Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” Therefore David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. – 1 Samuel 23:1-5 ESV

Warrior;
The City of Keilah has some great lessons for us. It is similar to the Cities of AI, and Jericho in the wealth of hidden gems, hidden nuggets of God’s Mystery. This passage in the Bible gives us another example of the relationship between King David and Jehovah, Abba, Yahweh, El Elyon, the great I AM- the God of the Bible of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel! Again, we read why King David is such a great example for those of us that want to have an intimate relationship with the God of the Universe. For those who have a heart after God’s, King David is a great Shadow, a great EXAMPLE and a great example of our dependence on God. It was just 10 chapters ago, that God pulled the Kingdom away from the King that the Israelites chose to rule over them. God had a special plan with the Israelites like He does with us today. Hear the Word of the Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah: “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. “For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. (Jeremiah 32:36-42)

Leader, God desires for a PEOPLE who will SEEK HIS WILL, seek HIS FACE, seek HIS WAY, who are connected to the GOD MOST HIGH, El Elyon! King Saul wanted to be blessed by YAHWEH, but also felt like He could do things close to what God says, but NOT EXACTLY. After all Saul knows best, and Saul is the leader. How many of us call out to God in times of need and yet when we do things OUR WAY, we alter God’s word a little bit, just to fit our needs and the MODERN WORLD? How did that work for our example Saul? “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13: 14) If you are BLESSED enough to be a child of God, and then realize that YAHWEH, the eternal God has given you instructions- YOU FOLLOW THEM WORD FOR WORD! Hear the Word of the LORD: “Does the Lord have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry. Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22) In our section of scripture above, the instruction from the Lord seemed impossible to David’s men. Everybody around him told him, “Not a good idea”- BUT GOD, said to GO, and David went! Here is our example. If we are after God’s Will, then we will do EXACTLY WHAT GOD TELLS US, not our altered version. You can be a David, or you can be a SAUL! In today’s watered-down church we have mostly SAULS’, not too many DAVIDS’. CHOOSE TODAY from which ILK you will come.

Conduit, Hear the Word of the Lord: And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:27-28) GOD KNOWS…BUT GOD. If we would all learn to understand and believe those 2 terms our walk with God would be more LIKE DAVID and LESS LIKE SAUL. Let’s read further in 1 Samuel 23, parenthetical explanations are mine: Then David said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” Then (moment of decision-choice) David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed- (changed course, turned, did something different) from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. (by David doing something different, it caused Saul to do something different- our choices affect others decisions) And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, BUT God did not give him into his hand. This passage gives us a STUNNING REALIZATION: ‘Divine foreknowledge’ does not necessitate ‘divine predestination’. God foretold based on what David was “GOING TO DO”- BUT GOD told David the outcome based on HIS CHOICE that was inquired. When David did something different, then what God FORESAW never happened! Abba Daddy, the OMNISCIENT, PRESCIENT ONE foreknew a possibility based on DAVID’s CHOICE. IF David made a different choice, then the OUTCOME would be different! For further supporting evidence to this fact see Baal of Peor- Numbers 23-24. The events that were going to happen if David stayed in Keilah, never happened. Based on this scripture, by definition, they could not have been predestined. Here is A key to our FAITH: IF DAVID…BUT GOD! Predestination and foreknowledge are separate! It is time to sync our hearts to God’s, like David! Not only do our choices change our destination, but they also affect others choices and decisions! God wants the best for us, like any other GOOD FATHER. ABBA has a plan for all His children. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10) This is why ABBA DADDY tells us: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take”.