1 Samuel 23:6–14

Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.”

So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

One guy escapes the slaughter of the priests—Abiathar the son of Ahimelech. We aren’t told how he pulled that off, but he did it with the ephod (with the Urim and Thummim). That’s providential because David can now use it to inquire of the LORD.

City walls keep people out but also keep people in. David could be trapped by those walls. Saul knows that and David knows that.

So, David uses the Urim and Thummim to discern what will happen if he stays. Then he skedaddles.

This too is providential because when Saul learns that David has left Keilah he halted the expedition.

Keilah is saved again.

David is blessed to have access to the ephod, which allows him to inquire directly of the LORD (and to even know the answer with certainty).

We can inquire too, but interpreting the answer can be challenging. (It sure is for me.) Unfortunately, my reaction is often to skip inquiring at all.

That’s a catastrophic and sinful mistake.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday ones are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to the DEEP click here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.