Bill Fritz
Adult Education
Fellowship Bible Church
Contents
1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag
on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against
Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire
2 and taken captive the women and all who
were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and
went their way.
3 And when David and his men came to the
city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters
taken captive.
4 Then David and the people who were with him
raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David's two wives also had been taken
captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
If you recall,
God commanded Saul to kill ALL the Amalekites even their livestock (1 Samuel
15:3). Saul was to spare no one; all must
die as a punishment for their treatment of Israel during the exodus (1 Samuel
15:2,3).
Saul spared the
Amalekite King (Agag) and some livestock (1 Samuel 15:9). In disobeying God, Saul caused God to grieve
that Saul was made the king.
After traveling
three days and covering forty kilometers, and upon entering Zikalaq, David and
his men found their homes destroyed and their families taken as prisoners by
the Amalekites.
Saul’s
disobedience now has brought sorrows to David (the loss of his two wives) and
his men for the loss of their families and possessions.
God Tells David to Pursue
the Amilikites
Verses 6-15
(1Sa 30:6-9 ESV) 6
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because
all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said
to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod."
So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
8 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."
Both anger and
fear must have gripped David because his men wanted to kill him for allowing
the carnage in Ziglag. The depth of
despair of David’s men indicates they believed their families were dead.
David consulted
the Ephod oracle stone for God’s answer.
Scripture does not specify whether David spoke through the priest
Abiatha or not.
The mechanics of
God’s answer to David is not the salient point here. The significant point in verses 6-9 to note
is, David asked the LORD what he should do.
Power had taken
over Saul’s heart, and he acted on his own volition which displeased God. David, on the other hand, has not been
overtaken by his power but instead is seeking God’s will.
The adage “power
corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is as accurate today as it
was then. Will we never learn?
1Samuel 30:9-14 ESV
9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.
11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink,
12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.
Where was this
brook and how big is it?
The brook also
was known as a wadi (a valley or dried river bed) located with its beginnings
in Mount Boker and near Al-Zahra in the Gaza Strip. (Wikipedia.org)
(11) “Old and
home born slaves are usually treated with great kindness. But a purchased or
captured slave must look to himself; for, if feeble or sick, his master will
leave him to perish rather than encumber himself with any additional burden.”
(Pocock 2002)
The Egyptian
they found was undoubtedly a purchased or captured slave who was cast
aside. David questioned this slave
concerning the raid on Ziglag.
A person in a
harsh environment such as a desert will die after three days without water. (Letzter
2017)
We can assume
the slave must have been without water and food for some time perhaps two to
three days (V13) and was too weak to respond to questioning.
(12) I do not
believe they were being hospitable to the slave. David undoubtedly gave the slave with high
sugar content; food which would provide quick energy in order to revive the
slave to question him.
13 And David said to him, “To whom do you
belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant
to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days
ago.
14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.“
15 And David said to him, "Will you take me down to this band?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band."
14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.“
15 And David said to him, "Will you take me down to this band?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band."
Cherethites was another name used for the Philistines.
The Egyptian recognizing David as a Hebrew and knowing they believed in one God wanted David to swear by his God.
David Recovers Wives and Spoils
1 Samuel 30: 16-31 ESV
16 And when he had taken him down, behold,
they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing,
because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines
and from the land of Judah.
17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.
17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.
(16) It was a
time of celebration for the victors of Negeb and Ziglag. Not knowing David was close by and ready to
attack, the Amalekites enjoyed the spoils of battle.
The Amalekites
were undoubtedly celebrating with wine and dance. We do not know how long they were
celebrating. It is my opinion they were
intoxicated to some degree making it easier for David to overcome them with his
four hundred men (see verse 10).
1Samuel 30:18,-22 ESV
18 David recovered all that the Amalekites
had taken, and David rescued his two wives.
19 Nothing was missing, whether small or
great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought
back all.
20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who
had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook
Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with
him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them.
22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart."
22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart."
Greed had
captured the hearts of some of David’s men.
They did not believe in teamwork but rather their wealth.
V22 They were
wicked because of greed. The statement
worthlessness indicates these men did not serve well.
In sporting
events, it is the team who shares in the victory, not just those who
participated but also those who sat on the bench.
1Samuel 30:23, 24 ESV
23 But David said, "You shall not do so,
my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has preserved us and given
into our hand the band that came against us.
24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike."
24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike."
All that we have is the LORDS, He alone
chooses who gets the large and small portion.
David gives the
victory to the LORD. He was pointing out
the truth to his men; they did not have the right to deny an equal portion of
those who could not fight.
It seems to be part
of the carnal nature of man to take credit where credit is not due. If we see
this flaw in ourselves, we should pause and reflect upon the source of our good
fortune. “The LORD gave, and the Lord
has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21 ESV).
1Samuel 30:26 ESV
26
When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders
of Judah, saying, "Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies
of the LORD."
An offering is
translated from the Hebrew word “qorbân, kor-bawn'; or קֻרְבָּן qurbân; from H7126; something brought near the altar, i.e. a
sacrificial present:—oblation, that is offered, offering, gift.”
As we will see
in verses 27 through 31 David counted many people as friends.
We do not have
an accounting of the total value of the spoils but we can assume it was
considerable.
1Samuel 30:27-31 ESV
27 It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of
the Negeb, in Jattir,
28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa,
29 in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites,
30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach,
31 in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.[i]
28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa,
29 in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites,
30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach,
31 in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.[i]
Bibliography
Letzter, Rafi. How long can a person live without
water. November 2017.
www.livescience.com/32320-how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-water.html.
[i] Unless otherwise stated
all blocked italicized quotations are extracted from 1 Samuel (ESV) - Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 19 Mar, 2018.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv_241001
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