1Sa 23:9-12 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 9 Bring hither the ephod - It seems as if David himself, clothed with the ephod, had consulted the Lord; and contain the words of the consultation, and the Lord's answer. But see on (note).

‏ 1 Samuel 23:9-12

Verse 9

Bring hither the ephod - It seems as if David himself, clothed with the ephod, had consulted the Lord; and 1Sam 23:10-12 contain the words of the consultation, and the Lord's answer. But see on 1Sam 23:2 (note). Verse 11

In these verses we find the following questions and answers: - David said, Will Saul come down to Keilah? And the Lord said, He will come down. Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. In this short history we find an ample proof that there is such a thing as contingency in human affairs; that is, God has poised many things between a possibility of being and not being, leaving it to the will of the creature to turn the scale. In the above answers of the Lord the following conditions were evidently implied: - If thou continue in Keilah, Saul will certainly come down; and If Saul come down, the men of Keilah will deliver thee into his hands. Now though the text positively asserts that Saul would come to Keilah, yet he did not come; and that the men of Keilah would deliver David into his hand, yet David was not thus delivered to him. And why? Because David left Keilah; but had he stayed, Saul would have come down, and the men of Keilah would have betrayed David. We may observe from this that, however positive a declaration of God may appear that refers to any thing in which man is to be employed, the prediction is not intended to suspend or destroy free agency, but always comprehends in it some particular condition.