1 Samuel 23:4

4 Then David inquired of the LORD once * more *. And the LORD answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for 1I will give the Philistines into your hand.

1 Samuel 23:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:4

Then David inquired of the Lord yet again
Not for his own sake, who firmly believed it was the will of God he should go and succeed, but for the sake of his men, and to remove the doubts and fears that hung on their minds:

and the Lord answered him, and said, arise, go down to Keilah;
immediately, make no stay, nor hesitate about it, but go with all haste to the relief of the place:

for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hands;
which is still more explicit, and is a promise not only of delivering Keilah out of the hands of the Philistines, but of delivering them into David's hands, and so of an entire: victory; and therefore none of David's men had anything to fear after such a declaration of the will of God.

1 Samuel 23:4 In-Context

2 So David inquired of the LORD , saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah."
3 But David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?"
4 Then David inquired of the LORD once more . And the LORD answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.
5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Joshua 8:7; Judges 7:7
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