(10) Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. (11) Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. (12) Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. (13) Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.
The enquiry of David, and the Lord's answers, were suited to his present circumstances. It was not that Saul would come down, but that it was his intention to come down; and, therefore, it implied the necessity of David's departure. The Lord is graciously pleased to furnish out suitable providences, when such things wilt answer his blessed purpose, without stepping out of the ordinary way, to deliver his servants.