I'm struggling a bit with this. If god is protecting David by sending the philistine army then who is protecting all those people the philistines are plundering. God and David had some interesting discussion at the beginning of the chapter. David asked God for advice and god gave it. David and his men were a little freaked so god said I'll give you the victory. But then later David says hey God am I in trouble here. Good says yes but in this case doesn't offer any help so David just runs for the wilderness. I guess the moral of the story is... who knows what God is up to. Not us. When he gives you a clear sign he's helping you, then jump aboard. But if you don't see the signs, head for the hills and hope you're the guy in the wilderness not the guy getting plundered by the philistines.

This is the dream for me. David and God just chatting about the best course of action and God is giving him clear direction. My conversations with God are never so clear .