“Sha’ul went along one side of the mountain, while David and his men went along the other. David was hurrying to get away from Sha’ul, while Sha’ul and his men were trying to surround David and his men in order to capture them. But then a messenger came to Sha’ul, saying, ‘Hurry, come, because the P’lishtim are invading the country!’ So Sha’ul stopped chasing David and went to fight the P’lishtim. Therefore they called that place Sela-Hamachlekot [rock of divisions].“-1 Samuel 23:26-28
If you study carefully how David kept eluding Saul…
You’ll get a good idea of how God rescues you from dangerous situations.
Let me illustrate what I mean.
Prompted by the Spirit, David and his men felt they needed to leave Zif.
So they went to the Ma’on desert in the Arabah.
Ma’on is now called Tel Ma’in and is about 8 miles south of Hebron.
It’s on a tall hill, which gave David a good view of the area.
The Arabah is a dry, empty area that goes along the Jordan River to the Red Sea.
David and his men were not in the village of Ma’on but in the desert nearby.
When David heard that Saul and his men were coming, he moved again.
This time he went to a rocky area with lots of caves, thinking it would be hard for Saul’s men to find him.
The area had many caves, big and small.
As Saul’s men checked one cave, David’s men would move to another.
When Saul’s men left a cave, David’s men would go back to it.
It was a serious game of hide and seek.
Soon Saul found out exactly where David and his men were hiding.
He decided to encircle the area by having his army come in from two sides.
If this was a chess game, Saul’s move was a checkmate.
David was effectively trapped.
Saul may have been an evil nut case, but he was no dummy.
The same could be said of many ruthless leaders throughout history…
They may have no moral compass…
But can come up with brilliantly devious plans.
Now here’s the thing…
And this is where I want you to take heart.
David’s fate was NOT in the king’s hands…
Nor was it in his hands…
How often do we forget this simple truth?
Your life is not in your hands.
This should be a freeing concept for you…
This means if you’ve surrendered your life to the Lord…
You have nothing to worry about…
Whether it’s money, health, or relationships…
Nothing…
The scriptural situation we’re examining right now is a perfect example of this.
In perfect timing, the Philistines decided to attack Israel just as Saul’s men were about to catch David.
The Philistines saw that King Saul, the leader of Israel, had left his country unprotected to chase after David.
Messengers quickly told Saul about the attack, and he had no choice but to stop chasing David and go back to defend his kingdom.
Isn’t this how God often works?
Through a series of events that seem like coincidences, both good and bad people end up doing God’s will.
David was saved from being caught and killed because God used the Philistines to help him
Because of what happened, the place was named Sela-Hamachlekot, which means the Rock of Divisions.
This name was to commemorate the day God created a divide between David’s men and Saul’s men in the rocky hills of Ma’on.
See ya all next time.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN FIRST SAMUEL CHAPTER 24
Leave a Reply