1Samuel chapter 30 comments

 

1Samuel 30:1 ¶  And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2  And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3  So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4  Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5  And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6  And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

 

Achish had given Ziklag to David previously.

 

1Samuel 27:6  Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

We remember that Saul’s failure in destroying all of the Amalekites lost him the kingdom as Samuel had told Saul in 1Samuel 15 and repeated in 1Samuel 28.

 

As the Philistine campaign begins it is fortunate that it was God’s will that the Philistine kings rejected David’s alliance with Achish. Otherwise he would have been too late to save his and his men’s families. Here is mention of David’s wives.

 

1Samuel 25:39  And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. 40  And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. 41  And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 42  And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43  David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.

 

This is such a disaster his followers talk of stoning him. But David’s faith in God allowed him to feel confident.

 

This confidence determined what he would do next.

 

1Samuel 30:7 ¶  And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. 8  And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. 9  So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. 10  But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. 11  And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; 12  And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13  And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. 14  We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 15  And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. 16  And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17  And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18  And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19  And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. 20  And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.

 

David consults God through the priest’s ephod and God responds. So, with his troop divided David is able to destroy the Amalekite band with the intelligence provided for him by the Egyptian slave captive. David recovers he and his men’s families and possessions and takes much spoil away from this encounter. David is very wise to divide those ready for battle from those too weakened by the fast, hard ride. God had promised David would recover all and he did just that.

 

1Samuel 30:21 ¶  And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. 22  Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23  Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24  For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. 25  And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. 26  And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; 27  To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28  And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, 29  And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30  And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31  And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

 

David displays his leadership and kingly qualities here by including the men who were too weak to go with him to the battle in the spoil in spite of the protestations of a few troublemakers and by sending spoil to the elders of Judah who were loyal to him. These wise moves will create loyalty and a sense of devotion for him by the people of Israel.