And they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing-floors.
David is a hunted man when news arrives: the Philistines are raiding a town in Judah at harvest time. The report goes to the hunted man, not the king — and that raises the question behind the whole chapter: who truly cares for God's people?
The raid on Keilah was the king's problem to solve, yet the messengers walked past the throne and went to the outlaw.
It would have been more natural for them to tell King Saul. This was his job, you might say. God had raised him up and made him responsible to protect Israel and to lead them in the Lord's battles against the Philistines. But no! heart and conscience told Israel that there was no hope in the king. The outcast man he pursued was the one to whom all hearts turned and thoughts tended… God was not only preparing the people morally for David; He was also training David himself to depend on Him more deeply.
A threshing floor is where harvested grain is beaten out. So this was not random violence. The Philistines were stealing the town's food. The name of the town matters too.
The meaning of Keilah is given as "refuge"… The Philistines were robbing the threshing-floors. When Israel gathered the golden grain and beat it out there, these enemies would come down on them and take away all their food.
David had no duty to act. And the ephod — the God-given way of putting a question to Him — had not yet reached him.
David could have stayed out of it and left the trouble of helping them to Saul. But holding back like that is far from the thoughts of this man of faith. Here the rejected David becomes a savior to Israel. He stands in the breach, but not without having consulted the Lord. Abiathar had not yet come down with the ephod, so David still lacked this God-given way of consulting Him. The outward resources may be beyond reach but access to God will never be, for this is free and wide open to all. David speaks with God as with a friend.
The habit of asking did not appear from nowhere. One writer traces it back to an earlier failure.
When David left the land of Judah for the sake of his parents, the motive in itself was innocent, but he neglected the first of all duties. When God has His rightful place, we refer everything to Him: "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." This must stand at the head of all obedience, and this was the lesson David was taught by his failure. As soon as he reached the forest of Hareth, he heard that the Philistines had attacked Keilah and were plundering the threshing floors. He did not want to repeat his fault, so he inquired of the Lord.
The rule David lives by here is simple: a man in touch with God cannot hear of others in trouble and stay still.
Whatever the pressure or trial of our own position, our soul may still be in the state Psalm 57 describes. If so, we could not hear of the distress of any of God's people we could relieve without being ready to help them… The man of real strength, who has known God's help, brings the matter to God before he starts anything. David's men try to discourage him. After mastering his own heart and its sorrows, he must also learn to rise above the unbelief of his companions.
Staying put looked like the safer choice.
Sitting with folded hands and trembling at the evil that is coming is never the way of safety. Safety lies in going forward in the plain path of duty, relying on God. Indeed, personal safety is the last care of faith.
- Reported. The news skipped the king and went to the outcast. Israel's heart had already decided where its real protection lay.
- Robbed. The Philistines struck the threshing floors, so the town lost its food. Keilah means "refuge," and even that was under attack.
- Referred. David did not act on the report. He took it to God first, and without the ephod. Access to God stays open when the usual helps are out of reach.
- Rehearsed. The habit came from a past failure: having once moved without asking, David would not repeat it.
- Risked. His men's fear was sensible and his own danger was real. But faith answers distress, and the rejected man became a savior to Israel.
And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And Jehovah said to David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
The Philistines are raiding Keilah and looting its threshing floors. The news reaches a fugitive hiding in a forest, not the king. David's first move is not a sword but a question. The answer shapes the rest of the chapter.
Defending Israel was the job of the man on the throne. The news of the raid went somewhere else.
Surely it would have been more natural for them to tell king Saul. You could call it his business. God had raised him up to protect Israel. He was the one responsible to lead them in the LORD's battles against the Philistines. But no! Heart and conscience told Israel that there was no hope in the king. The outcast he was hunting was the one all hearts turned to. God was not only preparing the people for David; He was also training David himself to depend on Him more deeply. So David is not merely the people's favourite, as he had once been their champion. He is the one God hears, answers, and uses for His own praise. Saul has no part in what should above all have been his own work.
Saul's own move later in the chapter sharpens the contrast.
He would not go to Keilah to save its people from the Philistines. But he would take his army there to fight David — the man who had been willing to fight for Keilah!
David had just failed by acting on his own judgment. The question he asks here is a corrected man's question.
When David left the land of Judah for his parents' sake, his motive in itself was innocent. But he neglected the first duty of all. When God has His rightful place, we bring everything to Him. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." This comes first in all obedience, and this was the lesson David's failure taught him. The moment he reached the forest of Hereth, he heard the news. The Philistines had attacked Keilah and were plundering the threshing floors. Not wanting to repeat his fault, he inquired of the Lord.
Strength and asking went together in him.
The man of real might, who has experienced God's help, appeals to God before he embarks on anything.
Later in the chapter David asks again with the ephod, the garment the priest Abiathar brought him. Commentators differ over whether he had the ephod here in verse 2. One reading says the priest's arrival in verse 6 explains the earlier inquiries:
In 1 Samuel 23:2-3 we are told that David twice inquired of the LORD; and in the following verses this is explained: "It happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand."
Another reading says this first inquiry was made without the ephod at all. The appointed means can be missing when the access is not.
Here the rejected David becomes a savior to Israel. He stands in the breach, but not without consulting the Lord first. Abiathar had not yet come down with the ephod. So David still lacked this means that God had appointed for consulting Him. Outward resources may be out of reach, but access to God never will be. It is free and wide open to all. David speaks with God as with a friend. The Lord stoops to answer him — and, remarkably, in a way more personal and more detailed than when David consults Him with the ephod.
The word "Go" did not end the matter. David's own men pushed back.
David refused to put his personal influence in the place of the word of God. He neither reasoned with them nor rebuked them, but inquired of the LORD yet again. "And the LORD answered him, 'Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.'" This assurance of divine power overcame their fears.
Later, in another crisis, David did not ask.
Why didn't he inquire of the Lord as he had done at Keilah? Look at the weaknesses that come together in David here. He rushed ahead. He was discouraged. He forgot God's word. He looked to Israel's enemies for help. He trusted his own thoughts instead of seeking God's direction.
- Ask first. The man who has known God's help appeals to God before he starts anything. David asks before he arms.
- Ask after failing. Acting on his own judgment had already cost David. Here he refuses to repeat the fault and acknowledges God in his ways.
- Ask without props. The ephod had not yet reached him. But access to God is free and open, and the answer came more personally than through the appointed means.
- Ask again. When his men were afraid, David did not lean on his own influence. He went back and got a second word from God.
- Stop asking, and you fall. Later David stopped asking. Haste, discouragement and trust in his own thoughts moved in.
But David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
The Philistines are attacking Keilah, and David has asked God and been told to go. Then his own men push back — and the verse asks what happens when clear guidance meets frightened followers.
Their objection works by comparison. They do not deny the danger at Keilah. They say they are already afraid where they stand.
His men do not have his faith. They shrink back from the dangers they would face. It reminds us of how the disciples hesitated to go back to Judah when Lazarus was ill. "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" David's men argue in the same way. They were afraid even where they were. How much more if they exposed themselves to the added danger of the Philistines!
The reasoning sounds cautious, but it belongs to a pattern the Bible treats as an excuse.
Nature always argues this way. "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!" is the sluggard's excuse against doing anything. But is it not true that activity is the best safeguard? To sit with folded hands, trembling because of coming evil, is never the way of safety. The way of safety is to go forward in the plain path of duty, relying on God. Indeed, personal safety is the last care of faith.
These men follow an outlaw, not a king. So the cry for help reached David rather than the throne.
Surely it would have been more natural for them to tell king Saul. It was what you might call his business... But no! Heart and conscience told Israel that there was no hope in the king. The outcast man he hunted was the one all hearts turned to... And notice another feature here. God was not only preparing the people morally for David. He was also training David himself in a deeper dependence on Him.
He had every right to overrule them. He had a word from God; they had none.
To go with him to Moab presented no difficulty; but to go to Keilah was a challenge to their faith... David refused to put his personal influence in the place of the word of God. He neither reasoned with them nor rebuked them, but inquired of the LORD yet again. "And the LORD answered, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand." This assurance of divine power overcame their fears. They went with David, struck the Philistines with great slaughter, and Keilah was saved.
Note the change between the two answers. The first told David what to do; the second added who would do it.
David did not have the ephod — the priest's garment used to ask God's direction. The lack did not stop him.
Abiathar had not yet come down with the ephod. David was still without this means God had appointed for consulting Him. The outward resources may be beyond reach, but access to God will never be, for this is free and wide open to all. David speaks with God as with a friend. Stooping down in kindness, the Lord answers... He fills the heart of His beloved one with confidence and assurance. Whatever his companions say (v. 3), David acts on the word of God and does not let their fears stop him.
No one else was coming to save Keilah. Fear did not disqualify the men who went.
So David is plainly the whole resource of Keilah. Guided by the Lord, and with His assurance of success, he quiets the fears of his men and leads them against the enemy. Keilah is delivered — a glorious and important victory.
- Fear compares. The men weigh Keilah against the danger they already live with, and their answer is retreat. The disciples hesitated in the same way about going back to Judah.
- Fear miscalculates. Standing still feels safer, but it is not. The real safeguard is to go forward in the plain path of duty, relying on God. Personal safety is faith's last concern.
- Faith asks again. David had a word from God and the standing to overrule his men. Instead he asked God again, refusing to put his own influence in place of God's word.
- God answers again. God's second answer adds a promise: He Himself will hand over the enemy. That assurance overcame their fears — not David's persuasion.
- Fear follows. Outward helps like the ephod may be out of reach, but access to God never is. The man who kept asking quieted his men, led them out, and Keilah was saved.
And David inquired of Jehovah yet again. And Jehovah answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into thy hand.
David has already asked God once and heard Him say go, but his men are afraid to leave Judah for Keilah. In verse 4 he goes back to God instead of forward on his own authority, and this time the answer carries a promise as well as a command.
David could have pressed his men with his own influence. He did not.
To go with him to Moab presented no difficulty; but to go to Keilah was a challenge to their faith, and what was the answer? "Behold," they said, "we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" David refused to put his personal influence in the place of the word of God. He neither reasoned with them nor rebuked them, but inquired of the LORD yet again. ... The LORD's assurance of divine power overcame their fears; they went with David, struck the Philistines with great slaughter, and Keilah was saved.
David already had his answer. So why ask again?
David then goes back to inquire of God a second time (v.4). Evidently it was simply confirmation he desired in order to convince his men. The Lord's answer is positive: He would deliver the Philistines into David's hand. So David and his men act on this word. They attack the Philistines at Keilah, win a complete victory, take their cattle as spoil, and save the people of the city from their oppressors.
Fear inside a company is not proof that the plan was wrong. It is a normal test of anyone trying to act on what God has said.
He hears that the Philistines are robbing the threshing floors of Keilah, and he immediately prepares to go against them. But he first inquires of God. And here, as always, when faith seeks to know and to act according to the mind of God, it is met with objections and doubts. How natural the fears of David's men! Human wisdom and prudence endorsed their objections. The effect upon David is to send him again to God, and his faith is confirmed, and victory assured.
The ephod — the priestly garment used for seeking God's guidance — had not yet reached David. He asks and hears with none of the appointed means in hand.
Here the rejected David becomes a savior to Israel. He stands in the breach, but not without having consulted the Lord. Abiathar had not yet come down with the ephod; David was still lacking this means ordained by God for consulting Him. The outward resources may be beyond reach but access to God will never be, for this is free and wide open to all. David speaks with God as with a friend. The Lord stoops down to answer him. Strikingly, His answer is more intimate and more detailed than when David consults Him with the ephod. He fills the heart of His beloved one with confidence and assurance.
The king on the throne fared very differently.
On the rare occasions when Saul inquires of the Lord, he gets no answer. Or he gets an answer by lot, and it passes judgment on his whole way of life (1 Sam. 14:40). David without the outward aid of divine ordinances converses directly with his God.
"Arise, go down" is the command. The men feared for their own safety, and that is exactly the concern faith puts last.
Sitting with your hands folded and trembling at the evil that is coming is never the way of safety. The safe way is to go forward in the plain path of duty, trusting God. Indeed, personal safety is the last care of faith. God has secured our salvation now and forever, and our almighty risen Lord keeps it for us. That leaves us no room to worry about ourselves. Instead it urges us to throw ourselves into the breach and fight the Lord's battles bravely. Those who do this are not only victors for the Lord and His people, but come out unharmed themselves.
David's dependence here was nothing new.
He always felt that he was in conflict with a power that he could not set aside; he had no strength except by turning directly and simply to God in every circumstance. So he says, "Shall I go down to Keilah?" The Lord says, "Go down to Keilah."
- Ask — David's first move in every crisis was God, not strategy. The hunted outcast got the one thing the crowned king could not get — an answer from heaven.
- Ask again — his men were afraid, so he went back to God instead of pulling rank. He would not put his own influence in the place of God's word.
- Receive more — the second answer added a promise to the command. It came with no priest and no ephod, because access to God is never out of reach.
- Go down — God gave the word to be obeyed. Personal safety is the last care of faith, and the plain path of duty is the safe one.
- Save others — the man everyone else was hunting became the rescuer of a town. The rejected one is the one through whom deliverance comes.
And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought against the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
David is a hunted man with a price on his head, yet he is the one who marches down to Keilah and breaks the Philistine raid. Why is the fugitive doing the king's job, and what gave him the nerve to fight when his own men wanted no part of it?
News of the Philistine raid went to David, not to King Saul.
Surely it would have been more natural if they had told King Saul. It was his job. God raised him up to protect Israel and to lead them in the battles of the LORD against the Philistines. But no! Heart and conscience told Israel that there was no hope in the king. The outcast man he pursued was the one to whom all hearts turned. They looked to David, hunted for his very life, for whatever protection God might give them against the enemy. David is not just the people's favourite, as he had once been their champion. He is the one God hears, answers, and uses for His own praise. Saul is ignored in what should have been his own work.
David did not move on the news alone. Twice he asked, and the second answer carried a promise attached to it.
David goes back to inquire of God a second time (v. 4). He plainly wanted only confirmation, to convince his men. The LORD's answer is positive: He would deliver the Philistines into David's hand. So David and his men act on this word. They attack the Philistines at Keilah, win a complete victory, and save the people of the city from their oppressors.
His men objected. David's answer was not persuasion but a fresh word from God — and that is what carried them into the fight.
David refused to put his personal influence in the place of the word of God. He neither argued with them nor rebuked them, but inquired of the LORD once more. "And the LORD answered, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand." This assurance of God's power overcame their fears. They went with David, struck the Philistines with great slaughter, and Keilah was saved.
One writer turns their fear into a principle about where safety really lies.
Sitting idle with folded hands is never the way of safety. Neither is trembling because trouble is coming, instead of going forward in the plain path of duty, trusting God. In fact, personal safety is the last care of faith. Our almighty risen Lord has secured our present and final salvation forever, and He keeps it for us. That leaves no room for further anxiety about ourselves. Instead, it encourages us to throw ourselves into the gap and fight the battles of the Lord like men.
David fought for a people ruled by the man hunting him, and one writer sees in this a picture of something larger.
Here the rejected David becomes a saviour to Israel. He stands in the gap, but not without having consulted the Lord. Abiathar had not yet come down with the ephod. David still lacked this means God had appointed for consulting Him. Outward resources may be out of reach, but access to God never will be, for it is free and wide open to all. David speaks with God as with a friend... Whatever his companions may say (v. 3), David acts on the word of God and does not let their fears stop him. He fights for the people of Israel, even though they are the tool of his worst enemy. So it is with our salvation through Christ, worked out for us while we were still His enemies.
The rescue did not win David any loyalty from the town he had saved.
Inside the town, as its deliverer, a new experience awaited him... now he has to learn what One greater than David had to say: "In return for my love they accuse me... So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love" (Ps. 109:4-5). The men of Keilah, it turned out, were quite ready, given the chance, to hand over their saviour to Saul.
- Asked — David asked God before he acted, and asked again when his men objected. He would not put his own influence in the place of God's word.
- Assured — the second answer carried a promise: God would give the Philistines into David's hand. That assurance, not persuasion, moved his frightened men.
- Available — The ephod had not yet arrived, but access to God was still open. Outward helps may be out of reach; God never is.
- Advanced — faith does not sit still to stay safe. Its own safety is its last care, because the risen Lord has already secured our salvation.
- Abandoned — the rejected man saved a city ready to hand him over. It pictures salvation worked out for people still hostile to the Saviour.