When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said,“ God has delivered him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.”So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men.When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest,“ Bring the ephod!”Then David said,“ O LORD God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, please inform your servant!” Then the LORD said,“ He will come down.”David asked,“ Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The LORD said,“ They will deliver you over.”So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition.
I, the LORD, hereby promise to make you as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
