Saul Pursues David

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:14) And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

David had come out of hiding to fight the Philistines in Keilah, but when God told him that the men of Keilah would turn him over to Saul, he fled again.  He hid out in the strong rocks and caves of a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph, a city in the southern part of Judah.  Saul sought him every day, but God did not allow him to find him.

(15) And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

It appears that David may have heard or seen Saul coming near to where he was, and he hid out in the woods of Ziph.  He had 600 men with him; perhaps the forest was a better place for them to hide.

(16) And Jonathan Saul's son arose and went to David in the wood and strengthened his hand in God. (17) And he said to him, "Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you, and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you, and that also Saul my father knows."

Saul's son, Jonathan, came to David in the woods.  He encouraged and strengthened David's faith in the Lord.  That is what good Christian friends are supposed to do, lift each other up in times of trouble and build them up spiritually.  He told David not to fear Saul because he would not find him, that he would be king over Israel.  Whether Jonathan received a revelation that that would indeed happen, or he had faith that it would happen, he was sure that David would be king, and that he, Jonathan, would always be next to him, not wishing to be the next king which would have naturally been the case as the son of Saul, but next to David, God's chosen king and his best friend, to aid him in whatever was needed.  And his father knew that to be the case, also.

(18) And they two made a covenant before the Lord, and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

Jonathan and David renewed their covenant of friendship and loyalty, and David stayed there in the woods while Jonathan went back to his home.

(19) Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Does not David hide himself with us in strong holds 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."

Saul had returned to his usual residence in Gibeah, and the people of Ziph came to him there and informed him that David was hiding in the woods there, specifically in a hill called Hachilah, south of Jeshimon in Judah.  These were men of David's own tribe of Judah who were turning him in.  It's just as David had said in the last post in Psalm 31:11, he was a reproach even to his neighbors.  The Ziphites encouraged the king to go down to Ziph, and they would deliver David to him.

(21) And Saul said, "Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. (22) Go, I pray you, prepare yet and know and see his place where his haunt is, who has seen him there, for it is told me that he deals very subtly."

Saul commended the Ziphites for telling him where David was hiding and considered them blessed of the Lord because they had compassion on him on account of his troubles with David.  It always turns my stomach when evil people call on God to help them in their evil schemes, as if God wanted Saul to kill His anointed.  Talk about using God's name in vain!  I suppose as Saul was once a follower of God, perhaps he didn't even realize how far he had dropped out of God's favor.  He told the Ziphites to go back and make sure they knew exactly where David was, as he knew him to be quite crafty in his hiding.

(23) "See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you, and it shall come to pass, if he is in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah."

Saul continued, telling the Ziphites to go and learn all of David's hideouts, and when they returned to him with certainty, he would then go with them to Ziph, and he would search him out throughout all the thousands of people in Judah.  This delay of Saul's may have actually been of the Lord to give David time to get away.

(24) And 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.

The Ziphites returned to their land, but David and his men had moved to the wilderness of Maon in the plain rather than on the hill where he had been; he was now even further south of Jeshimon.

(25) Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David; therefore he came down to a rock and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

Saul and his men then went to seek David, perhaps because the Ziphites had returned and informed him of where David was, or maybe because he got impatient, we aren't told.  Then it was told to David that Saul and his men had come down to get him, and he went to a rock, probably a rocky cave, to hide in the wilderness of Maon.  Then Saul heard David was there and pursued him there.

(26) And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.

Saul and his men went to the very mountain where David was hiding.  They were on one side of the mountain, and David was on the other.  David ran to get away from Saul, but by then Saul and his men had him and his men surrounded.

(27) But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!" (28) Therefore Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.

At that moment, certainly designed by God in His perfect timing, a messenger came to Saul to tell him that the Philistines had invaded their land.  So Saul left off his pursuit of David and returned to fight the Philistines.  Afterward, the place was called Sela Hammahlekoth, which literally meant "rock of divisions," which I suppose referred to the fact that Saul was on one side of the rocky mountain and David on the other, with just the top of the rocky mountain between them or dividing them.

(29) And David went up from there and dwelt in strong holds at En Gedi.

So David left the wilderness of Maon and went to En Gedi which was a deserted and cavernous place at the Dead Sea, and he likely dwelt in the caves there.

God is My Rock and My Fortress

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:7) And it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he is shut in by entering into a town that has gates and bars."

David had come out of hiding to fight against the Philistines in Keilah.  When Saul heard that David was in Keilah, he saw it as a good thing because the city was surrounded by gates and bars, and David would be shut in.  However, it had been God who told David to go to Keilah to save them from the Philistines.

(8) And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

Saul called all the people to war.  Saul had a huge army of subjects except for those 400 who were disgruntled with Saul and had joined David (1 Samuel 22:2).  Saul called for his people to go to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

(9) And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring here the ephod."

David knew that Saul was secretly scheming against him, as he always was.  He told Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, the only priest to have escaped Saul's slaughter in Nob, to bring the ephod with which he might inquire of the Lord on his behalf.

(10) Then said David, "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 up into his hand? Will Saul come down as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech You, tell Your servant." And the Lord said, "He will come down."

David cried out to the Lord that he had heard Saul was coming to Keilah and that he would destroy the whole city just to get David.  He asked the Lord if the men of Keilah would deliver him into Saul's hand to save their city.  He asked if Saul would indeed come to Keilah, and the Lord answered through means of the Urim and Thummim in the high priest's ephod that Saul would indeed come.

(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 up."

David then repeated his other question about whether or not the men of Keilah would deliver him into Saul's hands.  The Lord said that they indeed would, which is sad considering David had just saved them from the Philistines.

(13) Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah and went wherever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, and he ceased to go forth.

It appears that David's band had now grown to 600, and they all departed out of Keilah because the Lord had said that the men of Keilah would deliver David into Saul's hands if they stayed.  They went wherever they could go, where they might feel safe from Saul.  When Saul heard that David had left Keilah, he did not go there.

David had been forced to run away again because Saul pursued him.  My chronological study suggests that David may have composed the following psalm at that time:

(Psalm 31:1) (To the chief musician, a Psalm of David) In You, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in your righteousness.

I can't imagine that at times like these, David would be thinking of how the chief musician was to play his songs, so I have to believe that he referred to this and other psalms later when he was in a position to direct songs of worship.  David began this psalm by telling the Lord that he put his trust in Him.  He wanted never to be ashamed.  That can have so many different meanings.  May the Lord keep him from sinning so that he be not ashamed of his sin.  May he never be ashamed to publicly declare and call on his Lord.  May the Lord deliver him so that he never be ashamed of having trusted in the Lord.  It's not that David would ever be ashamed of his faith in the Lord, but I believe it was a way of saying let his victory be so that his enemy would never have occasion to try to shame him because of his faith in the Lord.  David prayed for deliverance because the Lord was righteous, not because there was any righteousness in him.

(2) Bow down Your ear to me; deliver me speedily; be my strong rock for a house of defense to save me.

David implored the Lord to hear his need and deliver him quickly as he must have felt he was in immediate danger.  He prayed that his Lord be his strong defense and protection against his enemies in order to save him.

(3) For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore for Your name's sake lead me and guide me.

David declared that the Lord was indeed his strong defense and protection.  For the sake of the Lord's own honor, David prayed that the Lord lead him and guide him in ways that would honor his Lord.  Let him always be a good witness for the Lord.

(4) Pull me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for You are my strength.

David prayed that the Lord deliver him out of the trap his enemies had secretly laid for him, for it was the Lord upon whom David depended on to be his strength in his time of trouble.

(5) Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

David vowed that he had committed his soul into the hand of his Lord and Savior because He alone had redeemed him.  These were the prophetic words that Jesus would later cry on the cross (Luke 23:46) right before He breathed His last breath.  Through His plan for Jesus Christ taking upon Himself the sin of the world, David was redeemed as would all Christians be.

(6) I have hated them who regard lying vanities, but I trust in the Lord.

As Jesus would say in Matthew 6:24, no man can serve two masters; he will naturally love one and hate the other.  David said he hated those who followed the deceitful vanities, as idols were often called.  He trusted and served only the Lord as his Master.

(7) I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, (8) And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large room.

David would always be glad, joyful, because of the Lord's love and mercy.  The Lord had always been merciful to David in his troubles; He had seen and known him in all circumstances of his life.  Nothing takes God by surprise; He is in control even in the midst of adversity.  Indeed, the Lord had not allowed David to be completely shut off by his enemies with no way to escape.  He had set his feet in a large space, making him free to escape his enemies.

(9) Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye is consumed with grief, my soul and my belly.

David prayed for mercy because of the trouble he was in, and his eyes were probably full of tears.  He was consumed with grief, in his belly where one feels strong emotion, and in his very soul.

(10) For my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

David felt that his whole life was consumed with grief and his time was spent in sighing or groaning because of grief.  He said his strength, his ability, failed because of his iniquity.  David had praised the Lord for His mercy and protection, so perhaps the iniquity he speaks of is his lack of faith in his present situation.  The Lord had always delivered him out of the hand of the enemy, so his lack of strength may have been because he was letting his grief overcome his faith that the Lord would again deliver him.  His body had given way under his excessive grief.

(11) I was a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to my acquaintances; they who saw me outside fled from me.

David was reviled by his enemies, but even more so by his neighbors, and he was a fear to his acquaintances when he came out of hiding.  Indeed, this could be said of the men of Keilah who would have delivered him into the hand of Saul if he had stayed there.  Ahimelech had been fearful when David approached him alone.  He had become a reproach to everyone.

(12) I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

A man who was once very alive and virile and held in high regard by all was now forgotten as if he were dead.  He was out of sight and out of mind.  He was like a broken vessel, useless and irreparable.

(13) For I have heard the slander of many, fear on every side; while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

David had heard the slander and lies from all sides, from enemies and neighbors.  He feared everyone from all sides as they schemed together against him and devised ways to take away his life.

(14) But I trusted in You, O Lord; I said, "You are my God."

David had always trusted God, and it seemed his faith was revived again under all the discouraging views he had of things.

(15) My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

David acknowledged that the times of his life and death were all in God's hand.  He prayed that God deliver him once more from the hand of his enemies and those who persecuted him and sought his life.

(16) Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies' sake.

David prayed for the presence of God in his life, with all His love, mercy, and blessings.  These are the words of the blessing that Aaron was instructed to give to the children of Israel in Numbers 6:25, "The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you..."  David asked the Lord to save him, not for his own iniquitous sake, but for His mercies' sake, because of who He was and because He was so loving and merciful to sinners.

(17) Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; let the wicked be ashamed, let them be silent in the grave.

Once again, David prayed that he never be ashamed to publicly declare and call on his Lord.  May the Lord deliver him so that he would never be viewed as ashamed of having trusted in the Lord.  Rather let the wicked be ashamed because they did not trust in Him.  Let the wicked be silenced in their graves so that they did not triumph in their wicked ways.

(18) Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

David continued to pray that those lying lips of the arrogant wicked who so proudly and contemptuously slandered the righteous, be put to silence, in their graves, if must be.

(19) How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for them who trust in You before the sons of men!

How great is the Lord's goodness which He has laid up as treasure to be used for those who reverently fear and follow Him.  The greatest single goodness that the Lord wrought was planned and created by Him from the beginning, in the human form of Jesus Christ who made a way for all who trusted in Him to be saved, even in the midst of a wicked world.

(20) You shall hide them in the secret of Your presence from the pride of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

I get a picture of the Lord hiding His people under His mighty wings of protection from the arrogant pride of wicked men.  He shall protect them and keep them in the safety of His tent, away from contentious and slandering tongues.  To quote Paul in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Even David said in another one of his psalms, "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me." (Psalm 56:4)

(21) Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city.

When we are blessed by the Lord, we are divinely favored and fortunate to have what we have.  When we bless the Lord, it's in adoration, reverence, worship, and thanksgiving.  David worshiped his Lord in thanksgiving for His marvelous kindness to him in a strong city, which may have referred to Keilah where he was walled in by gates and bars.  The Lord had led him out of there.

(22) For I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before Your eyes;" nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to You.

In his first knee-jerk reaction David felt he had fallen into his enemies' hands; he had not held strong to his faith in God to deliver him.  Yet, even in his weakness, when he cried out to God, He heard him.

(23) O love the Lord, all you His saints, for the Lord preserves the faithful and plentifully rewards the proud doer.

David called on all the Lord's children, His followers, the Christians, to love the Lord for His goodness and providence.  The Lord always preserved His faithful, if not in this life, always in the next in eternity, and He justly rewarded the proud evil-doers.

(24) Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

David called on those who had their hope in the Lord to be encouraged that He would not leave or forsake them, but would strengthen their hearts, keeping them from being disheartened.  Give the Lord all you can, and He will meet you where you are and carry you through.  It reminds me of the man who brought his son to Jesus because he was possessed by an evil spirit (Mark 9:17).  Jesus told him if he believed, all things were possible, meaning even the healing of his son.  The man cried out, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, and He will give you more of what you need.

David Delivers Keilah and Abiathar Escapes to Tell David About the Slaughter of the Priests at Nob

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:1) Then they told David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors."

Before an interlude of psalms, Saul had Ahimelech and all the priests at Nob killed because he thought Ahimelech had conspired with David against him.  In fact, he had his servant Doeg kill all the people in Nob, even women, children, babies, and animals.  David had returned to Judah, and now he heard that the Philistines were fighting against Keilah, a city in Judah.  They were robbing the corn or grain that had been collected to thresh and winnow.

(2) Therefore David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and strike the Philistines and save Keilah."

When David heard the news, he asked the Lord if he should go strike the Philistines.  Normally, David would not have hesitated to help his countrymen, but he was no longer under commission from King Saul and did not have a large army, besides the fact that it might be foolish for him to come out of hiding when Saul was looking to kill him.  However, the Lord told him to go and save Keilah from the Philistines.

(3) And David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" (4) Then David enquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."

There were just four hundred men with David (1 Samuel 22:2), and they were afraid of Saul there in Judah because they had joined David.  They were even much more afraid of going out to fight the Philistines with so few men.  For the sake of his men, David again asked the Lord if they should all go against the Philistines in Keilah, and the Lord told him to go, and He would deliver the Philistines into his hand.  That was encouragement to the men.

(5) So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle, and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

So David and his army of four hundred men went to Keilah where they defeated the Philistines and brought away their cattle, which probably meant they were theirs to begin with, and the Philistines had taken them, and now they brought them back.  Thus David had saved Keilah, or more precisely, the Lord had saved Keilah by delivering the Philistines into David's hand.

(1 Samuel 22:20) And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 

Meanwhile, one of the sons of Ahimelech the priest at Nob, escaped the slaughter and came to David.

(1 Samuel 23:6) And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

Abiathar came to David in Keilah carrying an ephod in his hand, the garment that the high priest wore.

(1 Samuel 22:21) And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests. 

Abiathar told David about how Saul had killed the Lord's priests at Nob.

(22) And David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house."

David told Abiathar that when he had seen Doeg there in Nob, he knew he would tell Saul.  Although it was never his intention, he told Abiathar that he was the cause of his family's deaths.

(23) "Abide with me; fear not, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you are in safeguard."

David told Abiathar to remain with him because he, too, was in danger of being killed by Saul.  Actually, he realized that Saul's enmity against Abiathar was because of his hatred against himself, so David would defend the life of Abiathar as he defended his own life.