SERIES J --- THE WARRIOR KING

BIBLE STUDY LESSON 03

DAVID SAVES KEILAH

THOSE TRAITORS, THE ZIPHITES
From 1 Samuel 23:1-28
“News reached David that Philistine raiders had descended on the city of Keilah, plundering its threshing floors. David asked the Lord what he should do. ‘Shall I attack the Philistines?’ he inquired. ‘Attack them and save Keilah,’ the Lord answered. But David’s men were afraid. ‘We have been frightened just living in Judah,’ they protested. ‘How do you think we will feel at Keilah, fighting the Philistine armies?’ Once again, David asked the Lord what he should do. ‘Go to Keilah,’ the Lord answered. ‘I will give you victory.’ David organized his men and marched to Keilah as the Lord directed, defeating the Philistines and taking their cattle as spoils of battle. The Philistines were thoroughly defeated and suffered heavy losses. In this way the people of Keilah were rescued by David and his men. Abiathar had gone to Keilah with David, bringing the ephod with him to help him seek the Lord’s guidance. Before long, he needed it, for Saul learned that David was at Keilah and made plans to trap him. ‘God has given David to me now,’ said Saul. ‘He has trapped himself in a town with gates and bars.’

So Saul gathered his army to besiege David and his men at Keilah. David soon learned of Saul’s plot and called for Abiathar and the ephod so he could seek the Lord’s guidance. ‘Lord, I know that Saul is coming here to destroy Keilah because of me,’ David prayed. ‘Will the men of Keilah betray me? Will Saul actually come here as I have been told? Lord, I beg You to tell me.’ The Lord answered David, ‘Saul will come.’ ‘Will the men of Keilah surrender me to Saul?’ David asked. ‘Yes,’ the Lord answered. ‘They will.’ When David heard what the Lord said, he escaped from Keilah with his men, about six hundred by this time and roamed about the countryside. Saul gave up his plans to go to Keilah, but David remained a fugitive in the hill country, living in the territory of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul constantly tried to find David, but the Lord prevented Saul from finding him. David lived in constant fear of Saul, realizing that Saul was always trying to hunt him down to kill him. One day Jonathan visited David at Horesh, giving him renewed strength in the Lord. ‘You must not be afraid,’ Jonathan told him. ‘My father Saul will never find you, Some day you will reign as king over Israel and I will be next to you. My father Saul also knows this.’

Together they renewed their covenant of friendship and then Jonathan returned home while David remained at Horesh. In a move to win Saul’s favour, the men of Ziph went to see him and offered to betray David. ‘South of Jeshimon, on the hill of Hachilah at Horesh, David hides in the caves. If you come down we will help you capture him as you have wanted to do for a long time.’ ‘May the Lord bless you!’ Saul answered. ‘I’m so glad that you sympathize with me. But go back and make sure that he is hiding where you think he is, for he is a very cunning fellow. When you discover all the places he hides, bring me a complete report and I will go with you. If he is there, I will find him, even if I have to search the whole land.’ The men of Ziph soon returned home, but David found out what had happened so he moved with his men to a more remote place in the Wilderness of Maon, south of Jeshimon in the Arabah. Saul brought his army to the wilderness and began tracking David. At one point Saul and David were facing one another on opposite sides of a mountain. David hurried to get away, but Saul had him trapped. At the moment when it looked as if there was no escape for David, Saul received a message that the Philistines had attacked the land. Saul ordered his men to return home to fight the Philistines, so David was safe once more. Therefore, the rock where David was trapped became known as the Rock of Escape.”

COMMENTARY

THRESHING FLOORS
When a border city in Israel was attacked by the Philistines, David asked the Lord, “Shall I attack the Philistines?” With God’s help David saved the city of Keilah. But when Saul came with an army, the people of the city David saved were ready to turn him over to be killed! Although Keilah was protected by bars and gates, its threshing floor lay beyond the security of the city walls. It was located on the high ground outside the city in order to take advantage of the wind. But exposure to wind also meant exposure to enemies. At harvest time the threshing floor was open to attack, so farmers slept beside the floor to protect their grain from surprise raids. Ancient farmers built a threshing floor by clearing and levelling the ground until the bedrock below was exposed. The stones removed from the soil in the process were set in a circle around the floor to form a low wall that would prevent the grain from scattering. The reapers brought sheaves of grain from the fields and scattered the stalks over the floor in a deep layer. Then the farmer drove his team of oxen in circles around the floor, trampling the grain underfoot. The heavier grain sifted to the bottom while the lighter broken stalks remained on top. These two layers were separated by the process called winnowing. With a fork the mixture was pitched high into the air. The wind carried away the stalks or chaff while the grain fell back to the surface of the threshing floor.

TEST YOURSELF

1.) What group of sea people attacked Keilah?
            A) Philistines
            B) Hittites
            C) Phoenicians
            D) Amorites

2.) What did David call for, in order to ascertain the will of the Lord?
            A) Ephod
            B) Thummim
            C) Lots
            D) Urim

3.) What did God say the men of Keilah would do?
            A) Faithfully defend the city
            B) Surrender to Saul
            C) Betray David
            D) Run away from Keilah

4.) Who offered to betray David, in order to win Saul’s favour?
            A) Jonathan
            B) The men of Ziph
            C) The men of Keilah
            D) The Philistines of Gath

5.) Which of Keilah’s facilities lay outside the city walls?
            A) The city gates
            B) The threshing floor
            C) The hospital
            D) The major’s house

6.) What is the purpose of separating the wheat from the chaff called?
            A) Burrowing
            B) Curmudging
            C) Winnowing
            D) Gerrymandering