Wilderness in Judah. David hid from Saul in a place that probably didn't look too different. From BiblePlaces.com
David is still hiding from Saul. While hanging out in the wilderness with his men, David is informed that the Philistines have began an assault on the town of Keilah.
David asks Yahweh (God) about what he should do, and Yahweh says to attack him. So he informs the men to get ready, but they are apparently scared. Once again, David asks Yahweh for clarification, and Yahweh basically says, "Yes! Get up and smite those mofos, you're wasting time! I got your back, bro. I'm freakin' Yahweh!"
Once God made it abundantly clear, David and takes his men and sure enough wreak havoc upon the ranks of the Philistines, and they save the town of Keilah.
Well, King Saul heard about David's whereabouts and immediately set upon the town Keilah. Before Saul's troops can get there, David manages to escape into the Wilderness of Maon.
Within the wilderness David basically evades King Saul until finally those troublesome Philistines mount another attack elsewhere, which prompts King Saul to deal with the new threat rather than find his old rival David.
Reading this chapter, I'm loaded with the questions. Why doesn't Yahweh just end this drama? Conventionally, Yahweh is the God of the Universe. However, I get the sense in this chapter that He was more like a finite, yet still powerful deity, like something from the Greek pantheon. With His affinity for war, I'm almost tempted to say He's on par with Ares, the Greek god of war.
This fits idea of a finite yet still powerful god best fits with the behavior I'm reading about. Yahweh doesn't have much control, He seems to be filled with petty emotions, and He even deceives humans.
Contrarily, I would imagine an all-powerful being who cares about His creation wouldn't be obsessed with the death of other tribes, and of course the weird fascination He seems to have with sex.
