1 Samuel 30:7

DAVID SOUGHT TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD

"And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, `Bring the ephod.' So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, `Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them'? He answered him, `Pursue; for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.'"

This is evidently an extremely abbreviated account. The answers which God gave by means of the ephod and the Urim and Thummim were conveyed to the inquirer by the mouth of the High Priest, and it seems that the answer came to only one question at a time in the form of a plain "Yes" or "No." There are given here two questions and three answers, which most likely involved asking the three questions one at a time, with the High Priest giving the "Yes" or "No" to each question in turn. Thus what we have here is a summary of the procedure.

David's response to God's will here was positive and immediate. In spite of his men being fired even to the point of exhaustion, and without any supplies except what they might have brought with them (the city had been burned), David instantly gave the order to pursue the Amalekites.