“Now Sha’ul, on being informed that David had gone to Ke‘ilah, had said, ‘God has put him into my hands. He’s trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.'”-1 Samuel 23:7
You know what’s interesting about unrepentant sinners?
How deluded they are about their behavior.
For example, an alcoholic or drug addict might say:
“I don’t have a problem; I can stop anytime I want.”
“My family drives me to this; it’s their fault.”
“I use drugs/alcohol to enhance my creativity.”
Or married men who habitually procure the services of a prostitute might say:
“My wife isn’t meeting my needs.”
“It’s better than having an affair and lying about it.”
“At least I’m not cheating on my wife with someone she knows.”
Can you see the level of delusion being expressed here?
How sin has so warped men’s minds that they make the most ridiculous excuses to justify their behavior.
Well, that’s exactly how warped King Saul’s mind had become.
When Saul caught wind that Avyatar had fled to David, and that David would be leading a contingent of men to fight the Philistines at Ke’ilah, this is what he said:
“God has put him into my hands.
He’s trapped himself by entering
a town with gates and bars.'”
This level of delusion was crazy.
Saul believed God had rejected the anointed David and put him into his hands.
As far as Saul was concerned, all he had to do was send his army to surround the city and order that David be turned over to him.
If the city shut the gates and said no, Saul’s soldiers would surround the city and not let anyone in or out.
In that case, it was just a matter of time before David and his men ran out of food and water, and would be forced to come out.
Eventually, David would be forced to surrender.
However, he didn’t count on David’s sharp mind and alertness.
David knew that news of him gathering a group of men to attack Ke’ilah to save their food supply would catch on quickly.
So this is where having access to the Urim and Thummim proved invaluable.
He called Avyatar and through the two ritual stones asked two questions.
“Would King Saul bring his army to try and capture David at Ke’ilah?”
And…
“Would the Philistines of Ke’ilah hand David over to Saul?”
The Lord’s answer to both questions was YES.
So with that sound knowledge in his hand, David hightailed it out of Ke’ilah with his militia (about 600 men).
Okay, so there are two quick takeaways here.
First, is what I said at the beginning of this article about how sin can so warp the minds of men.
We’re all victims of this…
We think we can overcome our sins through our willpower and flesh…
Despite falling flat on our faces over and over and over again.
The truth is we can’t
The history of the human race is a testament to this fact.
Second, notice how having access to God’s supernatural wisdom and knowledge gave David the upper hand and rescued Him from a dangerous situation.
To me, this is HUGE!
No matter how intelligent or big a person’s IQ is, no one on the planet can outsmart the God of Israel.
Ya feel me here.
So through studying His Word…
And through prayer…
Apply God’s supernatural wisdom and knowledge to your life…
And PROSPER beyond your wildest dreams!
Your lesson reminds me of a message I once gave regarding Kohelet (Ecclesiastes).
My point was that Kohelet wasn’t saying everything was useless because it is, but rather that his disappointment with everything in life was because he wanted to understand it at God’s level.
In other words, he wanted to have God’s understanding of the way the world works, and that is impossible- as you teach us here, no one will ever be able to fathom things at God’s level of understanding, and our limited mortal minds cannot even begin to grasp the knowledge and wisdom of God.
The conclusion Kohelet came to, which he mentions no less than 3 times in his diatribe, is to enjoy whatever it is that God has provided, for that is really all we need to do.
I have said in the past that there are so many questions I would like God to answer, but I know that when I get to see God, face-to-face, that the questions won’t have any importance, anymore.
Isn’t the bottom line here about faith? Shaul put his faith in his army, and convnced himself that it was God, whereas David put his faith in God.
Guess who was right.
Great comment Steven.
Your conclusion perfectly aligns with Solomon’s comment at the close of Kohelet:
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.”
Be blessed!