Bring Hither the Bible

# 328 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 23:6-13, “Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand. 7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars." 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here." 10 Then David said, "O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 "Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant." And the LORD said, "He will come down." 12 Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will deliver you." 13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition. (1 Sam 23:6-13) Abiathar had fled from Saul and his men before they slaughtered the city of Nod and more importantly he took the ephod with him. The ephod contained the Urim and Thummim these two stones were given by the Lord to the Israelites to determine the will of God or direction in various situations. Saul did not have them David did. Saul was guided by whim and his own imagination, David was guided by God. For the most part these stones were used like lots and would give answers to “yes” and “no” questions. Using this method, David determines that the threat is very real and he needs to leave the city now! We no longer need the Urim and the Thummim. God has given us another place to turn to in order to find answers for our dilemmas. It's called the Bible, and when rightly read will provide all the answers we need. When we are faced with choices about how to live as Christians, we would do well to look to the ayes and nays of Scripture. As Matthew Henry's stated in his commentary on this passage, “Bring hither the Bible.” Father, thank You for Your Word, may we turn to it, rather than our whims and imagination as we seek guidance for living in Your kingdom.