GOD IS LOVE

 

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1 Samuel 30   David Destroys the Amalekites

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”  “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.

I love reading this chapter from time to time because of the various lessons of love that one learns from it.  After David enquired of the Lord about going to recover all that was stolen, from him, he and 600 men pursued the Amalekites.  But due to the fact that they were all coming from another battle previously in the land of the Philistines, 200 men stayed behind because they were exhausted whilst David and 400 of his men continued in pursuit.

On the way, they found an Egyptian slave who had been left behind by his master, an Amalekite.  The Egyptian slave had fell ill and had been left to die.   He was given food to  eat as he had not eaten for  3 days and 3 nights and was too weak to speak.  When the man finally has sufficient strength to speak, David began to question him. The answers to his questions would have lifted the spirits of David and his men, for the man tells them he is an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite.   His master left him behind three days before because he was sick and slowing everyone down. His master left him there to die, with no food or water. He then tells David he was with the Amalekites party who  raided and plundered Ziklag.  David asked the Egyptian to take him to his master/s.  But since his master and the others left him behind to die, he was willing to cooperate, in exchange for David’s assurance that he would not be killed or handed back over to his master. This half-dead servant gave new life to David’s search for the Amalekite raiders and their captives.  (I pray for you, whatever is dead in your life shall receive the touch of the resurrection power of our Lord Jesus Christ and come alive in Jesus name).

David and his men found the Amalekite raiders celebrating, eating, drinking and dancing because of their success in plundering the land of the Philistines and Judah.  David and his men were able to fight them and defeat them because they were easy prey and in a vulnerable state.  And as God had told David, ‘18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”   (You too will recover all that has been stolen from you in the name of Jesus.)  

The victory is now won, and everything that was lost has been recovered.  In fact, not only did David and his men recovered everything they lost, they gained a whole lot more.   Later on, David came to his 200 who had not followed him to battle.   We are told that there were evil and troublemakers amongst David’s men who said, that because these 200 men did not go with them, they should not share in the plunder recovered but they were happy for these 200 to be given their wives and children; that they should get only what they lost and nothing else.  These worthless men continued by saying that these extra spoils should be divided only among the 400 warriors.  

David told them no because what they received from the plunder was what God had given them and as such, the spoils should be shared equally.  David reminded them that it was God who protected them and delivered the Amalekites into their hands when they were busy partying.   The battle is a team effort, with each member playing a different role; just because 200 men stayed behind does not mean they had no part in the victory, as we are told they looked after the things that were left behind by the men who went into battle.

The 200 men who stay behind guard the baggage. Had the 200 men come along, they would have slowed down the 400, because they were weary.  Had the 200 men not guarded the baggage, the 400 men would have been laden down. The 200 men who stayed behind served the best interest of the 600. But every single one of the 600 made a contribution to the cause, it was therefore a team effort.

David went as far as to also send gifts of the plunder to the elders of Judah and other towns like Bethel, Ramoth, Negev, Jattir etc.  These towns may have been attacked by the Amalekites and suffered loss too in the past.  These towns are towns David and his men frequented.

This story reminds me of what Jesus did for us on the Cross of Calvary.  He died for Jews, Greeks and gentiles.  He came to set us free because God so loved the world.

Lessons of Love:

1 – David allowed 200 men to stay behind: they had plenty of reasons to collapse by the brook because their children and wives had been taken captive.  The situation was an emotionally charged one and they simply did not have the strength to continue in pursuit.

2 – The Egyptian slave: left half dead and was so weak, he could not talk.  David and his men, could have left him because they had an enemy to pursue but no, they gave him food to eat and drink.  This Egyptian was able to regain his strength and their effort was well rewarded.

3 – Spoils of war and contention: David reasons with the evil men by saying that they have not earned these spoils, as they thought.  The victory and the spoils are a gracious (and thus unmerited) gift from God.  God gave these spoils, as He gave the victory.  The victory is a team victory, and the team is greater than 400 in number. When David employs the word us, it seems clear he includes all 600 men. “God gave the victory to us,” David argues, “to the whole 600 men, and not just to the 400.”

4 – David remembered the elders: Some of the men in these towns are elders; they are men of considerable influence.  Some of the men in these towns are David’s friends. These towns are Israelite towns; indeed they are in the territory of Judah. Thus, they are David’s kinsmen and very soon, these recipients of David’s generosity will be among the first to embrace him as their king.

Lessons learnt:

This chapter is another one of David’s finest hours. David first strengthens himself in the Lord, and then He turns to the Lord for specific guidance concerning their families and those who have kidnapped them. David asks the Lord to reveal whether he should pursue those who have taken their loved ones. Will he overtake them if he does pursue them? The answer to these questions is “Yes!” God assures David he will not only overtake this band, but he will also completely rescue all that has been taken.

As this year is coming to an end, may we continue to seek God in all that we do and put Him first.  May we learn to acknowledge Him in our victories and remember that it is His grace that has helped us thus far.   May we draw near to Jesus, our good Shepherd.

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