Saul was told that David had come to Keilah. Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in by entering into a town that has gates and bars.” Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” Then David said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Yahweh, the God of Israel, I beg you, tell your servant.” Yahweh said, “He will come down.”
Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” Yahweh said, “They will deliver you up.”
Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. Saul was told that David was escaped from Keilah; and he gave up going there. David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn’t deliver him into his hand. David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.
Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose, and went to David into the woods, and strengthened his hand in God. He said to him, “Don’t be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father won’t find you; and you will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.” They both made a covenant before Yahweh. Then David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his house.
Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Doesn’t David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert? Now therefore, O king, come down. According to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part will be to deliver him up into the king’s hand.”
Saul said, “You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me. Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I have been told that he is very cunning. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you. It shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23 To consult with the Lord by Urim and Thummim.
To consult with the Lord by Urim and Thummim.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–23 1Sa 23:7 And it was told Saul that David…
1Sa 23:7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
Ver. 7. God hath delivered him into mine hands.] Thus this "hypocrite flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful," {Psa 36:2} and although he standeth in a posture of distance and defiance against God, yet he talketh very confidently of him, as if on his side. So did Rabshakeh, and the Pharisees: and so do the Popish persecutors, beginning their processes against the martyrs with, "In the name of God, Amen," and taking for their posy these words of the psalmist, "Our help is in the name of the Lord." "Thou art near in their mouth," saith the prophet concerning such, "but far from their reins." {Jer 12:2} They are right blackamoors, white nowhere but in the teeth.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 He easily believed what he greedily desired, though his…
He easily believed what he greedily desired, though his own experience had oft showed him how strangely God had delivered him out of his hands, and what a singular care God had over him.
For he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars; so that which he chose for his safety will be his certain ruin.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv7, 14, 19 Here is, I. Saul contriving within himself the destruction…
Here is, I. Saul contriving within himself the destruction of David (Sa1 23:7, Sa1 23:8): He heard that he had come to Keilah; and did he not hear what brought him thither? Was it not told him that he had bravely relieved Keilah and delivered it out of the hands of the Philistines? This, one would think, should have put Saul upon considering what honour and dignity should be done to David for this. But, instead of that, he catches at it as an opportunity of doing David a mischief. An ungrateful wretch he was, and for ever unworthy to have any service or kindness done him. Well might David complain of his enemies that they rewarded him evil for good, and that for his love they ere his adversaries, Psa 35:12; Psa 109:4. Christ was used thus basely, Joh 10:32. Now observe, 1. How Saul abused the God of Israel, in making his providence to patronise and give countenance to his malicious designs, and thence promising himself success in them: God hath delivered him into my hand; as if he who was rejected of God were in this instance owned and favoured by him, and David infatuated. He vainly triumphs before the victory, forgetting how often he had had fairer advantages against David than he had now and had yet missed his aim. He impiously connects God with his cause, because he thought he had gained one point. Therefore David prays (Psa 140:8), Grant not, O Lord! the desires of the wicked; further not his wicked device, lest they exalt themselves. We must not think that one smiling providence either justifies an unrighteous cause or secures its success. 2. How Saul abused the Israel of God, in making them the servants of his malice against David. He called all the people together to war, and they must with all speed march to Keilah, pretending to oppose the Philistines, but intending to besiege David and his men, though concealing that design; for it is said (Sa1 23:9) that he secretly practised mischief against him. Miserable is that people whose prince is a tyrant, for, while some are sufferers by his tyranny, others (which is worse) are made servants to it and instruments of it.
II. David consulting with God concerning his own preservation. He knew by the information bought him that Saul was plotting his ruin (Sa1 23:9) and therefore applied to his great protector for direction. No sooner is the ephod brought to him than he makes use of it: Bring hither the ephod. We have the scriptures, those lively oracles, in our hands; let us take advice from them in doubtful cases. "Bring hither the Bible."
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1. David's address to God upon this occasion is, (1.) Very solemn and reverent. Twice he calls God the Lord God of Israel, and thrice calls himself his servant, Sa1 23:10, Sa1 23:11. Those that address God must know their distance, and who they are speaking to. (2.) Very particular and express. His representation of the case is so (Sa1 23:10): "Thy servant has certainly heard on good authority" (for he would not call for the ephod upon every idle rumour) "that Saul has a design upon Keilah;" he does not say, "to destroy me," but, "to destroy the city" (as he had lately done the city of Nob) "for my sake." He seems more solicitous for their safety than for his own, and will expose himself any where rather than they shall be brought into trouble by his being among them. Generous souls are thus minded. His queries upon the case are likewise very particular. God allows us to be so in our addresses to him: "Lord, direct me in this matter, about which I am now at a loss." He does indeed invert the due order of his queries, but God in his answer puts him into method. That question should have been put first, and was first answered, "Will Saul come down, as thy servant has heard?" "Yea," says the oracle, "he will come down; he has resolved it, is preparing for it, and will do it, unless he hear that thou hast quitted the town." "Well, but if he do come down will the men of Keilah stand by me in holding the city against him, or will they open to him the gates, and deliver me into his hand?" If he had asked the men (the magistrates or elders) of Keilah themselves what they would do in that case, they could not have told him, not knowing their own minds, nor what they should do when it came to the trial, much less which way the superior vote of their council would carry it; or they might have told him they would protect him, and yet afterwards have betrayed him; but God could tell him infallibly: "When Saul besieges their city, and demands of them that they surrender thee into his hands, how fond soever they now seem of thee, as their saviour, they will deliver thee up rather than stand the shock of Saul's fury." Note, [1.] God knows all men better than they know themselves, knows their length, their strength, what is in them, and what they will do if they come into such and such circumstances. [2.] He therefore knows not only what will be, but what would be if it were not prevented; and therefore knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and how to render to every man according to his works.
2. David, having thus far notice given him of his danger, quitted Keilah, Sa1 23:13. His followers had now increased in number to 600; with these he went out, not knowing whither he went, but resolving to follow Providence and put himself under its protection. This broke Saul's measures. He thought God had delivered David into his hand, but it proved that God delivered him out of his hand, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler. When Saul heard that David had escaped from Keilah, he forbore to go forth with the body of the army, as he intended (Sa1 23:8), and resolved to take only his own guards, and go in quest of his people's enemies and turn their counsels head-long.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–23 And it was told Saul that David was come…
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah,.... No doubt it was told him what he came thither for, to relieve it, and deliver it out of the hands of the Philistines, and what success he had; which one would have thought would have reconciled his mind to him, and made him think well of them; but instead of that, it only led him to contrive mischief against him:
and Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; as if the success he had given to David was against, him, and in favour of Saul:
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for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars; while he betook himself to caves, and fields, and woods, he had no great hopes of finding him out, and coming up with him, and seizing him; but now he had got into a fortified place, enclosed with walls, and that had gates to it, kept bolted and barred; when he brought his army against it, and surrounded it, he imagined he would not be able to get out, and escape his hands.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11, 16, 17, 18, 19 The Lord said - From this place it may…
The Lord said - From this place it may appear that God's answer by Urim and Thummim, was not by any change in the colour or situation of the precious stones in the breast-plate of the Ephod, but by a voice or suggestion from God to the high-priest. He will - He purposeth to come, if thou continuest here. For still as David's question, so God's answer, is upon supposition.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16 Verse 8. Saul called all the people together] That…
Verse 8. Saul called all the people together] That is, all the people of that region or district, that they might scour the country, and hunt out David from all his haunts.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19 1Sa 23:7. Saul said, God hath delivered him into…
1Sa 23:7. Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand — David, who judged of other men’s generosity by his own, hoped he should be protected in Keilah; and Saul, who judged in the same manner of their baseness, believed he should not; and therefore he rejoiced upon receiving the news of David’s being shut up there, persuaded he should now get possession of his person. But it was strange he should imagine that God had taken measures to bring an innocent and pious man into his power, who was a contemner of God, a breaker of his commandments, and one that trampled on all laws, human and divine.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv12, 14, 16, 19 The conduct of the men of Keilah would be…
The conduct of the men of Keilah would be like that of the men of Judah to Samson their deliverer Jdg 15:10-13.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23 Bars. This was what David’s men apprehended. Saul thinks…
Bars. This was what David’s men apprehended. Saul thinks this is a fit opportunity for taking them all prisoners; and he supposes that God was on his side, though, after his repeated crimes, he had little reason to flatter himself with hopes of this nature. The wicked, however, easily delude themselves. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 14, 16, 19 SAUL'S COMING, AND TREACHERY OF THE KEILITES. (Sa1 23:7-13)
SAUL'S COMING, AND TREACHERY OF THE KEILITES. (Sa1 23:7-13)
it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah--Saul imagined himself now certain of his victim, who would be hemmed within a fortified town. The wish was father to the thought. How wonderfully slow and unwilling to be convinced by all his experience, that the special protection of Providence shielded David from all his snares!
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 18, 19 DAVID IN THE DESERTS OF ZIPH AND MAON, 1Sa_23:14-29.
DAVID IN THE DESERTS OF ZIPH AND MAON, 1Sa_23:14-29.
14. A mountain in the wilderness of Ziph — Perhaps the same eminence, about three miles southeast of Hebron, that still bears the name Tell Zif; at all events, some mountain in this vicinity is meant. Compare Jos_15:55.
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Saul sought him every day — He probably supposed that David was gathering troops around him for hostile purposes against himself, and that when adequately strong he would not hesitate to make an attempt upon the throne. He may have feared also that David would issue a call to the tribes of Israel for help, for he well knew how popular the young hero was wherever he was known.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23 7–15. The treachery of the Keilites
7–15. The treachery of the Keilites
7. hath delivered him] Lit. hath rejected him and delivered him. So blind was Saul as to imagine that it was not himself but David whom God had rejected. The Sept. reads “sold.”
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a town, &c.] A city. It may have been one of the old Canaanite fortresses (see on Jos_11:13), or have been fortified as an outpost against the Philistines.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 23 (7) God hath delivered him into mine hand.—There was…
(7) God hath delivered him into mine hand.—There was little chance, Saul knew, of his being able to capture or slay his foe when he was roaming at large through the desert and forests which lay to the south of Palestine, and which stretched far southward beyond the reach of any armed force that he could collect; but there was a hope of being able to compass his enemy’s destruction, either through treachery or a hand-to-hand encounter, in a confined space like a city with bars and gates, such as Keilah. Saul and his counsellors knew too well whom they had to deal with in the case of the citizens of that faithless, thankless city. It is strange, after all that had passed, that Saul could delude himself that his cause was the cause of God, and that David was the reprobate and rejected. The Hebrew word here is remarkable: God hath “repudiated or rejected him.” The LXX. renders “sold him” (into my hands).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21 Vers. 7, 8. It was well nigh a hopeless…
Vers. 7, 8. It was well nigh a hopeless matter to hunt David as long as he remained on the borders of the desert of Judah, but once shut up in a town his capture was inevitable. When Saul, therefore, heard that David was at Keilah, he said, God hath delivered him into my hand. The Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate translate in the same way, probably as the nearest equivalent to the Hebrew, while the Septuagint has a different readingsold. The Hebrew phrase is a very strong one; literally, "God hath ignored him," hath treated him as a stranger, and so let, him fall "into my hand." Possibly Saul s metaphor was taken from the popular language, and no attempt should be made to get rid of unusual expressions, as if they were false readings. By entering into a town that hath gates and bars. Either the people of a walled town would give up David rather than expose themselves to the horrors of a siege, (2Sa_20:21, 2Sa_20:22) or, if they stood by him, its capture would be a mere matter of time. David, it seems, would have run the risk, but happily was prevented.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv12, 16, 17 They will deliver thee up.
1Sa_23:12
They will deliver thee up.
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The men of Keilah
When first; introduced to us here, David is represented as being reduced to great straits by the malignant hostility of Saul. But although Davids condition seems so desperate, and Sauls power so great--when an emergency arises, and the men of Keilah find themselves in sore straits, it is not from Saul, the king after mans own heart, but from the despised David, that assistance comes. Let us try and picture to ourselves the scene. The country folk are crowding into the little town by hundredth. Their homesteads have been pillaged and burned, and they themselves have only escaped with their lives. The ruthless Philistines have already stripped some of them of everything they possess, and unless unlooked for help arrive there seems no escape from the superior forces of the foe. They have taken refuge for the moment in Keilah, but this temporary shelter affords them no real security. The town is quite unprepared to stand a siege, or even to resist a vigorous assault. On every face you can see sorrow and anxiety only too plainly printed. Suddenly breathless messengers appear approaching the walls of the little city, and it is easy to see that they are the bearers of good tidings. From lip to lip the good news spreads, and all is summed up in a single word, and that word is David. Yes, it is actually true; the conqueror of Goliath of Gath has once again put his life in his hands, and wrought a great deliverance. The Philistines are utterly routed, and Keilah is saved. Imagine if you can the feelings of the eager multitude at that moment, as him good news spreads like wildfire amongst them. See yonder the old men, the fathers of the city, are lifting up their hands to God, and pouring forth praise; mothers are weeping for joy, and strong men have tears in their eyes as they grasp each others hands in heartfelt gratulation. And have not some of us known something of a similar feeling in the course of our own inner life? Was there not a time when we woke up to find ourselves in terrible danger, and indeed were driven to despair of helping ourselves, or escaping by our own futile strugglings out of the hand of the destroyer. Robbed and injured, and threatened with still graver evils, we found ourselves reduced to the sorest straits, and nothing that the world spirit could do for us could relieve us from our misery or our peril. Some of you have known something of all this in your own personal experience. And then there came the moment of deliverance, when you were able to say, I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord. Not by a Miltonic conflict between winged combatants, not by any display of divine omnipotence crushing down all opposition, but none the less by the most sublime deed of heroism that ever was performed, deliverance came. Our wistful gaze turned at last towards the cross of Calvary, and there we saw our battle fought and won by Him whom man despised, whom the world crucified as a felon outside the gate. A new and not less alarming peril arose, and one they had neither foreseen nor even thought of in their first moments of joyous enthusiasm. It is heard with feelings of consternation that the infuriated king is preparing to march upon the ill-fated town, thus exposed to a new and not less terrible alarm. What was to be done? Their manner towards David becomes cold and restrained, and soon, no doubt, the rulers and elders of the town gather together in secret conclave to discuss bow they were to deal with their former benefactor and friend. Meanwhile David also is making the discovery of his new danger. He has received the information from the Urim and Thummim, Saul will certainly come down. And the sacred historian lets us into the secret cause of this hostile movement. On hearing of Davids entry into Keilah, Saul had exclaimed, God hath delivered him into my hand, etc. There is something very suggestive and instructive in all this. The entrance of Christ into our nature offers Satan his opportunity, and you may depend upon it he will use it. So soon as Jesus Christ is received into our hearts, and when we have admitted His royal claim, or even begun to recognize Him as the anointed Heir of all, the world will begin to marshal its forces against us; and the great object of the prince of the world is to induce us to commit just such an act of perfidy as Saul expected or desired from the men of Keilah. This much is sure, Saul will certainly come down. This spirit of rancorous hatred which animated Saul against David has been reproduced over and over again in the history of the Christian Church. This moved the heathen of old in their persecution of the primitive Christians; and those who confessed Christ in those days, and were true to Him, knew well that in every city bonds and imprisonments, and perhaps even torture and death, awaited them. And when persecution is not thus public and open, it is often none the less cruel. I have known of fathers in affluent circumstances who have threatened to cut their sons off with a shilling if they did not give up their religion, and who have proved as good as their word. Amongst our friends in our home circle, in society, in the workshop, in the regiment, on sea or land, they who are true to their divine Master are exposed to the bitter animosity and relentless persecution of the world. And let us remember that the persecution that takes the form of ribald scorn or refined contempt is less easily tolerated by many natures than more violent measures of persecution. To return to the men of Keilah, whom we left in solemn conclave assembled to consider this new danger, and how it was to be met. I fancy I can see one shrewd and keen-looking old man rising up amongst his neighbours go give his view of the matter--a sort of moral anticipation of the counsel of Caiaphas. It is a very simple and a very practical question that we are about to decide, my friends, and I will put it thus in a single sentence: Is one man to perish, or the city? That is the question in its naked simplicity. Some will, I dare say, talk very sentimentally of the brave thing David has done, and of the debt of gratitude we owe him. Well, that may be all very fine as a matter of sentiment; but this is a business meeting, and our wisdom will lie in taking a calm, dispassionate, business-like view of the matter. We have, of course, to consider our own interests. We are in a work-a-day sort of world, and we must regard everything from a business point of view. Three courses are open to tin. Either to fight Davids battle, and share Davids fate, sacrificing our lives, or flying with him to the mountains of the wild goats, leaving our city to be spared by the conqueror. Our next course is to give David a word of warning, and tell him at our dilemma. That may seem a right thing to do; but if Saul known that we have done it we shall bring down his indignation on our heads, and the probability is that he will vent his fury on the men of Keilah; so that our case will be just as bad as it would be if David were within our walls. The third course, and to my mind it is the only sensible one, is to make up our mind that when the time comes we will deliver David up to his master, and to intimate this our intention at once to Saul. Whatever may come of this, the responsibility will be with Saul, and not with us; we shall only have acted as our circumstances compelled us to do. Of course we are very sorry for David, and of course we all feel profound regret at having to treat a man so, who has been very useful to us. But then, you know, as I have said, we must consider ourselves. This is our only chance of safety, and we must make the most of it. We may not like doing it, but we all have to do a great many things that we dont like. And while they are thus deliberating, there is David alone with God and his priest. The ephod is brought out, and the enquiry is made, Will Saul come down? and the answer is, He will come down. Davids heart sinks within him. O Lord! he asks a second time, will the men of Keilah deliver me up and my men into the hands of Saul? And from the mystic breastplate the inexorable answer is returned, They will deliver thee up. I wonder if that was the moment when David said in his haste, All men are liars. At any rate, I do not suppose he ever entertained a lower estimate of humanity than at that moment. These fervent thanks, expressed with so much emotion, were only empty breath after all. What a miserable world it is! Honour and manliness seem vanished from it, and truth has sped her flight. It must have been a sad moment; and which of us would not have felt for him? But stay. Have we no similar feelings for another Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief; another, to whom we ourselves owe far more than the men of Keilah ever owed to David? It comes to pass that not a few Christians who have once known something of the great deliverance, and rejoiced in Gods salvation, prove false to their Master in the hour of trial, that they may escape the worlds hostility. They throw open the gates of Mansoul to the world, and so betray their Master into the hands of His foe by betraying His cause. You may be sure that the first care of the world spirit when thus invited to enter and take possession of our nature will be, so to speak, to assassinate his rival, and Christ will desert the desecrated fane, and leave the soul to its new false friends. (W. Aitken, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv7, 13, 19 1Sa_23:9-12. “It is evident from these verses that when…
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES
1Sa_23:9-12. “It is evident from these verses that when the will of God was sought through the Urim and Thummim, the person making the inquiry placed the matter before God in prayer, and received an answer—but always to one particular question. For when David had asked the two questions given in 1Sa_22:11, he received the answer to the second question only, and had to ask the first again.” (Keil.)
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—1Sa_23:7-12
SAUL MARCHES AGAINST KEILAH TO SEIZE DAVID
I. Men often put a false interpretation upon circumstances. Saul never made a greater mistake than when he said of David in Keilah, “God hath delivered him into mine hand.” If this was indeed his belief, it shows us how very greatly men may err in their interpretation of the events of Providence, and how far they may be from a right conception of the light in which God regards both their character and their actions. It seems impossible that Saul could either have misunderstood or forgotten the word of the Lord delivered to him by Samuel; and yet he here speaks as though his pursuit of David was undertaken with the Divine approval, and puts an entirely false meaning upon his present position. When men misinterpret human language, they do so either through ignorance or wilfulness. A man who is but imperfectly acquainted with a language may put a false construction on words spoken or written, and so come to a false conclusion as to the intention of the speaker or writer. So sometimes men, through ignorance, misread God’s providential dealings. Job’s friends entirely misinterpreted the circumstances in which they found the patriarch, concluding that his afflictions were to punish his sin when they were to develop and strengthen his godliness; and other men, who have had no revelation from God, have often doubtless erred in like manner. But by far the most destructive and the greater number of such misinterpretations arise not from ignorance but from wilfulness, as was certainly the case with Saul at this time. Such a wilful mistake was made by the Egyptian host at the Red Sea, when they said of Israel “They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.” The miracles of judgment which had just been wrought in the land of Egypt spoke concerning the character and purposes of the Lord God of the Hebrews in language which could only be wilfully misinterpreted, and hence they had only themselves to blame for their destruction. But such misreadings of God’s providential dealings have not been confined to Old Testament times. We need not wonder that they have been abundant in the history of the Christian Church, when we remember how men misinterpreted the death of Him who founded it, and concluded, when they saw Him hanging upon the cross, that “Himself He could not save.”
II. For a good man in such circumstances there is always a final court of appeal. A child when misjudged or perplexed goes to his father for a verdict or an explanation concerning that which troubles him. To his young mind the wisdom and the goodness resident in his parent constitute him the judge in all disputes, and the one who can solve all difficulties. Every good man thus instinctively turns to God when a wrong interpretation is put either upon his character or his circumstance, or upon both. Conscious of his own sincerity, and fully persuaded, even in the midst of his perplexities, of the wisdom and righteousness of his Heavenly Father, he looks heavenward for help and guidance when every human support fails him. Even Job, amid the terrible storm of afflictions which drew from him many expressions of impatience, and some which seem to impugn the justice of the Most High, ever and anon turns from the charges and expostulations of his mistaken human friends to Him whom he feels in his inmost soul is the final court of appeal, and the only Judge to whom he can safely commit his cause. So David here, perplexed no doubt by the providence which seemed to grow darker at every step, and pained at the ingratitude of the men upon whose gratitude and friendship he must surely have counted, turns again and again to his Father in heaven, and by his appeals and inquiries shows that, although the waves and the billows of adversity are all around him, his faith has not lost her hold, and that he can still hear the “voice of the Lord upon the waters,” and see Him “sitting on the flood” (Psalms 29).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
The men of Keilah were neither chivalrous nor grateful. They regarded their own interests as supreme. Like many in our own day, they might profess to aim after the greatest happiness of the greatest number, but when you came to analyse their views, you would find that with them, to use the words of Joseph Hume, “the greatest number was number one!” It was not for their advantage to serve David, and they did not serve him; and I am free to say that all my observation and experience convince me that a large proportion of the present generation would have done as they were willing to do. Of course that does not excuse them, but it should make us cautious as to what we say in their condemnation, lest, haply, we may some day be judged out of our own mouths. Gratitude, chivalry, enthusiasm for the cause of the wronged—what are these words in the mouths of many to-day but words? they sound well, and they are very fine so long as they cost nothing; but let adherence to them put property or life in peril, and too many would cling to the property and the life, and let the others go. Ye who condemn the inhabitants of Keilah because they were willing to betray David, how long would you show gratitude at the risk of the loss of all things? It was a disgrace to them that they would not stand by him who had delivered them; but is it anything less to us, when we allow our worldly interests to blind us to the obligations under which we lie to those who befriended us in our time of need? Is it anything less to us when, for the sake of fashion, or fortune, or fame, we turn our backs upon the Christ, who has borne the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary on our behalf? Idolatry of self is as hideous now as it was in David’s time. Let those who are guilty of it, therefore, look here, and, in the pitiful poltroonery of the men of Keilah they will see how mean and contemptible they look.—Dr. W. M. Taylor.
1Sa_23:12. Here is a second inquiry. God loveth to be often sought unto by His praying people (Luk_18:1), and therefore answereth them by degrees, that He may frequently hear from them. Thus the cloud empties not itself at a sudden burst, but dissolved upon the earth drop after drop. Trapp.
Whereas the Lord answereth, that Saul would come down to Keilah, and that the men of Keilah would deliver David into Saul’s hands, and yet neither of these came to pass; hence it cannot be inferred that the predictions of the Lord are uncertain, for the Lord’s answer is here to be understood conditionally.… A difference is here to be made between the prescience of God and the predestination: for the Lord as well seeth what shall be done as what is likely to be done in respect of the second causes; but His decree of predestination is only of those things which shall most certainly be effected.—Willet.
The origin of the thirty-first Psalm is to be traced to this period of wandering, although there is nothing contained in the title of it which authorises this supposition. We meet, however, with many passages in the psalm which quite correspond with the circumstances in which David was then placed. The singer begins with the humble but confiding prayer that God would never let him be put to shame (he was so at that time, when the citizens of Keilah would no longer suffer him to dwell amongst them); but that he would deliver him (the guiltless outlaw) in his righteousness. He prays that the Lord would bow down His ear to him, and deliver him speedily, and be a strong rock to him, and a protecting fortress. The imagery here is plainly suggested by the wild scenes of nature which surrounded the singer. He prays that, for his name’s sake, the Lord would lead him and graciously be near him in the pathless and inhospitable wilderness, and that he would guard his feet from the net which they had laid on all sides to catch him. “Into thine hand,” he coutinues, “I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth,” namely, from the violence to which they would surrender me. Moreover, David speaks of himself as one who was forsaken by all the world, and was covered with unmerited reproaches and slanders. He was even guilty of high treason, and had placed himself in opposition to the greatest part of the people, because he was the object of the king’s displeasure. Yet he is far from speaking of himself as free from all guilt. He feels himself as a poor sinner before God, and, with a sigh, gives utterance to the prayer, “Have mercy upon me, O Lord.” Nevertheless he trusted in His mercy whom he confidently called his God; and, after giving praise to the Lord for all the wonderful goodness and the help which he had hitherto vouchsafed to him “in his flight,” he concludes with this call to his brethren in the faith: “O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”—Krummacher.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v14 In the Wilderness of Ziph
In the Wilderness of Ziph
v. 14. And David abode in the wilderness in strongholds, on sheltering heights in the great semiarid region of Southern Judah, whose several parts were named after the cities in the neighborhood, and remained in a mountain in the Wilderness of Ziph, establishing his camp there for some time. And Saul sought him every day, all the days of his life, continually, but God delivered him not into his hand. This remark serves as an introduction to the entire next section.
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v. 15. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life, he received information to that effect, it was impressed upon his consciousness more and more; and David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a wood, a thick forest, which offered him the best form of concealment.
v. 16. And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose, and went to David into the wood, in proof of the continued faithfulness of his friendship, and strengthened his hand in God, encouraged him by reminding him of God’s promises of His divine presence and protection.
v. 17. And he said unto him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul, my father, shall not find thee, he was convinced that David was sheltered by God’s special protection; and thou shalt be king over Israel, a conviction which had been forced upon him by the trend of events, and I shall be next unto thee, he was perfectly willing to resign all claim to the throne; and that also Saul, my father, knoweth, he was aware that David was to be his successor.
v. 18. And they two made a covenant before the Lord, renewing the covenant which united their hearts, 1Sa 20:16-42; and David abode in the wood, remaining in concealment with his men, and Jonathan went to his house.
v. 19. Then came up the Ziphites, whose behavior furnishes a most glaring contrast to that of Jonathan, to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us, in our neighborhood, in strongholds in the wood, where they could note his every movement, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south side of Jeshimon? This wooded, rocky mountain lay on the south side of a waste region which stretched out on the west side of the Dead Sea, within the steppes of Judah.
v. 20. Now, therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. So passionate were they in their adherence to Saul that they would do all in their power to deliver David into his hand.
v. 21. And Saul said, with the blindness of an evil conscience, Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have compassion on me, praising them in this respect, just as he had rebuked his servants for their lack of sympathy for him, 1Sa 22:8.
v. 22. Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, where his foot will be, every retreat of David in his constant shifting about; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly, that was a prominent trait in David’s character.
v. 23. See, therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, literally, "what is certain," that is with sure information, and I will go with you; and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah, the larger division of the tribe, Num 1:16, that is, in their territory. Thus Saul still showed his fixed idea that David was attempting to take his throne and life, and thus committing a great crime against God.
v. 24. And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul, who was soon to follow with his men; but David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, south of the mountain of Hachilah, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon, on or near a conical hill which still bears a very similar name.
v. 25. Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David; wherefore he came down into a rock, descended the rock, the mountain where he had been, in order to reach the lowland and a new hiding-place, and abode in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the Wilderness of Maon.
v. 26. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain, the mountain thus separating the two armies; and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, he was very anxious to escape; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them, they were at the point of surrounding them.
v. 27. But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land, they had undertaken a raid on a large scale, their object being to obtain booty.
v. 28. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines; therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth (rock of divisions, rock of escapes), because it was undoubtedly due to its upthrust that David escaped with his men.
v. 29. And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strongholds at En-gedi, about the middle of the western shore of, the Dead Sea. The Lord, who governs all things, protected His servant in this extremity. And the same God has ways and means to help us in all our troubles and difficulties. if we but commit our way to Him.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 Saul was told
Saul was told
This can be translated in active form. AT: "Someone told Saul" or "They told Saul" (See: Active or Passive)
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summoned
officially called. The reader should understand that Saul probably told his officials to gather the soldiers. He did not call with a loud voice to get them to come.
all his forces
"all his soldiers"
translationWords
Saul (OT)
David
God
hand
gate
Abiathar
priest
ephod
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 23:7 God has handed him over to me: To…
23:7 God has handed him over to me: To the contrary, see 23:14.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.