1 Samuel 23:4

4 David again asked the Lord, and the Lord answered, "Go down to Keilah. I will help you defeat the Philistines.

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 David asked the Lord, "Should I go and fight these Philistines?" The Lord answered him, "Go. Attack them, and save Keilah."
3 But David's men said to him, "We're afraid here in Judah. We will be more afraid if we go to Keilah where the Philistine army is."
4 David again asked the Lord, and the Lord answered, "Go down to Keilah. I will help you defeat the Philistines.
5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines and took their cattle. David killed many Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.
6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the holy vest with him when he came to David at Keilah.)
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.