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In Christ, Mark
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When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," he inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?"
The Lord answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah."
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!"
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."
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. (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
1 Samuel 23:1-6
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In yesterday’s message from the closing verses of 1st Samuel, chapter 22, we saw tragedy reign supreme as Ahimelech and eighty-three other priests were slaughtered by Doeg the Edomite under the command from Israel’s evil king Saul. Additionally, everything in Ahimelech’s town, Nob, was destroyed as well which sadly included all the men, women, and livestock…all that is with the exception of Abiathar, one of Ahimelech’s sons. Miraculously, he managed to escape the slaughter at Nob and join David along with his four hundred fighting men in Judah.
Once hearing the news of the mass killing from Abiathar, you’ll recall that David felt responsible after remembering how Doeg, Saul’s head shepherd, was present and listening in when he had met with Ahimelech. David figured out that Doeg had gone to Saul and informed him of everything he witnessed thus sealing the fate of Ahimelech, his family, and all of Nob. And so to try and compensate for it all, we saw where David told Abiathar to stay with him, vowing to provide him protection.
As chapter 23 opens, we see David is immediately confronted with a matter as his constant enemies, the Philistines, were “fighting against Keilah” and “looting the threshing floors”. Feeling called to action, note here that David doesn’t rely on his own decision making but instead goes to God asking:
“Shall I go and attack these Philistines?"
To which the Lord replied:
“Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah."
And so David went to his newly formed fighting force of four hundred men to tell them what they were to do but found out quickly that they weren’t quite as trusting and faithful as he was. For the scriptures tell us that they said:
“Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"
Their pushback led to David to go back before the Lord, this time seeking reassurance that he and his men were indeed supposed to attack the Philistines at Keilah. We see where the Lord reassures David, giving him a second order to go and fight, vowing to “give the Philistines into (his) hand." And this is exactly what happened as David and his men went forth in the name of the Lord who delivered on his promise. For we read where the Philistines were soundly defeated, allowing David and his men to carry off their livestock and save the people of Keilah.
This passage shows us two important points that we need to remember as we face challenges in our own lives.
First, we need to turn to the Lord for guidance when we are in need of knowing what to do.
In seeking guidance regarding how he should approach possible conflict with the Philistines as well as deal with the resistance of his own fighting forces, David showed an immediate desire to seek the Lord’s will for what should happen and when he did, we saw where the Lord provided just what he needed…just as He will do for us when we seek His direction in our own affairs.
Second, the Lord is always there to provide reassurance when we needed.
David was first told to go and attack the Philistines…and as he took that plan to his men, he ran into some unexpected opposition but David didn’t allow this to defeat him. Instead, he just went back to the Lord for reassurance…and He delivered, guaranteeing David that He would bring him victory. And that’s precisely what happened for anytime the Lord promises something, He keeps His word…something we should never forget.
When we are fearful, God tells us, “Do not be afraid.” (Psalm 118:6) And we shouldn’t be…because He is Emmanuel…the God who is always with us…and always there for us.
When we think a situation is impossible, God reminds us that with Him, “Nothing is impossible.” (Matthew 19:26) He always will help us navigate through our challenging circumstances until we find our way to victory…not by our strength but His.
When we are in need of peace, He promises and grants us a peace that transcends understanding (Philippians 4:6-7), providing it through Jesus, the Son who He gave as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)…a constant and consistent source of comfort when the storms of life form around us.
When we are languishing in the guilt of sin, He brings forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
While the world might demand judgment, He grants mercy and grace.
And when people feel we should be condemned, instead He loves us.
All we need do is to repent and tell God we’re sorry, asking Him to guide our steps onto the narrow path that leads to life and away from the destruction of disobedience (Matthew 7:13-14). Then, we must surrender our will for His so He can continue to use us as He sees fit to further His Kingdom here on earth, a Kingdom that grows when we commit ourselves to make disciples as Jesus called us to do.
When life brings us to a state of despair, He (our Lord) brings us hope, shining His light into the recesses of our difficulties for He is the Light of the world and whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness but instead have the light of life (John 8:12).
If life brings us trials and tribulations, all we need to do is keep our trust in our God, believing in His promises while knowing He is with us and for us so to bring us to victory just as He did David and his men.
Anchor yourself in the Word of the Lord and never cease to seek His counsel in prayer. When you do, you’ll always find His blessed reassurances.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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