In 1 Samuel 23 David and his four-hundred men travel to a
small town named Keilah to rescue its inhabitants from a marauding band of
Philistines. The Philistines were coming
in at the end of the harvest season and raiding the food stocks of the town.
Not really a big deal, I’m sure they could cruise over to Costco and get more
grain. Wait, they didn't have Costco’s
back then. Matter of fact, they was no
safety net in that culture. If you
didn’t have food stored up for the winter, you didn't eat. There was no Holy Grounds Food Pantry to
sustain them through the winter. Losing their food stocks meant starvation. So
for David and his men to come in and drive out the Philistines was a pretty big
deal; they literally saved the lives of the people of that town.
But a funny thing happened after they drove out the
Philistines. God told David that the men
of that town were going to turn on David, and hand him over to Saul. Perhaps “funny”
isn’t the right word. “Sellout” might be a better description of these people. “Ungrateful” fits too. You have to ask, how could a town that had
just experienced salvation through David and his men turn around and hand David over to crazy king Saul?
We may never know the answer to that question, as we really don't
know what was in the hearts and minds of these folks. But there is one thing that we can take away
from this: Sometimes the people that you
sacrifice the most for, are the very ones that will toss you under the bus when
it suits them. The people that we love
the most can sometimes become our “Keilalites.”
Perhaps you have experienced something like this. A friend comes to you in a desperate
situation. You pray for them, counsel,
talk to them on the phone, meet with them, and through your sacrifice you help
them overcome the Philistines in their life. But once they’re over the hump, not
only do you not hear from them anymore, you get word that that person has spoken badly
and criticized you behind your back. What! Of all the nerve! How could they do such a thing? That person that you poured yourself out for
has become your Keilalite. How do we
respond to the Keilalites in our life?
Join us Sunday at 9:30 & 11:30, for the continuation of
our series “The Rise of the Kings: Surviving the Keilalites in your life.”
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