First Samuel 22-24

God’s message to me: God’s will is knowable. Use good sense, search the scriptures, listen for His voice, test the spirits, lay a fleece before the Lord... If nothing else, and done prayerfully and honestly, flip a coin. God will give you the right answer if you seek it.

Promises: God will not steer you wrong. When the last of the priests family came to David and reported Saul’s murder of the rest, he came with an Ephod. The Ephod was the ceremonial breastplate and pouch worn by the priest and contained the Urim and Thummin. This was a way of learning God’s answer to questions. A look at the answers gained in this seems to imply it was a simple yes or know type of system like flipping a coin or picking one of 2 different colored stones. David took advantage of this to inquire of the Lord when he made big decisions that could get him and his men hurt or killed.

By seeking God’s will in these decisions David was successful in his choices and protected his men.

Commands: Always seek God’s will in your decisions. The decision to stop at a red light or to eat dinner, lock your door on the way out, etc. is simply a matter of good sense. God gave you a mind and common sense and rules to follow so that you would know what to do in everyday matters. When a matter goes outside the everyday he gave instruction and example of how to seek his will so that you remain within it.

Timeless principles: Even when the world seems to be against you, it is good to look out for others. The city of Keilah was under attack by the Philistines. David and his men had no reason to interfere and every reason to remain in hiding but, David saw the opportunity to help people in distress and, after making sure God approved, he went to fight in the city’s defense. Not only did he win but he grew his army by 50%.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Learn to seek God’s guidance in all things and trust Him to provide the best route.

more to learn for in-depth study: By this point Saul has completely lost his mind. Convinced that there is a conspiracy with everyone against him he threatens his own men and kills the priests and all who live in their city for helping David. David, has never been anything but loyal to the king and has done everything to help Saul. The priests knew this and assumed he was continuing to do so when the met him.

Saul’s men knew not to turn against God’s priests but Doeg, who had been there when David was at the tabernacle, killed the priests on command. Whether it was loyalty, willing murder or fear that he would be the next target for not mentioning seeing David earlier, Doeg was now conspiring with the lunatic king in homicide.

In the meantime, David was attracting an army. 400 disaffected, endangered and indebted men had gathered with him in hiding and he became their commander. When the city of Keilah was under attack by the Philistines, David took his men to battle to protect the city. The men were afraid but trusted David who had inquired of God before moving to fight. The won the fight and when it was over and the men set out for new hiding David’s army was up to 600 men.

Saul continued to pursue David but the Lord would not let the king catch him. Jonathan encouraged David, the Lord guided him, spies and friends warned him of danger and God distracted the king when he got to close. Finally, David got the big chance. Saul went, alone, into the cave where David and his men were hiding. While Saul attended to (ahem) personal business, David had the chance to kill him. David cut the corner of Saul’s robe off without Saul noticing.

I can’t say I would have been so restrained. In my mind, if someone tries to kill you every time you meet, it’s a good idea to eliminate them the first chance you get. Saul had been anointed by God to be king and, while the Lord had taken that blessing and the right to be king away from him, David would not act against the one God had appointed as his ruler. God had appointed him and God would have to remove him. That was David’s view of the matter.

tomorrow: First Samuel 25-28