He Knows Us Deeply: 1 Samuel 23:6-14
Our hearts lie fully exposed to God. We may think we are good at hiding ourselves from one another. We believe we can put up a stoic face and push through life without anyone knowing what is really going on inside. While we can hide from one another, we cannot hide from God. He created us; He knows the core of our being. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
Saul hears how David saved Keilah. He also knows Keilah is a walled city, which means he has the potential for trapping David. He rushes to Keilah with his army, which probably was his mistake. Armies on the move quickly are noticeable, which means David’s spies easily see the movement and report back to Davd to give him time to escape.
Saul believes God gave David into his hands. Earlier, however, Saul was angry because he knew David was chosen to be king and would prevent Jonathan from being king. Saul’s relationship with God is more about how he perceives the world than what God is doing. Saul sees an opportunity and assumes God is on his side.
Saul is not genuinely discerning God’s will. God wouldn’t deliver David into Saul’s hands. God knows Saul’s heart does no genuinely desire what He desires. The condition of his heart is why God rejected him.
When David hears Saul’s approach, he asks Abiathar to inquire before the Lord about the people of Keilar. He asks if they will give him up or if they will stand with him. God tells David they will give him up.
When God tells David they would give him up, he leaves. This effectively removes the opportunity to give him up. We don’t experience them handing David over in the story because David flees. God knows their hearts, though, and He knows they would rather give up David and spare themselves from Saul’s wrath than stand with the man who saved them from the Philistines.
God doesn’t need to see us do something to know our hearts. He knows our nature without seeing us in practice. The people of Keilah are not guilty of selfishly handing over David because they never got the opportunity to do so. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t know they would have if given the opportunity.
God is deeply concerned with the condition of our heart. He knows we are sinful, and nature longs for the time when our hearts are no longer sinful. As this story shows, God doesn’t need to see our sinfulness to know it exists. He doesn’t need to have evidence of our rebellion to know how we would sin against Him. This is why we can say God knows us more deeply than we know ourselves. Our hearts lie fully exposed to God.
