Even in our darkest moments, God’s light is still shining. Join Dr. Marty Baker in 1 Samuel 23 as he unpacks God’s sovereignty over David’s conflict with the Philistines and King Saul.
The Scripture is clear that God is absolutely sovereign over all the events of your life:
7 The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. (Isa. 45)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth? (Lam. 3)
Regarding God’s sovereignty, Jerry Bridges offers this salient definition:
God is in control; He is sovereign. He does whatever pleases Him and determines whether we can do what we have planned. This is the essence of God’s sovereignty; His absolute independence to do as he pleases and His absolute control over the actions of all His creatures. No creature, person, or empire can either thwart His will or act outside the bounds of His will.[1]
Therefore, God is intimately involved in the affairs of all people to achieve His good and holy purposes, be what they may. Hence, the sale of your home after being on the market for one day or the trouble you face in your place of employment are divinely orchestrated by a loving God to move you where He needs you, to shape and hone your character into that of Christ, and to advance His kingdom purposes. Will you trust Him? Do you trust Him even when things are not going your way?
David understood the divine drill. The Lord had told him he would be Israel’s king after Saul left the scene. He had no idea it would take a tumultuous fifteen years before this prophecy became a reality. 2 Sam. 5:4-5 says David became king at 30. Samuel probably anointed David as king at 15. At 30, he became king over Judah for 7 ½ years. Then, after Ish-bosheth, the anointed king after Saul (2 Sam. 2:9) was murdered, David ruled over all of Israel for 33 years. However, the fifteen years before his coronation were nothing short of troubling and terrifying as Saul sought to eliminate his opposition, David, the innocent young man.
Why did God take so long to get David to the throne? Good question. God knows that adversity is the best tool for shaping and honing us to prepare us for what He has called us to do. Concerning this, H.W. Beecher once quipped: “We are always in the forge, or on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.”[2] How true.
God sovereignly used this tool in David’s life to prepare him to be a righteous, godly, and God-dependent leader of the people, a man completely the opposite of King Saul. That tool is sovereignly employed in a grand fashion in chapter 23. As you will see, wave after wave of trouble will hit David, forcing him in his newly recommitted faith to consider God’s absolute sovereignty in the fire of affliction, and to leave him with a choice to either serve and trust God, or serve and trust in himself. What happens in David’s life are events we can identify with because we also encounter tough, challenging times that seem to come in waves. We, too, are left with a decision: Will I see God’s hand in this, and will I follow hard after Him or trust in my thinking and ingenuity?
Not long after the tragic massacre of the eighty-five priests and their families in Nob under the approval of King Saul, more tragedy came David’s way.
The Situation #1
Like Hamas in modern times on Israel’s southwestern border, the Philistines lived for attacking, looting, and destroying the Israelites. After Goliath’s death, the Philistines logically laid low for a while, but eventually their anti-Semitic ways got the best of them:
1 Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are plundering the threshing floors.” (1 Sam. 23)
David received good intel that the Philistines were attacking the fortified town of Keilah, located on the low-lying hills of Judah, not far from the Philistine border. Their goal? Steal as much processed grain as possible to feed the army. This is all so ironic. King Saul was consumed not by holding the Philistines at bay and protecting his people, but by hunting down and eliminating David because jealousy completely controlled him. David, the hunted, is confronted with whether he should continue to guard his life and the lives of his new army, or engage the enemy and deliver his people from certain death. What would he do with this challenging, potentially life-threatening situation?
Question. What will you do with the complex situation that God, in His sovereignty, has permitted to crop up in your life? Will you run toward the fight or away from it? Will you turn to God or yourself?
In verse 2, we encounter David’s choice.
The Supplication
David did here what he failed to do before his sudden departure to Gath. He prayed and sought God’s guidance. The old saying is true: If you are not prayin’, you are playin’. Realizing the error of making a major life decision in the heat of a trial by not talking with the Lord, David now humbled himself.
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.” (1 Sam. 23)
This is a pivotal moment in the text. Why? It is the first time that David had direct communication with the Lord. He asked God for insight in this troubling situation, and God answered. How did God respond? We don’t know. He spoke audibly to the young boy Samuel in the Temple (1 Sam. 3:4, 6, 8, 10), so this may be how He communicated with David here. This is how He also spoke with Moses on the mount (Deut. 4:12); hence, David might have suddenly heard God’s deep, base voice tell him exactly what to do.
Again, this is all so interesting. King Saul had previously asked God what to do with a Philistine incursion, and God didn’t answer him (1 Sam. 14:27). Why the silence? God remained silent because Saul’s sin had caused God to remove His blessing on his kingship. On the contrary, God answered David instantly, underscoring His approval and blessing on the future king.
Yet in all of this, let us remind ourselves of the importance of calling out to the Lord when a threatening situation arises. Lord, what would you have me do? No, I don’t expect God to give you an audible word, but I’m sure you will find wisdom and direction in the Word as you read and study. I’ve had that happen countless times in my life. God is good and will not leave you in the dark when you cry out for insight in the trial.
When David excitedly shared God’s clear communique with his “crack” troops, how did they respond? Not well.
The Shaking
Jerry Lee Lewis’s song there’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on could have been their theme song. Their shakin’, however, was total fear:
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?” (1 Sam. 23)
Why did they pull back? Think about this strategically. If they headed south to attack the Philistines, then they would leave their rear flank open to attack from King Saul. With a force of only 600 inexperienced soldiers, this military maneuver that David said God proposed seemed highly illogical and dangerous. God’s thoughts, however, are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8). The same God who told Israel to march silently around the fortress of Jericho once a day for six days, and then on the seventh to march around it seven times, and to then have the priests blow the trumpets and once this finished the people were to collectively shout so that the walls of the fortress would crumble (Josh. 6:3-5), is the same God who told David to go out and engage the Philistines in Keilah . . . leaving his rear flank wide open to Saul.
How did David respond to the reticence of his men? He turned immediately back to God to verify what he heard:
The Supplication
This is somewhat humorous. If you audibly heard from God Almighty, wouldn’t you have been a little nervous going back in your prayer closet to ask God to tell you again what He said? But David wanted to know for sure what he should do, so he humbly approached God a second time.
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.” (1 Sam. 23)
In Hebrew, the first-person pronoun “I” is most emphatic by its placement at the head of the clause.
1 Samuel 23:4 וַיּ֙וֹסֶף ע֤וֹד דָּוִד֙ לִשְׁאֹ֣ל בַּֽיהוָ֔ה ס וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֖הוּ יְהוָ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר ק֚וּם רֵ֣ד קְעִילָ֔ה כִּֽי־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֛ן אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃
God, who is sovereign, just told David: Don’t you worry about the Philistines. I will empower you to be victorious over them. The same God who went before David is the same God who will go before you in your adverse situation. And if you need to go to Him for a little reassurance, there is nothing wrong with that. Lord, have I read you right? Do you want me to be a whistleblower, now? Lord, do you want me to confront my supervisor who is acting unethically? Yes, Lord, could you give me a clear, definitive word, and then I will head out.
That’s what David did. That was a step of faith. That was also a sign of growth.
The Success
Armed with God’s clear word, David and his men headed out. It is interesting how the courage of the one became the courage of the many. Great leaders inspire others to follow their example in dealing with evil.
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. (1 Sam. 23)
The divinely inspired author painted a great contrast here between David and Saul. Saul was recently instrumental in killing Israelites (the innocent priests and their families), while David is instrumental in saving and protecting Israelites. This clearly shows that David was Israel’s rightful king, not Saul. The adversity showed this much to David and Israel.
Adversity, however, typically comes in waves, and this next episode in David’s life is no exception. Again, God in His sovereignty permitted the heat to be turned up in David’s life to continue to shape and hone him into a leader the nation would never forget. Through repeated pain and suffering, David also became a precursor to the greater David, Jesus, who would experience much trouble dealing with our sins. As Jesus told the two disciples on the Emmaus Road, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). The answer is, “yes,” He had to suffer to defeat sin and death through His crucifixion and glorious resurrection. David had to suffer, too, to pave the way as the great Christ-type. When we suffer, the same is true. Our lives are to be but a reflection of His, a reflection of His grace (1 Cor. 12:7-10) and His character (1 Pet. 2:20-23).
David and his men rejoiced in God’s victory, but it didn’t last long. Another wave of trouble was headed their way.
The Situation #2
After the battle, God made sure David’s future High Priest, Abiathar, connected with him:
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. (1 Sam. 23)
The mention of the ephod is important. All priests wore a linen ephod, however, the high priest’s ephod was more elaborate because the breast-plate was attached to it, along with the Urim and the Thummim, or the stones that I believe glowed for yes or no answers directly from God (Ex. 28:6-14, 30; 39:2-7; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65). Abiathar’s presence was an excellent sign for David for now he had another means of ascertaining God’s will as Israel’s future king.
Saul’s spies, however, wasted no time divulging David’s new position to him.
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.” (1 Sam. 23)
Do you see how sin had utterly blinded Saul? This is what unchecked sin does (Prov. 4:19; Ezek. 12:2). Even after being part and parcel to the murder of eighty-five priests and their families for daring to be associated with David, Saul was convinced God had sovereignly served up David on a silver platter by permitting him to be holed up in the fortress of Keilah. If you are not walking with God, be very careful how you read situations that develop around you. Be very careful to think in your blinded state that God is blessing your sinful activity. Such is not how God rolls.
Thinking he had David where he wanted him, Saul mustered the troops, and he did so without consulting God
8 So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. (1 Sam. 23)
David’s intel was better than that of Saul. No sooner did Saul command his troops to attack the Israelite town of Keilah than David’s Mossad-like spies informed him of the king’s misguided intention. Strange, isn’t it? David is pictured as Israel’s savior, while Saul is pictured as their opponent.
How did David react to this second wave of adversity?
The Supplication
Read on and learn from his godly example:
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. (1 Sam. 23)
David didn’t complain about the adversity. Instead, he got on his knees in prayer, again. David’s wording here demonstrates he realized that an attack against Keilah was an attack on the nation, Israel, and God.
Do you pose questions to God? David did.
First question for God:
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.” (1 Sam. 23)
Here, David wanted to know if Saul would actually attack an Israelite city he and his men had just rescued. God’s answer was clear: “He [Saul] will come down [attack].” Saul’s David Derangement Syndrome couldn’t have been more ruthless and destructive. He would attack an entire city to kill the one man God had chosen to replace him as king. How audacious.
Second question for God:
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.” (1 Sam. 23)
Gulp. That was hard news for David to hear. The people he had just rescued from death would turn on him. Why? No doubt they didn’t want the Doeg treatment, so they would be prone to cave and cough up David should he stick around town. I guess the maxim is true: No good deed goes unpunished. All of this must have caused David and his men to experience an emotionally low moment.
What did David do in the sadness? He quickly fled the fortress to save the people, himself, and his troops. His bold, decisive action led to what I call . . .
The Salvation
David and his men headed south to hide in the wadis and hills of the wilderness of Ziph, which was located some twelve miles south of Keilah:
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 to 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. (1 Sam. 23)
Here is a map from Logos software that details David’s movements:
What is important to note about David and his men hiding in the wilderness of Ziph is that God did not sovereignly give them into the hand of Saul. Saul wanted nothing more than to seek and destroy David, but God controlled the situation so that did not happen. He is, and will do, the same in your life. Just when you think the darkness might overtake you, God will show you a way of escape because He has other things planned for your life. Will you trust Him as you hide out in Ziph? Will you believe that nothing negative (or positive) can happen to you that God will not permit?
Saul’s jealousy continued to drive him to locate and kill David. Once more, David’s spies informed him of Saul’s intent:
15 Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. (1 Sam. 23)
For the sake of safety, David and his men fled from Ziph’s wilderness south to Horesh. How draining. Have you ever had a Saul-type come after you like the android robot in the movie Terminator? I have, and it is not pleasant, and it starts taking a toll on you emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Again, God in His sovereignty permitted Jonathan to find David at this low point.
17 Thus he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father shall not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.” (1 Sam. 23)
When God sovereignly reduces you, He also knows your frame and knows when to send someone special into your life to build you up for the road ahead. That man for David was Jonathan. For me, that person has been Rick Sealy, Pat Travnicek, my father, my mother, my wife, Pastor Michael, my mother’s sister, Roberta, and a whole host of others.
What do these godly friends, who understand the sovereignty of God and the purpose of adversity, do? They remind you of what God has said. They tell you, “Don’t look at earthly trials, but heavenly truths.” Jonathan reminded David that God had spoken and promised he would one day be king. Nothing, not even the hatred of Saul, would change that.
My Aunt Roberta battled breast cancer for some thirteen years. She had her fair share of time in the Wilderness of Ziph and in the unnamed place called Horesh. I keep a Jonathan-like letter on my work desk. She wrote me back in 1984 while I was a struggling seminary student. In that handwritten letter, she gave me wisdom, insight, and courage to remain committed to the Lord despite life’s obstacles. So, if you are a place like Ziph or Horesh, get ready for God to send you a Jonathan. You will know who they are when they show up because they will be the person who moves your discouragement to encouragement based on God’s promises to you.
Mark well how Jonathan and David prepared to part company. They renewed their utter commitment to each other:
18 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house. (1 Sam. 23)
When you are facing a tough, trying time, there is nothing like a good friend coming alongside you and saying, “Hey, you can count on me to stand by you no matter what. I’m not going anywhere.” Go and do likewise to your Jonathan and your David.
Sometime after this high point in David’s life as a fugitive, another wave of adversity slammed into him like a powerful tsunami:
The Situation #3
This time, some Ziphites ruthlessly stepped up to betray David to ingratiate themselves to King Saul:
19 Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 “Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”
If you have ever been deserted or betrayed by someone, then you know how painful this was to David. He must have thought, “Really, the Ziphites, whom I’ve done nothing to, traveled up to Gibeah to give Saul precise map locations of me and my men? What kind of people are these folks?”
Saul loved the intel, and in his twisted mind, he attributed it to the work of the Lord.
21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD; for you have had compassion on me. 22 “Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 “So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall come about if he is in the land that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” (1 Sam. 23)
Please note what Saul didn’t do when the people from Ziph arrived. He didn’t consult the Lord at all. He consulted men. Oh, how different Saul was from David. One ran from God while the other ran to God. Which person are you?
Saul wasted no time putting his troops on David’s trail.
24 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 And Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. (1 Sam. 23)
At this point, Saul’s pincer movement was about to deliver David into his bloodthirsty hands. Saul forgot the truth that is recorded in verse 14. It is the concept that David would only be delivered if God willed it . . . and He hadn’t. If a Saul-type is cornering you, if you feel like you are a goner, don’t fear because the same sovereign Lord who went before David on that hillside is the same Lord who is with you. Nothing or no one will thwart His perfect will for your life. So, rest in this timeless truth.
For David, it was not a day of death and destruction but one for divine deliverance. I call this closing section . . .
The Salvation
First, let’s read the text:
27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” (1 Sam. 23)
The Hebrew is most emphatic because a coordinating conjunction is wedded to a non-verb to create a powerful contrast.
WTT 1 Samuel 23:27 וּמַלְאָ֣ךְ בָּ֔א אֶל־שָׁא֖וּל לֵאמֹ֑ר מַהֲרָ֣ה וְלֵ֔כָה כִּֽי־פָשְׁט֥וּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
A waw disjunctive wedded to the noun, “messenger,” states a strong contrast. I’m sure that God motivated the Philistines to make this incursion into Israel at just this time to cause Saul to turn from pursuing David to pursuing the Philistines, who were threatening his people. The Scripture is true which says, “1 The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Prov. 21). The Philistine king had a free will, but in this instance God worked on his will to move him to attack Israel at just the right time so that Saul and his forces would be pulled away from pursuing David and his men. Talk about the sovereign timing of God Almighty. In light of this, don’t ever underestimate God’s ability to work in a complex situation where you thought you were a goner to deliver you spectacularly.
28 So Saul returned from pursuing David, and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. 29 And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi. (1 Sam. 23)
Amazing.
Three adverse onslaughts came at David head-on, and in each one, we see the hand of God quietly at work to protect His saint. David experienced trouble, which merely served to shape and hone his inner man, while also positioning him for a trial of a lifetime he’d encounter unsuspectingly in a dark cave in En-Gedi. The trouble also challenged him to turn to God like never before. What will you do? Will you look down or up? Better yet, will you learn and apply the truth from this passage? What is it? Here it is:
When you think it is lights out for you, God sovereignly provides a way to keep the lights on.
Why does He do this? He is all about fulfilling His will and purpose(s) in your life. Setbacks, therefore, are really set-ups God devises to place you where He needs you. For David, God destined him to have an unusual rendezvous with King Saul in a dark, cool cave in a gorge in En-Gedi. All the adversity David experienced in chapter 23, then, merely divinely guided him to this unusual location for an even more unusual and educational meeting with King Saul. The same God who worked in David’s adversity is working in your adversity to position you for an all-important rendezvous as well.
[1] Jerry Bridges, Trusting God (Colorado Springs: Nav Press, 1988), 36.
[2] Mark Water, compiler, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2000), 18).
