1 Samuel 23:1 - Meaning and Application

Now we see why the prophet Gad, by God’s direction, told David to go into the land of Judah (1 Samuel 22:5). It was so that, while Saul ignored the safety of the people, David would still care for it, even though he was treated badly. He was to repay evil with good, and in this he pointed to Christ, who not only risked his life, but gave his life for his enemies.

News came to David, who was acting like a protector of his people’s freedom, that the Philistines had attacked Keilah and plundered the surrounding area (1 Samuel 23:1). It was likely that the Philistines took advantage of the fact that both God’s favor and David’s presence had been withdrawn from Saul. When rulers begin to persecute God’s people and ministers, they should expect trouble from every side. The surest way for a nation to have peace is to let God’s church live in peace.

David was ready to help them, but he was also willing to ask the Lord about it first. This shows his generosity and public spirit. Even though his own affairs were urgent, and even though he had only a small force and needed to protect himself, he still cared about his country’s safety and would not stand by while it was being destroyed. Saul, whose duty it was to defend the land, hated David and tried to kill him, yet David was still ready to help Saul’s people against the common enemy. He would not let private anger destroy the public good.

This also shows David’s faith and respect for God. He asked the Lord through the prophet Gad, for it seems that Abiathar did not come to him with the ephod until he was already in Keilah. His question was, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” He wanted to know both whether it was his duty, since Saul had not sent him, and whether it was safe to go against such a strong enemy with so few men and with Saul behind him. It is our duty, and it will bring us comfort in every outcome, to acknowledge God in all our ways and seek his direction.

God told him, more than once, to go against the Philistines and promised success: “Go and strike the Philistines” (1 Samuel 23:2). But David’s men opposed it (1 Samuel 23:3). As soon as he had soldiers of his own, he found that leading them was difficult. They said they already had enough enemies among their own people and did not need to make the Philistines enemies too. They had already lost courage when they merely thought Saul’s men might catch them, and they were even more afraid of facing Philistine armies. So David asked the Lord again. This time he received not only a clear command, which allowed him to fight even without Saul’s orders, but also a firm promise of victory: “I will deliver the Philistines into your hand” (1 Samuel 23:4). That was enough to encourage even the most fearful man in his band.

David went out, fought the Philistines, defeated them, and rescued Keilah (1 Samuel 23:5). It seems he also made a raid into Philistine territory, taking their cattle in return for the harm they had done to the people of Keilah by robbing their threshing floors. We are also told (1 Samuel 23:6) that while David stayed in Keilah, after he had freed it from the Philistines, Abiathar came to him with the ephod in his hand. This was the high priest’s ephod, in which the Urim and Thummim were kept, the means by which God’s will was sought. It must have been a great comfort to David in exile, when he could not go to God’s house, to have one of that house’s choicest gifts brought to him, the high priest and his breastpiece of judgment.