1 Samuel Chapter 23
David Saves Keilah; David Escapes from Saul
A. David Saves Keilah from the Philistines
(1 Samuel 23:1–4)
“Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors. Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.”
The city of Keilah, located in Judah, was under siege by the Philistines, who were robbing its threshing floors and plundering the food supply that sustained the people. Instead of going to King Saul for help, the people turned to David, for Saul had long abandoned his duty to protect Israel. It was the king’s responsibility to defend his nation, but Saul was more concerned with hunting David than with safeguarding his people. In contrast, David sought the Lord’s will and was directed to rise up and defend Keilah. Even though he was not yet enthroned, God called David to act in the capacity of a true king, one who served and delivered God’s people.
When David inquired of the LORD, it revealed his dependence upon divine guidance. Many would have reasoned that this was not David’s battle, nor his problem, since Saul was still king. Others would have rushed in without counsel, trusting in their own judgment. David, however, was careful to seek the Lord’s direction first. His heart was set not on self-preservation but on obedience and faithfulness.
God’s command was clear: “Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.” By outward measure, this command seemed foolish. David had only about four hundred men—an unlikely force for open battle against seasoned Philistine warriors. Furthermore, by engaging the Philistines, David risked exposing his position to Saul, who was seeking his life. Yet David did not hesitate to follow the Lord’s command. His courage stemmed from faith in the Word of God, not from the strength of his army. He acted upon the conviction that where God commands, He also provides victory.
David’s men, however, protested, saying, “Behold, we be afraid here in Judah.” Their fear was understandable. They were fugitives already living in constant danger. The thought of marching out to fight the Philistines must have seemed like suicide. But David did not ignore their concerns. In humility and wisdom, he inquired of the LORD yet again. True leadership listens but always submits to God’s direction above human reasoning. The Lord graciously confirmed His word a second time, assuring David, “Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.” When God calls a man to a difficult task, He often provides renewed assurance, strengthening faith before the trial.
This moment highlights David’s growth in spiritual maturity. Unlike Saul, who acted presumptuously without divine counsel (1 Samuel 13:9–13), David refused to move until the Lord had spoken. His pattern of inquiry and obedience would become a defining mark of his leadership. It demonstrates that the truest strength of a man of God lies not in numbers or weapons, but in seeking and obeying the will of the Lord.
(1 Samuel 23:5)
“So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.”
David’s obedience led to victory. He and his men struck the Philistines with a mighty blow and took away their livestock, thus providing for both the city and his own followers. The Lord kept His word and delivered the Philistines into David’s hand exactly as He promised.
This victory illustrates the blessing that follows obedience. David did not act for personal gain or glory but out of faithfulness to God and compassion for the people. The phrase “David saved the inhabitants of Keilah” shows that the Lord’s hand was upon him, confirming his anointing and foreshadowing his future as Israel’s true shepherd-king.
David’s faith, dependence upon the Lord, and courage in the face of uncertainty stand in sharp contrast to Saul’s fear, neglect, and rebellion. Through this event, God demonstrated to all Israel that His favor had departed from Saul and now rested upon David.
David Saves Keilah; David Escapes from Saul
B. Saul Comes Against David at Keilah
(1 Samuel 23:6–8)
“And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.”
When Abiathar fled from Nob after the massacre of the priests, he came to David with the ephod in his hand. The ephod was the priestly garment containing the Urim and Thummim, which were used for seeking divine guidance. This was God’s providence, for David would need clear direction in the days ahead. God ensured that His anointed king would not lack spiritual counsel, even as he wandered in exile.
Meanwhile, word reached Saul that David was in Keilah, a walled city with gates and bars. Saul, in his spiritual blindness, exclaimed, “God hath delivered him into mine hand.” Saul mistook his own ambition and malice for divine favor. It is possible to be so hardened in disobedience that one misinterprets circumstances as signs of God’s blessing. While it was true that God led David to Keilah, it was not true that the Lord had handed David over to Saul. Saul deceived himself, thinking that his pursuit was righteous, when in truth, he was warring against the very man chosen by God.
Saul’s words expose his hypocrisy. He had no interest in protecting Israel from her real enemies, yet he eagerly gathered the people to wage war against David. The text says, “Saul called all the people together to war.” This was not a campaign against the Philistines, Amalekites, or Moabites—it was a war against David, a servant of God. Saul’s hatred consumed his sense of justice and duty. He had refused to defend Keilah from the Philistines, but he was quick to march against it to capture David. This reveals Saul’s total corruption of character; he viewed his personal vendetta as a holy mission.
The lesson here is sobering. It is a grave error to assume that our personal enemies are automatically God’s enemies. Saul’s zeal was not for righteousness but for self-preservation. His words, “God hath delivered him into mine hand,” demonstrate how spiritual pride blinds a man. He mistook his obsession for divine purpose, proving that when a man resists God’s Word, he eventually confuses his will with God’s will.
(1 Samuel 23:9–13)
“And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.”
When David learned of Saul’s plan, he immediately turned to the Lord for direction. He said to Abiathar, “Bring hither the ephod.” The ephod represented divine access, and David’s first instinct was to seek God’s counsel rather than rely on military strategy. Though he was in a perilous position—a fortified city surrounded by Saul’s forces—David chose prayer over panic.
David prayed with reverence, saying, “O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.” His concern was not only for his own life but also for the welfare of the city that he had just delivered. David did not want his presence to bring destruction upon innocent people. This humility and compassion mark the difference between David and Saul: Saul endangered cities for selfish gain, while David sought to protect them even at personal cost.
The Lord answered David through the ephod, declaring, “He will come down.” David then asked another question, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” and God replied, “They will deliver thee up.” This divine response shows both the faithfulness of God and the fickleness of men. The very people David had just saved would have turned him over to Saul out of fear. Such is human nature—grateful when delivered, but quick to betray when danger approaches. Yet David did not respond with bitterness; he acted wisely and departed.
By leaving Keilah, David spared the city from destruction and demonstrated discernment. He could have fought and likely defeated Saul’s army, but he refused to endanger innocent lives for his own defense. This act of humility foreshadowed the heart of Christ, the greater Son of David, who would also refuse to defend Himself in order to spare others.
When Saul learned that David had escaped, “he forbare to go forth.” His expedition ended in vain. God had once again frustrated Saul’s plans and preserved His anointed servant. David’s faith and submission to the Lord not only secured his safety but also revealed his character as a man after God’s own heart. He would not shed blood needlessly, nor would he grasp the throne before God’s appointed time.
David Narrowly Escapes Saul in the Judean Wilderness
C. David in the Wilderness of Ziph
(1 Samuel 23:14–15)
“And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.”
David now entered one of the most difficult and defining seasons of his life—his time in the wilderness. The Wilderness of Ziph lay south of Hebron, in the dry and rugged region of Judah. The terrain consisted of steep ravines, rocky plateaus, and barren hillsides. It was not a place of comfort or ease, yet it was the very environment where God refined David into the man who would one day rule Israel. David had already learned faithfulness in obscurity as a shepherd, but it was in the wilderness that God shaped him into a king.
The text says, “Saul sought him every day.” Saul’s relentless obsession drove him to pursue David continually, leaving his kingly duties neglected. His hatred consumed his life, showing how sin blinds a man to the true priorities of his calling. Yet, though Saul’s pursuit was daily, the hand of God preserved David at every turn. Scripture records, “But God delivered him not into his hand.” These few words carry great comfort. Human rage and earthly power can do nothing without divine permission. Saul could hunt David, but he could not harm him, for God was David’s shield.
God’s protection, however, did not mean the path was easy. The wilderness was hard, lonely, and uncertain, but it was there that David learned dependence on God alone. The barren landscape mirrored the emptiness of earthly security, teaching David that his safety did not lie in fortresses or friends but in the faithfulness of the Lord. This pattern—refinement through difficulty—is a consistent theme in the lives of God’s chosen servants. Joseph was prepared in prison, Moses in Midian, Elijah by the brook Cherith, and David in the wilderness of Ziph. Each endured hardship so that faith might mature, preparing them for greater service.
David’s experience here exemplifies the truth of Romans 8:31–32: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” David was hunted daily, yet divine providence kept him alive, sustaining him until God’s appointed time for his throne.
(1 Samuel 23:16–18)
“And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.”
In one of the most touching scenes of their friendship, Jonathan made the perilous journey into the wilderness to find David. Against his father’s authority and at great personal risk, Jonathan sought not his own advantage but the encouragement of his friend. The Scripture beautifully says that he “strengthened his hand in God.” Jonathan could not deliver David from danger, could not accompany him in exile, and could not alter Saul’s hatred, but he did what was most valuable—he lifted David’s weary heart toward faith.
True friendship strengthens a man’s hand in God. It does not merely offer sympathy or worldly advice but reminds the soul of divine truth. Jonathan’s words to David were anchored in God’s promises: “Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel.” Jonathan’s confidence rested on the unchanging word of the Lord. He reminded David that God’s purpose could not be thwarted by Saul’s jealousy or the hardships of the wilderness.
Jonathan continued, “And I shall be next unto thee.” His words reveal both love and humility. Though Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne by birth, he gladly yielded that right to David, recognizing God’s sovereign choice. This was not resignation but joyful submission to God’s plan. Jonathan saw in David the future of Israel’s hope and willingly took the lesser place for the glory of God. Such humility foreshadows the spirit of John the Baptist, who said of Christ, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Jonathan’s encouragement gave David renewed courage to continue. Saul’s pursuit had been unceasing, the wilderness harsh, and betrayal was around every corner, but the reminder of God’s promise revived his faith. The two men then “made a covenant before the LORD,” reaffirming their bond of loyalty and love first made in 1 Samuel 18:3 and 20:16. This covenant was not based on mutual gain or ambition but on shared devotion to God’s will. It was a covenant of faithfulness, sealed before the Lord, and it would endure even after Jonathan’s death.
This was their final meeting on earth. Jonathan would soon fall in battle, but his words lived on in David’s heart. When David later became king, he would honor that covenant by showing kindness to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:7). The love between these two men remains one of the purest examples of godly friendship in Scripture—a friendship centered on loyalty, humility, and shared faith in God’s promises.
David Narrowly Escapes Saul in the Judean Wilderness
D. The Ziphites Betray David and His Narrow Escape
(1 Samuel 23:19–23)
“Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.”
After Jonathan’s visit, David’s brief comfort was quickly tested again. The men of Ziph, who were of David’s own tribe of Judah, betrayed his location to Saul. Their words to the king were treacherous: “Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” For every Jonathan who strengthens the hand of the righteous, there is a Ziphite ready to betray him for favor or gain. Betrayal often comes from those closest to us, just as David’s would-be deliverers were his own countrymen. The same pattern would later be fulfilled in Christ, betrayed by one of His own disciples.
When Saul heard this, he hypocritically replied, “Blessed be ye of the LORD.” Such words reveal the deep moral corruption of Saul’s heart. He invoked the name of the Lord to bless those who conspired against an innocent man. This is the very definition of spiritual blindness—using holy language to justify evil. Saul’s delusion had progressed so far that he saw divine favor where there was only sin.
Saul added, “For it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.” In his bitterness, Saul credited David’s survival not to God’s providence but to David’s supposed cunning. He could not bear to acknowledge that the Lord protected David, so he convinced himself that David was merely crafty. The reality was quite the opposite. It was not David’s cleverness that preserved him, but the goodness and sovereignty of God.
At this time, David turned his anguish into worship and composed Psalm 54, titled, “A Contemplation of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?” In that psalm, David poured out his heart before God.
He prayed for deliverance: “Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength” (Psalm 54:1).
He recognized the treachery of his enemies: “For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them” (Psalm 54:3).
He reaffirmed his trust in divine protection: “Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul” (Psalm 54:4).
He chose to worship rather than dwell in bitterness: “I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good” (Psalm 54:6).
David’s response teaches a vital lesson: the believer must begin with God when surrounded by enemies. As one commentator wisely observed, “If you begin with God, your enemies grow small. If you begin with your enemies, you may never reach God.” David began with God, and thus he found perspective, peace, and renewed confidence even in betrayal.
(1 Samuel 23:24–29)
“And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.”
The betrayal of the Ziphites drove David to flee farther south into the Wilderness of Maon, a desolate and rocky region bordering the Dead Sea. Saul, still obsessed, pursued him relentlessly. The tension reached its height as Scripture describes, “Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain.” The imagery conveys the closeness of the threat—one ridge separated predator and prey. Saul’s army was closing in, and from a human perspective, David’s capture seemed inevitable.
Yet at the critical moment, divine providence intervened. “But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.” Out of nowhere—indeed, out of heaven—God sent a distraction that pulled Saul away. The timing was perfect, and the hand of God unmistakable. What seemed like a coincidence was, in truth, the sovereign orchestration of deliverance.
In gratitude, David named the place Selahammahlekoth, meaning “The Rock of Escape.” It became a monument to the faithfulness of God, a reminder that deliverance often comes at the last possible moment. Just as the Red Sea parted for Israel with Pharaoh’s chariots behind them, so God rescued David when the situation appeared hopeless.
Afterward, “David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.” En Gedi was an oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea, a place of refuge with caves and fresh springs—a fitting sanctuary for the weary fugitive. Though the wilderness had tested David’s endurance, God’s faithfulness had never failed.
This episode reveals that divine protection is not always comfortable, but it is always certain. David’s narrow escape teaches believers that even when evil seems to prevail, God’s timing is perfect, His sovereignty unshaken, and His mercy new every morning.
