Word of Encouragement (09/26/2023)
Now they told David, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors." 2 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." 3 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?" 4 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." (1 Sam. 23:1-4).
A lot has happened since Saul’s insincere confession and repentance in Ch. 15. Having rejected Saul for his disobedience, God commanded Samuel to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse, as the next king. And David emerged as Israel’s folk hero after defeating Goliath. The women’s praise of David’s victory to be greater than that of Saul enraged and sparked Saul’s jealousy. He made many attempts to kill David, directly and indirectly, but they all failed. In the meantime, David married Michal, Saul’s younger daughter. Eventually, David had to flee from Saul to save his life. Soon after, many people, who felt disenfranchised under Saul’s reign, joined him. And that is a brief historical context of this passage.
What is striking about this episode is the LORD’s immediate answer to David’s inquiry in stark contrast to His refusal to answer Saul’s inquiry back in 14:37. What happened in between? As we briefly mentioned, many things happened but one event is worth mentioning: the removal of the Holy Spirit from Saul (as evidenced by an evil spirit plaguing him, 16:14) and the anointing of David with the Holy Spirit (16:13). Granted that God’s rejection of Saul’s inquiry happened before the Spirit was (officially) removed from him, Saul was already rejected as king of Israel in the eyes of the LORD. God not answering his inquiry in Ch. 14 was an indication of this reality.
What a powerful example of the privilege of prayer, of having access to God! We can see that it has much to do with the endowment of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, to be endowed with the Holy Spirit seems to have been a privilege given only to special people—the prophets, and some priests and kings. However, we know that even the Old Testament saints were saved by the same principle of faith—in their case, by believing in the coming Messiah even though their knowledge of the Messiah was limited. That was why Paul could point to Abraham as an example of the principle of justification by faith alone (Rom. 4:3, 20-22). The Westminster Confession of Faith echoes this when it says, “The justification of believers under the Old Testament was, in all these respects, one and the same with the justification of believers under the New Testament” (11:6).
In Jesus Christ, all believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). This was possible because Jesus Christ removed our guilt and sin through His atoning sacrifice. To the sinners without Christ’s atonement, the Holy Spirit is a consuming fire, not an Advocate and Comforter. And because we have the Holy Spirit, we have the assurance that we have free access to God in the name of Jesus Christ. Even when God seems distant and indifferent, it is only our erroneous perception. God will never turn His deaf ears to those, who have been purchased and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Let us not rely on our fickle feelings. Instead, let us trust in God’s assurance and persist in our prayer!