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Wednesday 17 April 2013

1 Samuel 23 - Cat and Mouse

The Philistines were fighting against Keilah,a town about three miles from where David was. David was looking for opportunities to go on the attack, but at the same time he inquired of the Lord. There were times, which we will read of later, when David got into trouble. These occurred when he followed his own instincts and did not inquire of the Lord. 
The Lord told David to attack. However, his men were very wary of doing this. It is normal to find that the people will not be keen to do what God wants. Now this does not mean that we should just rush headlong into anything regardless, or ignore the thoughts and feelings of the people, but we do need to be prepared. David inquired of the Lord again. So he did not adopt a proud "I have heard from God therefore we are doing this attitude", but he sought to check that he had heard correctly from God. God confirmed the instruction to attack. David then implements this and they were successful.
Saul heard about this and thought it was an opportunity to capture and kill David. David sought the Lord. So we see Saul relying on the wisdom of men, while David seeks the wisdom of the Lord. So David left Keilah with his men. Note that God's advice was "sensible". A God given instruction is not always the wackiest idea you can think of!
Saul continued to seek out David, but without success. Jonathan did find David and he encouraged him, assuring him that he would one day be king.
The Ziphites were ready to betray David to Saul. Saul was close to catching David, but then the Philistines attacked Israel and Saul had to break off.

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