SERIES J --- THE WARRIOR KING --- LESSON 03
DAVID SAVES KEILAH
THOSE TRAITORS, THE ZIPHITES
From 1 Samuel 23:1-28
News reached David that Philistine raiders had descended on the city of Keilah, plundering its threshing floors. David asked Adonai what he should do. ‘Shall I attack the Philistines?’ he inquired. ‘Attack them and save Keilah,’ Adonai answered. But David’s men were afraid. ‘We have been frightened just living in Judah,’ they protested. ‘How do you think we will feel at Keilah, fighting the Philistine armies?’ Once again, David asked Adonai what he should do. ‘Go to Keilah,’ Adonai answered. ‘I will give you victory.’ David organized his men and marched to Keilah as Adonai directed, defeating the Philistines and taking their cattle as spoils of battle. The Philistines were thoroughly defeated and suffered heavy losses. In this way the people of Keilah were rescued by David and his men. Abiathar had gone to Keilah with David, bringing the ephod with him to help him seek Adonai’s guidance. Before long, he needed it, for Saul learned that David was at Keilah and made plans to trap him. ‘YHVH has given David to me now,’ said Saul. ‘He has trapped himself in a town with gates and bars.’ Saul gathered his army to besiege David and his men at Keilah. David soon learned of Saul’s plot and called for Abiathar and the ephod so he could seek Adonai’s guidance. ‘Adonai, I know that Saul is coming here to destroy Keilah because of me,’ David prayed. ‘Will the men of Keilah betray me? Will Saul actually come here as I have been told? Adonai, I beg You to tell me.’ Adonai answered David, ‘Saul will come.’ ‘Will the men of Keilah surrender me to Saul?’ David asked. ‘Yes,’ Adonai answered. ‘They will.’ When David heard what Adonai said, he escaped from Keilah with his men, about six hundred by this time and roamed about the countryside. Saul gave up his plans to go to Keilah, but David remained a fugitive in the hill country, living in the territory of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul constantly tried to find David, but Adonai prevented Saul from finding him. David lived in constant fear of Saul, realizing that Saul was always trying to hunt him down to kill him. One day Jonathan visited David at Horesh, giving him renewed strength in Adonai. ‘You must not be afraid,’ Jonathan told him. ‘My father Saul will never find you, some day you will reign as king over Israel and I will be next to you. My father Saul also knows this.’ Together they renewed their covenant of friendship and then Jonathan returned home while David remained at Horesh. In a move to win Saul’s favour, the men of Ziph went to see him and offered to betray David. ‘South of Jeshimon, on the hill of Hachilah at Horesh, David hides in the caves. If you come down, we will help you capture him as you have wanted to do for a long time.’ ‘May Adonai bless you!’ Saul answered. ‘I’m so glad that you sympathize with me. But go back and make sure that he is hiding where you think he is, for he is a very cunning fellow. When you discover all the places he hides, bring me a complete report and I will go with you. If he is there, I will find him, even if I have to search the whole land.’ The men of Ziph soon returned home, but David found out what had happened so he moved with his men to a more remote place in the Wilderness of Maon, south of Jeshimon in the Arabah. Saul brought his army to the wilderness and began tracking David. At one point Saul and David were facing one another on opposite sides of a mountain. David hurried to get away, but Saul had him trapped. At the moment when it looked as if there was no escape for David, Saul received a message that the Philistines had attacked the land. Saul ordered his men to return home to fight the Philistines, so David was safe once more. Therefore, the rock where David was trapped became known as the Rock of Escape.
COMMENTARY
THRESHING FLOORS
When a border city in Israel was attacked by the Philistines, David asked Adonai, [Shall I attack the Philistines?] With YHVH’s help David saved the city of Keilah. But when Saul came with an army, the people of the city David saved were ready to turn him over to be killed! Although Keilah was protected by bars and gates, its threshing floor lay beyond the security of the city walls. It was located on the high ground outside the city in order to take advantage of the wind. But exposure to wind also meant exposure to enemies. At harvest time the threshing floor was open to attack, so farmers slept beside the floor to protect their grain from surprise raids. Ancient farmers built a threshing floor by clearing and levelling the ground until the bedrock below was exposed. The stones removed from the soil in the process were set in a circle around the floor to form a low wall that would prevent the grain from scattering. The reapers brought sheaves of grain from the fields and scattered the stalks over the floor in a deep layer. Then the farmer drove his team of oxen in circles around the floor, trampling the grain underfoot. The heavier grain sifted to the bottom while the lighter broken stalks remained on top. These two layers were separated by the process called winnowing. With a fork the mixture was pitched high into the air. The wind carried away the stalks or chaff while the grain fell back to the surface of the threshing floor.
According to the Bible...
➡️Love = patient, kind, selfless, humble, enduring, truthful, polite
➡️Love = obedient to God's commandments
True, Biblical love must encompass both requirements. If one is missing, then it's not love.
Time to start prepping for the Shabbat this evening. Happy Prep Day!
See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
Exodus 31:2-5
If God calls you, He will give you the skills and resources required to answer, but in His time and manner, not yours. He gave Bezalel and Oholiab great skill as artists to create the furnishings of the Tabernacle. Artistic license in God's service is a great thing, but it is constrained by His Law. Do not color outside his lines. "According to all that I have commanded you (Moses), they shall do." (Exodus 31:11)
https://soilfromstone.blogspot.....com/2017/02/a-giant
Good morning! Snow is covering the ground here in Michigan this morning, but I can see tiny little buds on the tree out my window. Spring is coming, and the plants are all starting to wake up! Today let's talk about how to encourage new life in our own hearts as well. https://archive.aweber.com/awlist6425868/73el.
With all of the evil that seems to be prevalent in the world today, how are believers able to maintain and even grow their faith? Isaiah 32:17, “The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.” Believers simply do what is right in the eyes of our Creator.
"Woe be to the wicked! It shall be evil with him: for the recompence of his hands shall be given him."
Is 3
Thought for Today: Friday March 10:
May YHVH give you full access to your story. May you allow Him to redirect and correct, heal and deal, refine and define whatever suits Him. He Loves you most and know what is best for you at any given moment. He will always lead you in the way you should go. May you remember that you are part of a great story Elohiym is writing in the world. May you trust Adonai’s work in your life so He can use you in ways beyond your wildest dreams. Trust in Him, He will not fail you.
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