“David and his men went to Ke‘ilah and fought the P’lishtim. They defeated them in a great slaughter and led away their livestock. Thus David saved the inhabitants of Ke‘ilah.”-1 Samuel 23:5
Here’s an interesting question for you.
So we’re told the Philistines were “fighting Ke‘ilah and plundering the threshing floors.”
So why in the world was livestock present?
A bunch of farm animals would’ve just slowed them down.
There’s a lesson to be learned from this detail.
And that’s to not take such a black-and-white approach toward interpreting the Scriptures.
Use your noggin a little bit here.
Why do you think the Philistines brought animals with them?
How about because this would be a great chance to get their animals fed because the fields at Ke’ilah had already been harvested?
Me thinks this just might be the case homies.
Remember, this wasn’t a situation where an aggressive Philistine army had gathered to fight a war.
It was probably a mixed group of soldiers and regular workers.
The purpose was just to seize control of the grain for a few days, and they figured this would also be a great chance to feed their cattle.
Nevertheless, David and his men put a quick stop to their nonsense.
This leads to another takeaway here that flies over the proverbial heads of most people.
I dunno if you realize it or not…
But this is the first time we’re witnessing David fulfill his God-ordained role as a warrior king.
Remember, the Scripture speaks of a Messiah with two roles…
The meek servant known as MESSIAH BEN YOSEPH (the son of Joseph) was fulfilled by Yeshua in his first coming…
And the warrior king known as MESSIAH BEN DAVID (the son of David)…to be fulfilled by Yeshua in his second coming.
Here we see David fulfill his God-ordained role as a warrior king when he leads his people into battle and saves a town of fellow tribe members (Judah) from a gentile enemy…
Which is EXACTLY what Yeshua is going to do when he returns in the end times.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“and to grant relief to you
who are afflicted as well as to us,
when the Lord Yeshua is revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels
in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance
on those who do not know God
and on those who do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Yeshua. They will
suffer the punishment of eternal destruction,
away from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his might,
when he comes on that day to
be glorified in his saints,
and to be marveled at among
all who have believed,
because our testimony
to you was believed.”
–2 Thessalonians 1:7-10:
“It was probably…”
How probable was it?
Pretty probable.