If you read I Samuel 23, you may come across something that makes you wonder "why?".
The people of Keilah were being harassed by the Philistines. King Saul was reigning in Israel, but I guess he had better things do than help his people.
David was hiding from Saul, and he enquired of the Lord whether he should go down and smite the Philistines. God told David to go down.
I Samuel 23:5- So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
David came and saved these people from their oppressors, but guess who found out about it. Saul learned that David was in Keilah! The men of Keilah's welfare didn't matter to Saul. The only thing he cared about was the capture of David.
I Samuel 23:8- And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
How awful! David was doing a good thing here. Sometimes the reward for our obedience to the Lord won't be what we were expecting! It costs a great deal to serve the Lord and to obey His will for our lives. There are many Christians who have lost their families in order to serve God. There are Christians who have had to give up a good paying job to obey God's leading. There are even Christians who lost country, and sometimes their lives, in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
David was a rather wise man who knew that Saul was after him. He figured that Saul would hear of his deeds. So, he asked the Lord if Saul would come to Keilah for him, and whether the people of Keilah would deliver him to Saul.
I Samuel 23:12- Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.
What! How could they? David was their hero! He was their Savior! Saul didn't save them! How could God allow this to happen to David when he was obeying what God told him to do?
There is something to be learned here. David is a great type of Christ. Saul is a type of the flesh in this passage. The people of Keilah were people who couldn't save themselves and needed someone to saved them. So David came down at the will of God and saved these people.
Why would they give up their savior? Well, there were two things they could do- Treachery or Treason. David may have been their savior, but Saul was their king! Even though they appreciated the savior; they would rather obey their king. People would rather commit treachery than treason!
Remember, though, that David obeyed God and God protected David. But, God also used this for his good (Romans 8:28).
I Samuel 23:3- And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
David's men were scared! They wanted to make sure before they went into this battle! Who were these men? This battle was the beginning of David's Mighty Men! You never have to fear doing something for God!
What can we learn from this?
First: God will protect you if you obey Him!
Next: Good men sometimes don't always stay good.
Lastly: Whoever is on the throne of your heart is who you will obey.
So, who is on the throne? Is it your job? Your bank account? Your spouse? Your family? Who controls your actions, your motivations, your desires? Will you obey your king by committing treachery against your Savior, Jesus Christ? It's not something that is easy to answer, and we all have to make the decision!
