I Samuel 23:1-5
'Keilah' is a town with gates & bars (cf. vs.7), which was part of Israel and under the leadership of King Saul.
David is wandering about, running away from the King - who sought to kill him.
In this passage, we read that the Philistines are 'fighting' & 'looting' the city.
Not sure how long it had been going on, while the report reached David, a fugitive on the run.
The immediate response could have been to go on an attack; or in this case, to let the King handle that situation and stay calm.
David inquires of the Lord - characteristic of a man - which perhaps made God say, 'David was a man after my own heart'.
In vs.2 - David realizing the urgency of the situation - is not waiting on the Lord to speak, but asks a direct question - should he go and attack or not!
The Lord responds positively & David communicates this to his 600 men (vs.13).
Here we see a slight hesitation on the part of the men, who were with David.
Look carefully, that these men did not hear God - so naturally, they were a bit apprehensive.
Secondly, hearing God is subjective.
The fact that David is the leader, did not use his authority to emphatically say, I have heard God and I want you all to obey!
But rather, the implications lay with those who were going to obey, as they were the ones who were going to 'stick out their neck'.
And we see David being sensitive to that.
This group is not even safe in their own land (vs.3), in Judah.
When the concern was raised, David goes back to the Lord yet again (vs.4).
It's a safe thing to do - to fall back on the Word of the Lord or to lean on the Lord for further clarity.
Though the response was the same from the Lord ... David had an inclination to:
a) HEAR GOD, &
b) TO HEAR FROM THOSE AROUND HIM
Ultimately, the Word of the Lord prevailed ... but everyone was satisfied.
Sometimes, we may be at a crisis and all within us wants to retaliate and go out and fight.
Do we take time to inquire of the Lord, just as David did?
Are we waiting for a consensus or are we foolishly asking people to do, what we feel the Lord is saying??
Let's be wise ... and seek to hear Him.
Friday, March 13, 2009
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