As we dive into the passage before us today, I think it is important to see David as a servant as he serves a city who is under attack from the enemy, and as he subsequently serves that same city by leaving when he learns that his enemy, Saul, is about to attack the city because David is there. Serving God’s people is not for the faint of heart. It requires grit and grace.

The reality is this, servanthood probably does not get enough air play these days in the world we live in. We have been conditioned to always be thinking about how to pursue our best life now; health, wealth, possessions, power, and influence are more often sought after, then a lifestyle of servanthood.

Even when we think of leadership, we do not often think first about servanthood. We often think about charisma, likeability, talents, charm, relational connection, accomplishments, strategic mindsets and inspiring vision. Although all those things are aspects of good leadership, and I do think David possessed almost all those things, maybe what the world needs most are godly servant leaders.

The question is: What does a godly servant look like? What are the distinguishing marks of a godly servant? We know that Jesus spoke about servanthood. He told the disciples – who were arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom – that if they truly wanted to be great, then they must understand that “If anyone would be first (great), he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk. 9:35). Jesus also said that he did not come to be served but be a servant by giving his life away on behalf of others (Matt. 20:28).

We can also see Jesus’ example of godly servanthood as he took off his robe of authority as a teacher and knelt down and washed his disciples’ feet like a common butler would (Jn. 13:13 – 17). Jesus also rebuked those who would only serve for public attention rather than serving in the quiet and often overlooked places in the background (Matt. 6:2 – 4).

The reality is this, to be a servant is to be unconcerned with what you get in return. Because by its very definition, servanthood is meant to be sacrificial, for the benefit of others, as though you are serving Christ himself, who served you so well at that bloody cross (Col. 3:23 – 24).

I think we can see Jesus shining through David in our passage today as he sacrificially serves a city by saving it and then winds up running for his very life as the Lord warns him of Saul’s plans to hunt him down as well as the impending betrayal of the city whom he had just saved. Can you imagine, saving a city at your own risk and then running for your life because they are about to betray you? Who wants to serve people just to get betrayed by the very people you just served? That is the story we are about to dive into!

1Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2Therefore 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.” 3But 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?” 4Then 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.” 5And 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.

6When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10Then 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. 11Will 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.” 12Then 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.” 13Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14And 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.

#1: DAVID SAVES A CITY (VV. 1 – 5)

In our first chunk of text, in verses 1 – 2, David gets the news that the Philistines are attacking the Isralite city of Keilah, so he asks the Lord if he should “attack the Philistines” and save the city, and the Lord tells him to get after it. And of course, David’s men are a little afraid since they have been hiding from Saul’s murderous rampage against David (v. 3). Who hasn’t weighed the potential outcomes of any risky endeavor and then walked away because fear got the better of them?

Well, before submitting to the fear-filled counsel of his crew and abandoning the Lord’s commands, David inquires of the Lord a second time, and the Lord, again, instructs David to get after it and he also promises David that he “will give the Philistines into” David’s hand (v. 4). And of course, David obeys the Lord and defeats the Philistines and saves “the inhabitants of Keilah” (v. 5).

I think the most significant thing about this first chunk of text is David’s obedience to the Lord in the face of danger as well as God’s reassuring promise that God will give David the victory if he is obedient. It is also interesting to note the contrast between Saul and David once again. Commentators believe that this episode of David saving this city, runs concurrently – at the same time – as Saul is destroying the priests at Nob for harboring David as a fugitive (1 Sam. 22:6 – 19).2

The bottom line here is that Saul is an evil, self-seeking leader who does not hear from God anymore, and David is a servant leader who hears, and listens to, and obeys God despite the risks involved. David literally laid it all on the line to obey God in saving this city while Saul is murdering God’s priests just down the road because of his self-centered paranoia. And the story is not over yet!

#2: DAVID RUNS FOR HIS LIFE (VV. 6 – 14)

In our second section of the text, in verses 6 – 14, we find David running for his very life from the city he just saved from certain annihilation, after the Lord warns him of the danger that is heading his way. In verse 6 we learn that the lone priest, Abiathar, who had escaped Saul’s mass murder of the priests in Nob, was able to slip away to safety with David in Keilah, with an ephod in his hands.

An ephod was basically a priestly robe covered in precious gems that would be worn by a priest when he would seek God’s answer on any given situation.3 This ephod will come back into play shortly as David seeks the Lord’s direction in a few moments.

For now, our attention is drawn back to the person of Saul. In verses 7 – 8 Saul learns of David’s whereabouts, he deceptively thinks and therefore says that “God has given him into my hand” and then he “summoned all the people to war” to go out and kill “David and his men”. What Saul doesn’t realize is that David is protected by the hand of our sovereign Lord who isn’t about to let a hair on David’s head be harmed by a delusional king like Saul.

David somehow learns of Saul’s intentions in verse 9, so he asks the lone refugee priest, Abiathar, from Nob, to bring the ephod so they can seek the Lord’s guidance together on what to do next. What happens in verses 10 – 12 is basically a great visual of what it looks like when a godly servant communes with God in prayer in the face of scary circumstances.

And as David communes with God in prayer, God lets David know that not only is Saul right around the corner, ready to destroy him, but the city that he has just rescued will certainly hand him over to Saul in a wicked act of betrayal. The Savior of the city is about to be betrayed into the hands of a murderous enemy by the very people he has just saved.

David, the ever wise servant leader, who does not desire to die an untimely death, nor see his men get mass murdered either, gets the heck out of Dodge, and takes shelter in the desert wilderness, while Saul, upon hearing of David’s escape, gives up the plan to attack the city where David had been hiding (vv. 13 – 14).

The interesting thing here is that David is a fugitive even though he is literally doing what a godly servant is called to do. But even though Saul continues to hunt David like a fugitive, “every day”, the author tells us that “God did not give him into his hand” (v. 14). You just cannot outwit the sovereign Creator of the Universe when he has a plan to choose and use someone such as David.

I also think it is significant once again, to see the relationship between God and David as David consistently communes with God in prayer as he suffers betrayal of the highest regard from those whom he has been serving as well as enduring the murderous threats of an enemy he once called friend.

KEY TAKE AWAYS…

Now as I survey the story we have just studied, especially in light of our questions about what it looks like to be a godly servant leader, I can see a couple of key take aways that should be helpful to us. As we look at these key take aways, let’s try to remember that David’s character as a godly servant is meant to make us see Jesus as our suffering servant.4 With that said, here are a few distinguishing marks of godly servant leader from what we just studied.

1: A godly servant leader is someone who communes with God.

    The fact that David communes with God is an obvious observation. We see David intentionally pursuing the presence of God as well as seeking God’s direction all throughout the story today. Even when his men are full of fear, David still seeks the presence of God in prayer in response to that fear.

    This reminds me of Jesus and how on many occasions he withdrew from the labor of serving people so that he could seek the presence of God in prayer – so that he could commune with his Father. One of the most significant moments in Jesus’ life happened in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death, when his sweat turned into drops of blood because of the horror of the coming cross.

    Jesus literally sought the presence of God so that he could serve God’s people faithfully amidst his fear. If you want to be a godly servant, you first need to be served by a suffering Savior in his work at that cross. The cross of Christ is the central event that enables your godly servanthood. To commune with God is to meet with him at the foot of that bloody cross on the daily. What do you need to do right now to step up your game as it pertains to practicing communion with God on a regular basis?

    2: A godly servant leader is someone who obeys God despite the risks.

    We know that David and his men attacked the Philistines and saved the city of Keilah despite their fear of king Saul. They did this simply because God commanded them to and because his command was attached to a promise to give them full victory.5 This of course is contrasted with Saul who believes the Lord is on his side even though God does not speak to him anymore because Saul has failed be obedient and has failed to trust in God’s promises, over and over again in our study.

    Obeying God’s commands is difficult enough for anyone to do because God always calls us to be different than the world around us – not to mention the fact that obedience to God is the pathway to becoming more like God. But the beauty of God’s commands is the fact they are always attached to a promise that God himself will give us victory as we seek to obey him.6

    This principle, that a godly servant leader will walk in obedience to God’s commands because of the promise of victory, can be seen all over the Bible in characters like Moses, Abraham, the Apostle Paul, and others. But it is vividly evident in the life of Jesus as he obeys his Father’s command to go to the cross on behalf of his enemies, despite the suffering he is about to endure. More about suffering in a moment.

    For now, we need to realize that if we are to be godly servants in our homes, in our friendships, in our workplaces, in our community, in our church, it begins with obedience to God’s commands despite the potential hardship that that obedience may produce. The Lord does not promise no suffering. On the contrary, he promises to bring us through that suffering into his eternal kingdom in one piece as he holds us in his sovereign hand.

    So, if you want to be a godly servant, start with practicing radical obedience to God because of his eternal promises to you in the cross and the empty tomb and the imminent return of Christ. Where is God calling you to radical obedience right now?

    3: A godly servant leader is someone who endures suffering.

    The fact that David is a suffering servant in our passage, is not overtly obvious at first glance, but he is suffering the murderous rampage of a man who was like a father figure at one time, and he is also suffering the betrayal of the people whom he has just risked everything to save from the enemy.7

    What David is doing here is simply foreshadowing or giving us a preview of the same kind of suffering servant that we now have in Christ Jesus. Both of these men trusted that God was sovereignly completing his plan of redemption through their suffering. Christ never turned away from the suffering that he endured as he served us at that bloody cross.

    Therefore, it is not a stretch for us to understand that if we are to become godly servants as well, then we must endure suffering of all kinds while trusting that God will bring us through that suffering as he completes the work of redemption in and through us. What kind of suffering have you been avoiding that is necessary for you to walk through as you seek to become a godly servant?

    CONCLUSION…

    In conclusion, I will leave us with this final charge. If you have not yet surrendered to Christ as your Savior and King, I pray that you will see him as your Suffering Servant and King today. Jesus is unlike any other leader because he suffered in your place. He bore the penalty of your sin and your guilt and your shame at that bloody cross. He did that so that you could join him in his suffering as you seek to become a godly servant to others. Would you surrender to him today and join him in serving those who are far from him?

    If you have surrendered to Jesus as your Savior and King before today, then I would ask you to examine the condition of your heart as it pertains to servant leadership. You are either a servant, or you are a sucker. A sucker consumes religious products like a fat guy eating cake. But a servant understands the cost of their salvation at a bloody cross as their suffering Savior and King has died in their place. That servant now lives to serve in the advancement of the kingdom of God

    If this is you, then I would ask you to ask the Lord how he wants you to step up your game in becoming a godlier servant. In. what ways do you need to practice greater communion with God? Where is God calling you to radical obedience? What kind of suffering do you need to stop avoiding?

    If you need strength to take this journey of becoming a more godly servant, look to the cross and the empty tomb, my friends! At the cross, Jesus served you as he suffered. At the empty tomb, you have the assurance – the promise – that Satan, Sin, and Death will not get the last laugh – God will bring you through this life into his perfect presence in eternity.

    In light of what I just said, in light of the truth of the gospel, you can become a godly servant who communes with God regularly, who obeys God despite the risks, and who endures suffering until the end. – Amen!

    1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

    2 John, Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader, Preaching the Word Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008), 445 – 446.

    3 Ibid., 448 – 449.

    4 Ibid., 451.

    5 Ibid., 447 – 448.

    6 Ibid.

    7 Ibid., 451.