ESOCS Devotional 1 June 2025 – David’s Escape Route
MEMORY VERSE: “Then David enquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.” 1 Samuel 23: 4
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 23:1-18
Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”
2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.
And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
7 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.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 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. 11 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.”
12 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.”
13 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.
14 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. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
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First, God did not deliver David merely to preserve his life. Instead, He delivered him so that He could use David as His instrument to deliver others. God also promises to deliver you and do same.
Second, David’s faith led him to obey God’s Word. As a result, God blessed him and his soldiers on the battlefield. From this, God reveals that He delivers you when your faith leads you to obey His Word.
Third, by following God’s plan, David was in a place where he could not rely upon his own strength to be delivered. God reveals that He will deliver you when you fully depend upon Him.
Fourth, knowing that he was trapped, David turned to God for guidance. God wants you to do the same. He will deliver you when you seek His guidance in prayer.
Fifth, David would be forced to hide from Saul in unfamiliar terrain. To prepare him for his many trials to come, God sent Jonathan to encourage David. From this, God strengthens us through other believers while we wait patiently for His deliverance.
Sixth, the local peoples turned on David and offered to help Saul trap David. From this, God reveals that you are to have faith in His deliverance and cry out to Him when all seems hopeless.
Finally, God used the Philistines to draw Saul away from his pursuit of David. God will also hear your prayers and deliver you. Like David, God also wants you to give thanks when He delivers you from evil or oppression. I pray as you begin this new month, may your testimony be ceaseless, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
CHALLENGES
- What are you going to do when you are surrounded by enemies?
PRAYER POINT
- Father, I give thanks to you for the many times you have delivered me from illness, sadness, defeat, fear, or enemy: Thank you Lord Jesus, take all the glory (1 Thess. 5:18).
FURTHER READING: 1 Samuel 23:19-29; John 1:34-End; 2:1-5
ESOCS Devotional 1 June 2025
