1 Samuel

1 Samuel 30:1-6

As David and his men come back to Ziklag they see the smoke of the city.  Imagine how they went from being glad to be home to the terror of knowing their city had been attacked.  They found the entire town was burned and all the women and children had been taken captive.  There is so poetic justice in this; David was raiding and burning towns and killing everyone (1 Samuel 27:8-11).  The Amalekites let the women and children live and turned out to be more merciful than David and his men. 

The Amalekites had attacked Israel as they came out of Egypt.  They had established themselves as enemies from the start.  Saul was instructed to wipe them out; but to Saul was not obedient in this.  Saul's sin is at the root of this problem many years later.  His compromise allowed this enemy to be in their land; David's compromise allowed them to bring harm to Israel again.

The men wept and in looking for who to blame talk of stoning David.  While David wept he had to know that his compromise and backsliding brought this on.  David had reached the bottom; he was running from Israel, the Philistines wouldn't have him, his family is gone, the town burned, everything carried away and his friends wanted to stone him.  David had nothing left.  God allowed David to sink to the place so that he would once again turn to Him.  David found strength in the Lord (6). 

Samuel, 30:7-10

After David found strength in God, he knew it was time to put that strength to work.  But not on a whim or as a result of emotions.  David inquired of the Lord as to what His will was.  God told David to pursue them.  The men chased after their enemy for some time.  They must have been driving hard; when they approached this brook a third of the men were worn our and couldn't go on.  They stayed behind.

Samuel 30:11-20

David's army come across an Egyptian that is starving to death.  He was a servant of the Amalekites.  It was clear that he was part of the enemy's army but left abandoned when he was sick.  David feeds him and strengthens him in an act of mercy.  He promised to take them to the army.  He does as he promised and the army is defeated; some of the Amalekites once again escape to fight another day. 

The men recover their loved ones and all that they lost plus a whole lot more.  This is a complete turnaround for David's life.  From among the hopelessness the Lord provides victory and not just that, but also graceful provision. 

David is a type of Christ in this picture and we are like this abandoned man.  Once serving the enemy but now finding mercy at the hand of the one you once fought against. 

Samuel 30:21-31

As the men are returning after this great victory the get back to where the two hundred men were left behind.  Some of David's men didn't feel the spoils should be split with those that stayed back.  But David establshed that they too were improtant and part of their group.  David splits the spoils with them.  He also make a provision to these area cities and some of the elders of Israel.  He makes a point of acknowledging that this was all provided by the Lord; it was all His work, therefore His spoils.

©2015 Doug Ford