1Sa 23:14 | KingComments | STEP | When David comes to know what Saul intends to do, he asks the LORD, the God of Israel – he sees the whole people in connection with God – what Keilah will do. He asks specific questions and gets a clear answer. First the LORD tells him that Saul will come, for the answer to this question is first important. When David knows this, the next question is what the people of Keilah will do. David is not so naive that he thinks they will not surrender him as their benefactor to Saul. He also receives an answer to this question from the LORD. The shocking answer is that they will surrender him and his men into the hand of Saul. What the considerations of the inhabitants of Keilah is not told. Perhaps they have not thought about it at all, but the LORD knows that they will succumb if Saul pressurizes them. Only the LORD can predict reactions. Only He can say what would happen if a case had developed differently. We cannot do that. We can guess but say nothing with certainty. One suggestion, for example, is that they will hand him over to Saul because, as they might think, they have certainty in Saul. As they may have thought, they did not have this in the fugitive David. Choosing the rulers of the world seems wiser than choosing someone who has been rejected and is a target of the rulers. After this answer David departs from the city. He is not stubborn and does not count on the solidarity of the inhabitants of Keilah. The LORD has not said that he should depart from the city, but David sees the answer of the LORD as an indication to leave there. He leaves in confidence in God. He chooses the uncertainty of fleeing, but under the protection of God, and leaves the security of the city which without God cannot protect him.

‏ 1 Samuel 23:14

David Consults the LORD

When David comes to know what Saul intends to do, he asks the LORD, the God of Israel – he sees the whole people in connection with God – what Keilah will do. He asks specific questions and gets a clear answer. First the LORD tells him that Saul will come, for the answer to this question is first important. When David knows this, the next question is what the people of Keilah will do. David is not so naive that he thinks they will not surrender him as their benefactor to Saul. He also receives an answer to this question from the LORD. The shocking answer is that they will surrender him and his men into the hand of Saul.

What the considerations of the inhabitants of Keilah is not told. Perhaps they have not thought about it at all, but the LORD knows that they will succumb if Saul pressurizes them. Only the LORD can predict reactions. Only He can say what would happen if a case had developed differently. We cannot do that. We can guess but say nothing with certainty.

One suggestion, for example, is that they will hand him over to Saul because, as they might think, they have certainty in Saul. As they may have thought, they did not have this in the fugitive David. Choosing the rulers of the world seems wiser than choosing someone who has been rejected and is a target of the rulers.

After this answer David departs from the city. He is not stubborn and does not count on the solidarity of the inhabitants of Keilah. The LORD has not said that he should depart from the city, but David sees the answer of the LORD as an indication to leave there. He leaves in confidence in God. He chooses the uncertainty of fleeing, but under the protection of God, and leaves the security of the city which without God cannot protect him.