1 Samuel 23 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
There is no superscript given for Psalm 124 to show the backstory for the song, but it could easily have been written at the conclusion of the events transpiring in the twenty-third chapter of 1st Samuel. In the psalm David says, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side…when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us…Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
One of the more prominent ascriptions of praise to God in the psalms is that he is a rock and a refuge for the godly. Since David spent much time hiding out in caves and other strongholds, it is easy to see why this imagery is often employed. But in this particular case, Saul’s hot pursuit causes David to flee from his earthly strongholds out into the wilderness. At first he feels safe behind the gates of the city of Keilah but the people of the city whom he had saved from the Philistines cannot afford to protect him from the wrath of Saul. Then David flees to a stronghold in the wilderness of Ziph, but again the Ziphites inform the king of David’s presence out of fear for their own safety. Surely by now, everyone knows that Saul is bloodthirsty for David after slaughtering an entire town and a great number of priests for helping David to evade capture.
So David is flushed out of all his hiding places and is his vulnerability is exposed as he is on the run in the open country. Toward the end of this chapter, David and his band are only a few steps ahead of Saul and his mighty men just on the other side of a ledge on a rock from which there can be no escape. At this point, it is all but certain that the gig is up. Saul is closing in and David is sure to become his prey, but just at that moment, a messenger comes bearing bad news: the Philistines are raiding the land of Israel and Saul must leave at once, which he does reluctantly. Afterwards, David and his men name that place the Rock of Escape.
Of course, Jonathan had already told David “the hand of my father shall not find you,” and David had the will of the Lord revealed to him regularly by Abiathar the priest. Nevertheless, in the midst of the chase, it would be easy for David’s foot to stumble and his heart to be filled with fear. But again and again, the Lord is proving himself faithful, not allowing David to be captured by his enemy.
This seems to be a great illustration of 1 Corinthians 10:13 where Paul says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Even at times, when there seems to be no way of escape, like when the Israelites are cornered by the Egyptian army on the shores of the Red Sea, somehow the Lord still makes a way. Certainly, most of the time we can flee to rocks and strongholds, but even when we cannot, the Lord will provide a means of escape.
Psalm 18.2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.