#440 Bad Reception

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, 2 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.

3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 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.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 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.”

9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.

11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”

He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”

15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”

He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”

16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 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.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

26 When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”

27 David sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir;28 to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa 29 and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; 30 to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak 31 and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed. 1 Samuel 30 NIV

While you were away, not about the business of the Lord, your enemies have taken your family. The men weep for their wives and those who were so recently willing to follow you into battle against Israel are now calling for your life. Why didn't they leave a percentage behind, a home force to guard their families and estates? It is amazing that Amelek did not destroy the women and children since that is what David had done on his raids. This is encouraging, and David goes to the Ephod and the priest. God, what shall I do? God is not a God of confusion, but David has probably not asked as he should of before his dealings with Achish, and so he has not heard. He probably did not want to ask before, ignorance is bliss, ask and ye shall receive what you may not want to know. Go to Achish and ask for forgiveness later, or maybe you should acknowledge Him and seek His direction that He direct your path. There are those times we know that we should have stayed home. He ask God this time when there is sufficient good reason already to pursue, but he is humbled and broken over his family, the turbulence from his men. He is forgiving though and does not turn to the side to squash this mutiny. I think it's wise to let men grieve aloud and know that they are but men. David takes comfort here in returning to the things of the Lord. It is better to pull the men back together and pursue the Amalekites as one. God speed, and on the way a third of the men fail. Their strength is gone for all their marching, so David leaves them with their stuff, but I think this is a lesson to him of those who should have stayed behind. It is also a test of courage, for he has heard the words of God, the promise of their success. They find a boy, a slave who was discarded by his master, and they as noted by Henry, did not shut up their bowels of compassion. Their hearts were opened to the lad and he gave them a good report, and he ask in return, invoking their God, that they spare his life and not turn him over to his master, the one that left him. The boys intel is a blessing but also a rebuke, for the land that David told Achish that he raided, was raided by the Amalekites. He finds them at ease and enjoying the fruits of their raid, and David attacks them relentlessly. What a wonderful reunion, a great victory, and now those that pressed forward come back to those whose strength failed. They looked down upon the men that stayed behind and declared that they would not share in the bounty. Did the men really just quit? Did they not go into battle with them before? Could this ever be the Lord's doing and did it not make sense that a part should have stayed to begin with? Does the hand mock the feet who brought it to the battle? If there is no guard of the home then it may be found that there is nothing to return home to. If everyone is in the battle, then who is holding up their hands before the Lord, praying for the hearts of men? One plows, one scatters, one tends and another waters, but it is God Who provides the growth. These men weren't lazy and David was growing into the crown, but learning how to rule in with a power unknown to most rulers, the power of meekness. 

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
At the Home of Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 25-41