Betrayed by someone you trusted? You're not alone. You do something for someone only to be met with ingratitude, thanklessness, or betrayal. Study David's example in 1 Samuel 23:1-13 when the citizens of Keilah betrayed him to Saul after he saved them from the Philistines. Learn how to respond to betrayal with faith, grace, and Christlike humility—no matter the hurt.

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Table of contentsWhen the People of Keilah Reached out to David for HelpDavid Heard from God Through the Urim and ThummimDavid Saved the People of KeilahRespond Well to Betrayal By Remembering the Lord Didn’t Promise Us GratefulnessRespond Well to Betrayal By Remembering We Were Doing It for the LordPractical Examples of Dealing with BetrayalWhen We Dealt with BetrayalRespond Well to Betrayal By Remembering the Lord Stands By Us

John Anthony Walker was an American naval officer who spied for the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1985 during the Cold War. Motivated by financial gain, he sold highly classified information to which he had access as a communications specialist. The information Walker provided to the Soviet Union included details of the Navy's communication systems, jeopardizing the security of U.S. military operations and risking countless lives.

How was Walker caught? After he and his wife divorced, she reported him to the FBI when he stopped providing her financial support. So she didn’t mind him serving as a spy, but when he wouldn’t give her money, that was going too far.

Most betrayals aren’t this dramatic. They take place on much smaller scales. We do something for someone only to be met with ingratitude, thanklessness, or betrayal. In this morning’s passage, we’ll learn how to respond in these situations by studying David’s example.

When the People of Keilah Reached out to David for Help

Here’s the context: David became extremely popular among the people, which made Saul paranoid and jealous. Despite David’s loyalty and service, Saul began trying to murder him. David had to flee Jerusalem and spend years as a fugitive in the Judean wilderness. While David had plenty of his problems to worry about, such as staying alive and keeping his men alive, he received news of a city that needed his help:

1 Samuel 23:1 Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.”

Keilah is located in the western foothills of Judah, about 18 miles southwest of Jerusalem. The threshing floors are where wheat is separated from the chaff. This is the final stage at which the harvest is prepared before becoming food. Looting the threshing floors means the Israelites invested months of effort, while the Philistines waited until all the work was complete and then stole the crop. This is why Boaz slept at the threshing floor in the book of Ruth to protect his harvest!

Stealing the people’s food was not the same as it would be in our day. The Israelites couldn’t drive to the local grocery store for more. For them, this meant starvation. Where would you expect the people of Keilah to go for help at this desperate moment? In the ancient world, where did you go for justice? You went to the king!

It’s pretty unbelievable that David was informed about this instead of Saul. Saul is the one who should have been protecting his people from the Philistines, but he’s too busy mobilizing the nation’s army to murder David. Because the people knew they couldn’t count on Saul, they turned to David for help, even while he was a fugitive.

Do you think it would have been very easy for David to justify not helping the people of Keilah? Yes: “I can barely keep myself and my men alive without keeping a city alive.” But he sought the Lord about it anyway:

1 Samuel 23:2 Therefore 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.” 3 But David's men said to him, “Behold,