and there was no doubt that it would happen. God’s omniscience made it all possible, yet without making Him culpable for man’s sin. The same can be seen in Peter’s words to the Jews (and Gentiles) who were responsible for the death of our Lord on the cross of Calvary:

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -- 23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:22-23, NASB).

And so it is that, informed by God as to the outcome of remaining in Keilah, David leaves that city with his 600 followers. He returns to the wilderness, hiding in the safety of the strongholds he finds there. Learning of David’s departure, Saul has his men turn back, and thus the city of Keilah is spared, not only from the Philistines but from Saul. Yet those who owe their lives to David would have betrayed him when the going got tough. In all of this, David too is spared from the wrath and jealousy of Saul, for God would not deliver His future king into his hand.