Theme
The righteous must reward good for evil and leave justice in God’s hands.
Introduction
At the end of chapter 22, Abiathar came to David and told him how Saul had commanded Doeg to slay all 85 of the priests of Nob, along with their families and the entire town.
David was now in no doubt that Saul would take his anger out on anyone who helped him. David would need to either spend his time hiding out in caves in the wilderness, or he would have to find another people to hide with, such as the Philistines.
In chapters 23-24 we see the clear contrast between the carnal man and the spiritual man.
- The carnal man is self-serving, putting his personal interests and comforts before God and others.
- The spiritual man is willing to sacrifice his personal goals for the good of others and for the glory of God.
Saul Pursues a Personal Vendetta
(Chapter 23)
Saul’s Pursuit to Keilah (Vs 1-13)
David Went to Help Keilah (Vs 1-6)
There Was a Philistine Army to Fight (Vs 1-4)
David had fled from Saul to Nob, and from Nob to Gath, and then he fled from the Philistines at Gath as well.
Now David has heard of Saul’s slaughter of the city of Nob and Abiathar, the son of the High Priest Ahimelech, is hiding with David and has with him an ephod, which was to be worn by the high priest and contained the Urim and Thummim for help in knowing the will of God.
David now received a report that the Philistines were attacking Keilah and David inquired of the Lord whether or not he should go down and defend Keilah.
It is likely that David called Abiathar to come to him and bring the ephod so that they could inquire of the Lord.
This is indicated in verse 6 when it is stated retrospectively that Abiathar had brought an ephod with him when he fled from Saul.
There Was a Deliverance to Be Enjoyed (Vs 5-6)
God promised that he would deliver the Philistines into David’s hand, however, David’s men were still afraid to go and fight the Philistines, so David inquired of the Lord once again (Vs 4) and the Lord affirmed his word to give them the victory (Vs 5).
So David and his men went to Keilah and fought against the Philistines, killing them and plundering their cattle, and saving the inhabitants of the city.
Saul Went to Catch David (Vs 7-13)
Saul Heard David Was in Keilah
No doubt, word had come to Saul of the victory that David had won over the Philistines, and it is probable that the people of Keilah felt obligated to give David and his men their hospitality, since David had saved all their lives.
While David was detained in Keilah, Saul saw this as a perfect opportunity to catch David while he was locked in by the city walls.
Saul Was Heard to Say God Had Delivered David Into His Hand
Saul was very clearly and openly working to slay David because of the fact that God had told Samuel to anoint David to be the next king of Israel.
Saul knows that David has been chosen by God and yet he seems determined that he will change God’s plans by his own actions.
There are times when your choices may take you out of the path of God’s perfect will for your life, but God will ultimately accomplish his purposes with or without your help.
Saul is a reminder that the carnal Christian will often attempt to put a spiritual veneer on their rebellion.
They know that it is wrong for a Christian to be a drunk and that the Bible says to come out from among such people and be separate but they say, “I go along to the work parties at the pub and I just drink Coca-Cola, that way I can be a testimony to my unsaved work mates.”
They know that the Bible says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together but they prioritise the footy club and will be at the game on Sunday rather than at church because, “I want to show others the love and grace of God.”
“To obey is better than sacrifice…”
Saul’s Pursuit Thwarted (Vs 14-29)
The remainder of the chapter revolves around Saul’s futile attempts to capture David.
David Was Continually on the Move
When David heard that Saul was coming for him in Keilah, David inquired of the Lord and the Lord told him that the men of the city would hand him over to Saul to save themselves.
David began running from Saul once again.
The following is the list of places David went:
- From Keilah to strongholds in the wilderness and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph
- From the mountain to the woods of Ziph
- From the woods of Ziph to moving through the neighbouring wilderness of Maon
- From the wilderness of Maon to the strongholds of En-gedi
God Delivered David
Despite Saul having a whole army at his disposal, he was unable to catch David and the reason for this is found in verse 14:
“…but God delivered him not into his hand.”
No matter how hard Saul might try to kill David, God was with David and Saul could not harm God’s anointed.
God Used the Philistines to Rescue David
Saul just missed David in verse 26.
Some might call it luck, but others would recognise the hand of God in this.
As Saul pursues David, he travels on one side of a mountain and is unaware that at that very moment, David was travelling in the opposite direction on the other side of the mountain.
Despite the initial escape around the mountain, the verse ends by stating that Saul had David surrounded.
The situation was dire to say the least and, from man’s perspective, it was only a matter of time before David was caught.
Just when Saul was about to capture David, he received word that the Philistines had invaded the land and he was forced to take his men and force march them to intercept the enemy.
God was perfectly on time and David knew it was God’s hand that had saved him that day.
Psalm 54:6-7
“I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.”
Saul’s Pursuit Rewarded with Good
(Chapter 24)
Saul Is Spared by David (Vs 1-7)
Immediately after dealing with the Philistines, Saul received word that David was at En-gedi.
En-gedi is situated on the west shore of the Dead Sea and was assigned to the tribe of Judah.
David and his men were hiding out at En-gedi because there was a small town located there, in those days, which was provided for by the spring of water.
It makes sense that David would use the caves here as a hideout because there was plenty of fresh water and a local settlement which could provide provisions as necessary.
Saul Pursued David Into the Caves of En-gedi
Saul obviously saw the caves as a potential resting place as verse 3 tells us that he went into a cave to cover his feet.
The Bible consistently uses this phrase to refer to lying down to sleep. This interpretation makes the most sense of the fact that Saul was unaware when David cut off the skirt of his robe.
Saul was unaware that the cave he had chosen for his personal relaxation was actually the same cave in which David and his men were hiding.
David Refused to Kill Saul
As Saul slept in the cave, David’s men counselled him to seize the opportunity to kill Saul.
It seems that David approached Saul with the knife in his hand but then decided only to cut Saul’s robe.
After that, he returned to his hiding place and told his men that it was wrong to kill God’s anointed man.
David prevented his men from killing Saul and allowed his sworn enemy to walk free.
David Revealed Himself to Be the Opposite of Saul
Saul pursued David and would have killed him if he could, but when David could have killed Saul, he chose not to.
The carnal man, like Saul, is self-serving, putting his personal interests and comforts before God and others.
The spiritual man, like David, is willing to sacrifice his personal goals for the good of others and for the glory of God.
David Left Justice in God’s Hands
Saul had tried many times to kill David.
Saul had pursued David across the country and was, even now, trying to find David so he could kill him.
If anyone had the “right” to kill Saul it was David, but David refused to take matters into his own hands and chose to trust God with it instead.
Proverbs 20:22
“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.”
Romans 12:20
“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Saul’s Pursuit Is Paused (Vs 8-22)
David Showed That He Was Not Saul’s Enemy
As Saul left the cave, David called to him in respectful terms from the mouth of the cave.
Although Saul was his oppressor, David didn’t treat Saul disrespectfully or speak to him in a harsh manner.
Colossians 4:6
“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt…”
Proverbs 15:1
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
David revealed that he had the opportunity to kill Saul but had chosen not to.
David showed Saul the skirt of the garment which he had cut away as proof that he could have killed Saul but had chosen not to.
In verse 12, David revealed that he was willing to let God be the judge between him and Saul.
Saul Had a Temporary Change of Heart
Saul was forced to recognise the undeniable truth in what David was saying.
In verses 16-19 Saul admits that David had been more honourable in his behaviour than Saul had and that it was the LORD who had given David deliverance from Saul and even delivered Saul into David’s hand.
Once again, Saul had the opportunity to change the direction his life was heading in and, while he seemed to recognise that and begin moving in the right direction, later passages reveal this to be only a temporary change of heart.
Saul Requested Mercy for His Family
Saul asked David to make a promise that he would not kill all of Saul’s family as soon as he came to the throne.
It was normal practice at this time to kill the family of the man you replaced to prevent them from attempting to retake the throne.
David agreed and made the promise Saul had requested.
When Saul returned home to his family, David went back to living in the strongholds of the wilderness.
It seems fairly clear that David didn’t trust Saul enough to return home.
David likely suspected that this would only be a temporary reprieve and then Saul would be after him once again.
Conclusion
Once again, we have seen the clear contrast between the carnal man and the spiritual man.
- The carnal man is self-serving, putting his personal interests and comforts before God and others.
- The spiritual man is willing to sacrifice his personal goals for the good of others and for the glory of God.
It has been well said:
“Anyone can retaliate. Few can restrain themselves, trust God, and do right when wronged.”
The spiritually minded man doesn’t seek personal revenge or personal gains but seeks the advancement of God’s work first and foremost and leaves the matters of vengeance and justice to God.