INQUIRE OF THE LORD. 1st Samuel 23 In the world in which we live, there is a need on every hand. Billions of people need to hear the Gospel, and it is impossible for us to reach them all. Hungry men, women, and children in many parts of the world are calling for food. The medical needs of millions are well documented, as well as the plight of refugees from many countries. How can we know where to go and what to do to meet such needs? We can learn a basic lesson from David when he was informed that the Philistines had taken the harvested grain right from the threshing floors of Keilah. Before taking any action, we need to get our guidance from God first.
Even though it was Saul's responsibility to come and defend even a distant village on the far edge of Israel, the call for help came to David. He was the one with the heart of a shepherd who truly cared for the people of God. We may be distressed, and things are not going as we had hoped, but when we are in touch with God, He enables us to meet the needs of others through divine intervention. Even though others with us may say, "We have enough trouble of our own without getting involved in anything else!" we still need to be ready to act under the guidance of God. Not all believers have the insight of faith to rise above what they see around them. Sometimes, we must remember, "My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."
When God gives us the directions we need and the encouragement to act in faith, we need to go forward and get at the work. Twice, God assured David that he should deliver Keilah. "I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand" was all the guidance David needed. When we know God's will through His word, the counsel of others, and the assuring guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can confidently move forward and do what we normally would not do. The presence and power of God are all we need to defeat the enemy.
"Faith is the victory" that will keep us from being overcome by the pressures of religious systems that want us to accommodate the natural man's desire. The enemy would take away the spiritual food we need to grow and be strong in the Lord. There are some who would take away what God has given us by His divine provision and leave us with only chaff. When we act in faith and true dependence on God, He will give us the deliverance from the enemy we need and the power to serve Him as He chooses.
God gave David and his men victory, and they brought back more than they lost to the people of Keilah. They brought cattle, and the Philistines lost many people. God gave the victory, but it is a sad commentary on some unnamed person or persons who told Saul that David was in the walled city of Keilah. Saul would have been willing to ruin the city and kill its inhabitants like he did in Nob, just to get David. The bitterness and hatred of jealousy have no limits and are unsatisfied with peace. Its demands are so great that nothing less than total vengeance is acceptable.
The implacable enemy of God will stop at nothing to bring down God's people. But God is faithful to His people. David did what we all should do in crisis situations. He talked the matter over with the Lord and submitted, as a servant should, to His word. He placed himself into the Lord's keeping, trusting Him for deliverance, and praised God.
Psalm 31 expresses David's confidence in the Lord; we can expect the same results when we trust Him. He will lead and guide us even as He did David. He will keep us out of the net, which the enemy will spread as he seeks to trap us. How important it is that we commit our spirit to Him! The place into which we have been brought is a "large room!" even though we may be "a reproach" to those around us who seem to be opposed to us because of our commitment to a literal interpretation of the word of God, and have it only as our source of information as to our conduct and practice.
When our trust is in the Lord our God, we are assured of the fact that our "times are in Thy hand," and He will deliver us from the enemies and persecution that people want to inflict on those who call upon the Lord alone. Saul, on the other hand, didn't know God. He acted first and claimed anything he thought was good as evidence of the blessing of God. Not everything we think is good really is. There are favorable people, things, and circumstances that seem good to us at the time, which may be what stumbles and brings us down. Money has that tendency. So do popular opinion and words of praise from people. The Lord we love preserves the faithful and deserves all the praise and glory. He is the One who gives us courage and strength of heart. Our hope is in Him, not other people or ourselves.
While Saul was seeking David, Jonathan knew where to find him. True friends know how each other thinks. Jonathan knew where David was in the wilderness of Ziph and went to him to encourage him by "strengthening his hand in God." Jonathan knew God, and he could see the future. His comment to David, "Fear not," would assure David of God's promises and purpose for him in relation to the kingdom. However, Jonathan's confidence and spiritual intelligence did not equal his devotion to David. It is possible to know what is right and what we should do but not do it because of the cost of previous relationships and ties to the religious and social world. We are called to "come out from among them and be separate."
The people of Ziph wanted the favor of the sitting king instead of the coming king. According to Psalm 54, "The strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul." When the darkness of Saul's heart cast its shadow, others were fearful, deceived, and defiled. Treachery knows no limit when it appeals to the flesh. David found relief in "Thy name" when Saul and his army pursued him. He sensed God was his Helper, and he was delivered in God's own way and time. It is always good to remember, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" At those times, we should do as David, "I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: I will praise Thy name, O Lord: for it is good."
Jonathan went into the woods, in the strength of character and deliberate stealth, to meet with David, who was as dear to him as his life. The place that he left, the home he knew, was filled with tension, fear, strife, unhappiness, bitterness, intrigue, and woe, with hatred, loss, and grief. His best friend was in the woods, avoiding a confrontation with Saul, Jonathan’s father, who was seeking to kill David. Jonathan knew where to meet and to find David, and he knew, through God's grace, that he was there, he would find sweet relief.
Their talk was of God, the Beginning and End, whose kingdom is sure to endure. Such conversation “strengthened David’s hand in the Lord,” for God had made known to them both that Saul’s kingship, which he had marred, he forfeited, flaunted, and lost because of disobedience and the deceitfulness of sin. He had inserted himself into a position in which he had no right, nor had he fully obeyed directives from God. So, they talked of the past, the future, the hopes, and the promises from God’s word. They talked about the kingdom, their roles, and the work they would share for the Lord.
Deep in that dark wood, a covenant was made between them in a secret place with God as a witness. They intended to see each one as all he could be before God. But what happened there seemed like it could not be; Jonathan turned and walked away. “No, Jonathan, No! Do not do this dread thing; be wise, stay with David.” Jonathan knew that turning away from his friend would mean paying a high price. I wonder what David thought when he looked at his back as he walked away. David prayed.
“O Lord God, he’s my friend I depend on. Can it be that I will never again see his face and, in fellowship, trace a kingdom that never shall end? It’s from Thy own word, Lord God, and its truth that I heard; that if I from Thy way will not bend, you’ll bless from this kingdom you gave, with a kingdom that never shall end. A King on His throne, far greater than mine, and a King far greater than I will reign in righteousness and true holiness; a kingdom He will pay for with His own blood. His throne is forever, His scepter is right; this King from Thy home in the sky will finally bring peace to the earth. With grace, this King will supply God’s fullness to everyone who will come to Him by faith.”
But Jonathan went to his home, and there he stayed until Saul, in his shame, sin, and blame, died on Mount Gilboa. Jonathan, too, Abinadab and Malchishua, his brothers, died with swords in their hands at his side. Earth’s ties are sometimes so strong that even when we know they are wrong, we find them hard to untie. Jonathan’s name is a good name, and we highly approve of it, so we give it to our sons along with the name David. His friend’s love for him was so strong that it seemed that for him there was no end to his grief. “Jonathan went to his house” to keep the peace, hope, and love in the family of Saul. But when he turned away from David, God’s chosen man, that day, he crossed a line with no reprieve.