(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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1 Samuel 23:7–13, “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. And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh 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 thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.”
David had defended Keilah from the Philistine attacks and remained in the city for some time with his men and his priest. Saul heard, from his spies, that David was in Keilah and decided that this was the ideal situation to deal with David, once and for all. He believed that if could find David in a walled city then he could surround the city with his army and David would not be able to escape. On the other hand, David knew that Saul was determined to kill him so he was wary. He called the priest and asked him to enquire of the Lord as to what he should do. He asked the Lord, who knows the future, in contrast to Satan, who can read the Bible but doesn’t know the future, what would happen. David wanted to know if the people in Keilah would hand him over to Saul if Saul besieged the city and threatened to destroy it. Even though David had saved the city, they had no real and long term loyalty to David. The Lord told David that they would not protect him so David went away to another place. Saul had mustered his armies to destroy David but, when he heard that David had gone, he stood his army down and didn’t go to Keilah. It is a pity that Saul didn’t go to save Keilah as he had save Jabeshgilead.
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