1 Samuel 23 David Saves the City of Keilah
1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”
“David‘s growing importance, fugitive as he was, is marked by this appeal to him for deliverance from the Philistines.” (Albert Barnes) “Then they told David— ‘The Philistines are fighting against Keilah’ - a fortified town in the tribe of Judah.., on the road to Hebron.— ‘and they are robbing the threshing-floors’ - This was an ancient custom of the Philistines, Midianites, and others. See Judges 6:4. When the corn was ripe and fit to be threshed, and they had collected it at the threshing-floors, which were always in the open field, then their enemies came upon them and spoiled them of the fruits of their harvest.” (Adam Clarke)
2 Therefore 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 save Keilah.”
“Therefore,” unlike Saul, "David inquired of Yahweh” by His prophet— Gad, “for Abiathar was not yet come unto him, [1 Samuel 23:6] and that which is read of him in 1 Samuel 22:20 is spoken by way of anticipation. War is to be made by wise counsel, saith Solomon, [Proverbs 24:6]...” (Trapp) It was proper to defend his people “but it was doubtful how far it was David‘s duty to go against a public enemy without the royal commission; and on that account he asked, and obtained, the divine counsel.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) And the King of kings said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
Answering to his men, David inquired again - “not for his own, but for his soldiers’ satisfaction.” (Wesley)... and with their safety in mind, for he did not want anything to happen to them, as it had to the priests.. And again Yahweh answers, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
Then with full assurance “he encountered the aggressors and, by a signal victory, delivered the people of Keilah from further molestation.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) “The importance of this passage is that it brings out that YHWH was still delivering Israel, and was doing it through the one on whom His Spirit had permanently come (1 Samuel 16:13).” (Peter Pett)— His anointed.
1 Samuel 23: David Escapes Saul in Keilah
6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
Here is commmunion by intercession of the high priest of Israel. It is more fluid than that of the prophet. Here is an “additional striking instance of God‘s watchful providential care of David in thus sending Abiathar to supply the place of Gad at so critical a moment.” (Albert Barnes)
7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.”
12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”
David is in Keilah. “God has delivered him into my hand.” This “will be his certain ruin.” (Poole) “The Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate translate in the same way, probably as the nearest equivalent to the Hebrew, while the Septuagint has a different reading—sold. The Hebrew phrase is a very strong one; literally, ‘God hath ignored him,’ hath treated him as a stranger, and so let, him fall ‘into my hand.’” (Pulpit Commentary)—“for He has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars. "Saul felt confident that he could control the gate and so trap David.” (Thomas B. Constable)
“‘And Saul called all the people together to war.” “The summoning of ‘all the people’ suggests a general levy of the tribes.” (Peter Pett) So it was all of Israel against little Benjamin. He summoned them “to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men;” “that was what he privately intended, but the pretence was to make war against the Philistines.” (John Gill) “So the Pope publisheth his Croysados against the Protestants; holding them greater enemies than are the Turks: witness his wars against the Waldenses in France, and the Hussites in Germany.” (John Trapp) And so the Protestants today publish warnings against the remnant church teachings.
"Though a new danger has arisen, the old refuge still remains.— ‘Bring hither the ephod,’ he says to Abiathar.” (Expositor's Bible) ”Some claim that David wore the ephod. Yet it is better understood, ‘Bring hither the ephod,’ and put it upon thee, that thou mayst ask counsel of God for me.” (Poole)
“Saul here consulted with his own heart, while David enquired of the Lord.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “Oh! it is a very high privilege to have a God in Christ to go to, who is engaged in covenant to deliver his people; and when more likely than when they call upon him?” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary) “No sooner was the ephod brought him than he made use of it. We have the Scriptures in our hands, let us take advice from them in doubtful cases. Say, Bring hither the Bible.” (Matthew Henry)
“Then David said, ‘Thy servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to cometh to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake...’ David said this by the priest, for he was to make the inquiry of God, Numbers 27:21, and David puts the words into his mouth.” (Matthew Poole) “His first question is, ‘would Saul come?’ God answers, Yes, he would come (v.11). Of course it is understood that his coming would be only because David was there. He questions then, would the men of Keilah give David and his men up to Saul'? The Lord answered, Yes, they would do so (v.12). Of course we see in this that their attitude to David was not as strong as their fear of Saul. Yet we can understand their very natural thoughts: It was either this or their city would be destroyed. Terrible alternative!” (L. M. Grant)
13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.
Some may charge the priest of Yahweh with falsity. “Whereas the Lord answereth, that Saul would come down to Keilah, and that the men of Keilah would deliver David into Saul's hands, and yet neither of these came to pass; hence it cannot be inferred that the predictions of the Lord are uncertain, for the Lord's answer is here to be understood conditionally.… A difference is here to be made between the prescience of God and the predestination: for the Lord as well seeth what shall be done as what is likely to be done in respect of the second causes; but His decree of predestination is only of those things which shall most certainly be effected.” (John Willet)
1 Samuel 23: David in Wilderness Strongholds 14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest [Or in Horesh]. “And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph.” “It was no small thing for 600 men to remain hidden: they would have to be ceaselessly on guard.” (L. M. Grant) “‘Saul sought him every day,’— So desperately bent was he to destroy him: being herein like the scorpion, whereof Pliny saith that there is not one minute of time wherein it doth not put forth the sting desirous to do harm. Or rather like the devil, whose malice to mankind is incessant and unsatisfiable.” (Trapp)- “but God did not deliver him into his hand” for David was innocent of any charge against him. “David learned by experience what the name of Ziph means; it means ‘refining.’ In the refining process of suffering and endurance the shepherd-king was fitted for his coming exaltation. In this he is not a type of our Lord, but we can read our own experience here.“ (Arno Gaebelein) “Here he sung salvation to the Lord. Here the inspiration of his soul was aided by the scenery of nature, and his devotion elevated by the severity of affliction. Oh how much is the christian church, as well as the kingdom of Israel, indebted to providence for David’s exile: during that period he composed many of his best and most instructive psalms.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) This is a time when David is faithful but thought of as a traitor and he has had to flee for his life. In my own time in the wilderness, enable me O Jesus, to sing the song of David! Give me that Living Water! “Psalm 63— A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.— 1 O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.” 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
“Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods”— knowing where to find him, though his father wasn’t able to do so. “It is probable that there was always a secret intercourse between David and Jonathan, and that by this most trusty friend he was apprised of the various designs of Saul to take away his life.” (Adam Clarke)— “And strengthened his hand in God.”— “By imminding him of the promises, and assuring him of God’s powerful protection.” (John Trapp) Has God not said? Will He not also do it? “And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you.” Yahweh has blinded his eyes and he cannot find you.—“You shall be king over Israel, ‘and I shall be next to you.’.. I do not look to be king myself (as by my birth I might expect,) but that thou shalt be king (God having so appointed) and I but in a secondary place inferior to thee.” (Wesley)— “his trusted adviser, as in the days of sorrow he had been the true and steadfast friend...” (Edersheim) Yet death prevented. “This is the true purpose of the fellowship of the Saints.” (Arno Gaebelein) “A more filial and a more loyal part he could not have acted; and therefore, in his attachment to David, he is wholly free of blame.”(Adam Clarke)“Simple but beautiful words! He put David's hand as it were into God's hand, in token that they were one, in token that the Almighty was pledged to keep and bless him, and that when he and his God were together, no weapon formed against him would ever prosper.” (Expositor's Bible)
“So the two of them made”— renewed— “a [their] covenant before Yahweh”, Who was with them. “And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.”
1 Samuel 23: Ziphites Become Strangers
19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, 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 your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”
“It would appear that Saul had left the neighbourhood of Ziph in despair of finding David, and had returned to Gibeah. But the distance was small - probably not more than a long day's journey. And after a time. Saul is recalled to Ziph by a message from the Ziphites.” (Expositor's Bible Commentary)
“‘Then came up the Ziphites.— who were of David’s own tribe, and of good Caleb’s stock, [1 Chronicles 2:42] but naught and degenerate, as was likewise the churl Nabal, who came of Caleb. [1 Samuel 25:3] l— but really of the seed of the serpent, They came “to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ‘Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?’” “There is no spot from which you can obtain a better view of David's wandering backwards and forwards in the desert than from the hill of Ziph, which affords a true panorama. The Ziphites could see David and his men moving to and fro in the mountains of the desert of Ziph, and could also perceive how he showed himself in the distance upon the hill Hachilah, on the south side of Ziph (which lies to the right by the desert), whereupon they sent as quickly as possible to Saul, and betrayed to him the hiding-place of his enemy.” (Van de Velde)— “Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. “A company of Judases they showed themselves; and David turneth them over to God, that he may take an order with them. [Psalms 54:3; Psalms 54:5].” (John Trapp)
“The Ziphites were of David’s own tribe, though for this their unnatural and strange carriage to him he calls them strangers.” (Matthew Poole)— Psalm 54:3.
21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compassion on me. 22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.”
“Saul's answer to them is despicable. He tells them they are blessed of the Lord because they were showing compassion to Saul (v.21).
He was determined to show the opposite of compassion to David by murdering him. David was no threat to him whatever, but Saul considered them compassionate because they were willing to implicate themselves in the murder of David!” (L. M. Grant) But they still could not apprehend David for Yahweh blinded their eyes. “We have reason to bless God for these continued exercises of David, however painful to him, they prove profitable to us. Those two precious Psalms, Ps 54 and Ps 63, were written by him upon those occasions as the Reader will perceive by consulting them in the title page. And, Reader, depend upon it, that life in grace will be peculiarly honoured by the Lord, that is, peculiarly marked with situations for the exercise of grace and faith, and the display of God's faithfulness in carrying the believer through them. If the Lord hath promised his presence to his people in affliction, must they not be brought into trouble, in order to have that precious promise realized?”
“David at that time cried mightily to God, “Save me, O God”--”Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth”; these were some of his utterances recorded in Psalm 54, which was written at that time.” (Arno Gaebelein) “Psalm 54— To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding with us?”1 Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. 2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life; they have not set God before them. Selah
4 Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life. 5 He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. 6 I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. 7 For He has delivered me out of all trouble; and my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.”
Psalm 63 ends “9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory;but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.”
1 Samuel 23:Rock of Escape
24 So 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 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.
27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” 28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth (the Rock of Escape).
David called upon the name of Yahweh, whose means are manifold. David was in Ziph and Saul was not far behind, yet he and his men escaped by His power to the wilderness of Maon.
In 1 Samuel 23:26-27, Saul was on one side of the mountain and David on the other, but the hunter was circling in on it’s prey. “David had thus almost inextricably fallen into the hands of Saul; but God saved him by the fact that at that very moment a messenger arrived with the intelligence, ‘Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!,’ and thus called Saul away from any further pursuit of David.” (Keil & Delitzsch) “God [thus once again] sent from heaven and saved his poor servant ‘from the reproach of him that would have swallowed him up, Selah.’ [Psalm 57:3]” (John Trapp)
They called that particular place— the mountain— “Sela-hammahlekoth” that is, “the rock of divisions.” Because, says the Targum, “the heart of the king was divided to go hither and thither”— “so that, being obliged to subordinate his private feelings for the defence of the public safety, he was obliged to abandon his project, and direct his arms against the Philistine invaders.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) In Israel, this mountain and name “was an emblem of the Divine Providence coming between David and the destroyer. Let us not be dismayed at the prospect of future difficulties, but stay ourselves upon Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. Sooner than His promise shall fail, He will commission Philistines to effect our escape, at the very moment when our case appears most desperate. God requires entire dependence on Him, 'If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established,' Isaiah 7:9.” (Henry)
29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.
“En Gedi—A vital oasis on the west side of the Dead Sea about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) southeast of Jerusalem. Allotted to Judah's tribe for an inheritance (Jos 15:62), En-gedi contained a hot water spring coming from the side of a limestone cliff, producing semitropical vegetation. The area became known for its palms, vineyards, and balsam (Sg 1:14; Josephus's Antiquities 20.1.2). The ancient site was southeast of the oasis at Tell el-Jarn near modern 'Ain Jidi.” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)