“When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
4 Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.”
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)”
1 Samuel 23:1-6
“First Samuel 23 shows God’s faithfulness shining brightly against the bleak backdrop of David’s life. David continued to evade the crazed King Saul, but he did more than hide. He took every possible opportunity to defend his people, even when he was repaid with betrayal.
David faced a dilemma. The Philistines were attacking the Israelite town of Keilah. What was David to do? Should he defend fellow Israelites and thereby put himself and his men at greater risk? In that difficult situation David did something characteristic of a man after God’s own heart. He inquired of the Lord.
‘The LORD answered him, ‘Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’ (v.2). Not surprisingly, David’s men greeted the news with less than enthusiasm. They said, ‘Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!’ (v. 3).
David responded to them in an interesting way. He returned to ask God once again. Once again God told him to go attack the Philistines and save Keilah. So David and his men fought the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.
Have you ever moved too quickly in a direction you believed God was sending you and later realized you were hasty and might have misunderstood? David’s example reminds us that doubting God and doubting we understood God are two different things.
I find it interesting that rather than shame his men for questioning the word he had received from God, David went back to God and reconfirmed His direction. God rebuked neither David nor his men. God knew David felt great responsibility to them. If he misunderstood God, many lives could be lost.
David did not ask God a second time because he doubted God, but because he needed to be certain. In the same way, you or I might ask God to reconfirm His direction – not because we doubt God’s Word, but because we question our understanding. To doubt God in the face of clear direction is disobedience, but to double-check our understanding and interpretation of God’s will is prudent.
Jesus, You have told us that if any of us wants to do You will, we will understand what comes from You and what is mere human understanding (John 7:17), that if we keep asking, keep searching, and keep knocking, what we need will be given to us by Your gracious hand. Teach me to trust You so totally that I can come before You boldly with my questions and struggles.”