Seeking First God’s Kingdom and Righteousness

We have been talking for the last few weeks about what it means to judge justly. Last week, we talked about the Great Exchange—the imputation of our sin to Christ and Christ’s righteousness to His people. The text today leads us to consider patriotism—not concerning any worldly kingdom but concerning the kingdom of Heaven. Since Christ clothes His people in His righteousness alone, they seek His righteousness rather than their own. The imputation of Christ’s righteousness works out in sanctification because, when we now consider ourselves, we see Christ’s person and work instead of our own.

1 Samuel 23:1-14

Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.”

So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and deliver 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 ranks of the Philistines?”

Then David inquired of the Lord once more. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.”

So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”

Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking 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 just as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, 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 David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

Seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness (v. 1-5)

Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.”

The Philistines are Israel’s persistent enemy through 1 Samuel. We have seen David’s first encounter with the Philistines (Chapter 17), when God defeated Goliath through him. The Philistines have been a constant thorn in Saul’s side during the duration of his reign. Even in David’s most recent interaction with the Philistines in Gath (21:10-15), David pretended to be a mad man in order to keep from going into Achish’s house. The Philistines, once again, are plundering the Israelites, this time in Keilah. They are taking the grain that does not belong to them by force—which is the opposite of judging justly.

So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and deliver 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 ranks of the Philistines?”
Then David inquired of the Lord once more. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”
So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

David has a renewed sense of faith. He has experienced revival. The Shepherd-boy turned warrior fugitive is no longer running from God. Instead, he is beginning to act like a king. He is no longer seeking his own will but God’s. God tells David to go, David’s men are afraid, God tells David to go anyway. David delivered Keilah and led away the Philistine’s livestock, which were brought as provisions for the Philistine army.

To follow the Lord is, first, to follow Him. Seeing God’s relentless favor and imputed righteousness upon us causes us to follow Him. Ultimately, following God’s instruction and becoming more like Him is to seek first His kingdom and righteousness. Seeking God’s kingdom is seeking to participate in His work, not ours. Seeking God’s righteousness is to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ, who imputed His righteousness to us. To follow the Lord is to live with courage. Every time the Lord leads or instructs His people as recorded in Scritpure, He calls them to come out of their place of comfort, overcome their fear and their insufficiencies, and participate in the Lord’s work. Since we never witness, by the reading of Scripture, God instruct His people to remain comfortable, we can infer that He will never call His people to remain comfortable. To seek to remain comfortable is to seek our own kingdoms and righteousness. No Christian desires this because he or she has seen God. God always calls His people to live beyond themselves, and that is only possible in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Seeking our own kingdoms and righteousness (v. 6-8)

Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

Before, we were not given the chronological or geographical details of Abiathar’s arrival (Cf. 22:20). We only knew that Abiathar escaped Saul’s genocide and fled to David. Now, we know that Abiathar caught up with David at Keilah after David delivered Keilah from the Philistine pirates. Imagine David’s inner turmoil. He is defending his kinsmen against outside threats while Saul is having other Israelites murdered.

When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.”
So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

Instead of seeking God’s will, Saul seeks signs that confirm his own intentions. Romans 12:1-2 says it clearly. The way that we can discern God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will is only by the renewing of our minds. We can only renew our minds if we realize that none of us understands anything fully because God cannot fully be known, here to mean descriptive and imperative knowledge and not relational knowledge. Yet, we are prone to look for signs rather than be transformed by the renewing of our minds. God desires we know Him and His instruction—seek first His kingdom and righteousness. God was with David; Saul, in His pride, continued to misinterpret the signs that he wrongly attributed to being intended signs from God. That’s the thing about seeking confirmation or signs rather than seeking God’s will and being transformed by the renewing of our minds—it’s easy to justify our own thoughts, beliefs, and actions. There is a reason so many people claim to be good with God but are never knowing God more or being transformed by the renewing of their minds. If we want to be like Saul, a Jew outwardly but not inwardly, we must be convinced that we have all knowledge and reject any understanding we don’t currently have—justify self and seek only confirmation. If, however, we desire to know and prove God’s will, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, not thinking too highly of ourselves than we ought (Cf. Romans 12:3) but practicing our spiritual gifts in the context of Christ’s body (Cf. Romans 12:4-8).

Seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness (v. 9-14)

Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”
Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking 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 just as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, 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 David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

David, again, seeks God’s will—God’s answer in the trial he perceives. David leaves Keilah because God reveals that the Israelites in Keilah will betray him to Saul. Saul temporarily gives up his pursuit.

There is a difference between seeking God’s will and assuming God’s will. Seeking God’s will necessarily means we are changing—being transformed by the renewing of our minds. If we are not being transformed by the renewing of our minds, we are not seeking God’s will. We are assuming God’s will when we are looking for signs, using God’s word, or reasoning in order to justify what we already think, believe, and do.

I was talking with a lady some time ago, and her mentality is a common one. She prayed and prayed for God to use her in a mighty way. She interpreted everything, even the hardships she faced, as a sign from God that God was doing exactly what she wanted. This is what we see in Saul and seems spiritual to worldly people; It’s how people seek their own kingdoms and righteousness because they are seeking their own will and masking it with religious language as if they have faith from God. As we saw with David, God’s people come to seek His will on the front end—they desire His kingdom and righteousness rather than their own; They desire His plan for their lives rather than their own. They are being transformed by the renewing of their minds.

In His sermon on the mount, Jesus will teach:

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:25-34).

Seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness is exactly opposite of worrying about our own lives, if our needs will be met. We seek to perpetually grow in our understanding of who God is and what He is doing in the context of Christian community. If we are clothed in His righteousness, we see it and seek after it without being so worried about ourselves—God has us and will preserve His people and provide for us according to His will. If, like Saul, we are always making war against flesh and blood, we cannot see God’s righteousness in order to seek it.