When David came to Ziklag they found it had been invaded by the Amalekites and burned with fire and the people taken captive – their wives, daughters and sons including David’s two wives Ahinoam and Abigail (v1-6). All the women and children had been taken away just as David had done when raiding on behalf of the Philistines (see 27:8). It seemed that everything was lost.
David and his people wept bitterly. David was greatly distressed for his men talked of stoning him – they put the blame fairly and squarely on David for allowing them to go with the Philistine army (v6).
While we are away doing what we shouldn’t be doing – the devil is often at work spoiling what we have left behind. Usually, the family suffers as happened here. Today the family is taking a real battering – the devil is hell-bent on it. It is amazing what things affect the family – none more so than being where God doesn’t want us to be. The economic situation has dictated that both parents go out to work leaving children with child-minders or relatives, to name but one. The days of the latchkey kids are not over.
David, however, did the right thing – he sought God and “…. found strength in The LORD His God.” We always can rely on Him no matter how low we may have gone. He was in a dark place, deep depression but he did the right thing. Everything around him seemed to be collapsing, but he knew he could rely on God. If only he had done this before – David had gone in his own strength by joining with the Philistines. It turned out to be a near disaster. God was available all the time, it was left to David to seek Him. Unfortunately, it took this kind of disaster before David would really turn his heart towards God and seek His strength. He needed to remind himself of God’s faithfulness and His promises to him. God head not let him down in the past, despite his many failings, and He would not let him down now in the face of seeming disaster.
However much we have failed, there is only one way back, and that is to seek God. The Bible says, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then all these other things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Sometimes it takes a situation like this to cause us to seek God. Our strength is in God and is there for the taking but we must seek Him.
Let me remind you of those wonderful words from Isaiah 40:28-31, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
His confidence was now back in God, and he needed to act upon it, which he did (v7,8). He went to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, and inquired of The LORD what he should do. He asked God should he pursue the Amalekites who had raided the place. God answered (v8) “Pursue them…. You will overtake them and without fail, recover all”. So, David took his 600 men, and they came to the brook Besor in the Besor Ravine. His men were exhausted and 200 stayed there, too exhausted to cross the ravine. Earlier, his men were thinking of stoning him, but now it seemed that his seeking God and the assurance he received, had given them a trust in him. They were now going with confidence that The LORD was with them, and He had given them the victory. He could have been discouraged that a third of his army were indisposed, but, very much like Gideon (Judges 7) after he sought God, God used a smaller army to win the battle.
He continued with the 400 men, and they found a starving Egyptian in a field, and they gave him food and drink. He had gone three days without food or drink. This was an unexpected work of God, but God works in mysterious ways. He said he was the abandoned slave of an Amalekite and had been among the raiding party. He had been left behind evidently and obviously injured or unwell on the return from attacking Ziklag. (v11,12,13,14) David asked him to lead them to the Amalekites. He was grateful for the care shown to him and agreed on condition that they did not kill him or hand him over to his master. It was a simple act of kindness but turned out to their great advantage.
Hebrews 13:2 exhorts us, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”.
Revenge would have led to killing him for what he had been part of, but David shows his character. Isn’t this how The LORD has dealt with us. The ‘man after the heart of God’ shows us clearly what God is like and how we should be.
He led David and his men to them and found them having a party reveling in their spoil, which they had plundered. (v16) David fought them for around 24 hours and none of them got away except 400 young men who rode off on camels. David, in God’s providence, recovered everything, including his two wives. Amazingly, “Nothing was missing.” (v19) That was God’s promise in v8 – you shall recover all.
As they returned with all the plunder, they came to the 200 who had remained at the Besor Ravine, and they came out to meet them. The troublemakers and evil men among David’s followers didn’t want to share with the 200 except to take their wife and children. These troublemakers are referred to as “…. Wicked and worthless men” who objected saying, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give any of the spoils that we have recovered except for every man’s wife and children…. “
Again, David shows his true character, and he orders that the spoils are distributed equally among those who fought and those who stayed behind to look after the supplies. (v25). He recognized that The LORD had given them the spoil.
He lays down a principle that God will reward both those on the front line and those who work behind the scenes. It is just as important that there are those who cannot go out to the ‘front line’ but who work behind the scenes and care for what is left. All are equal in God’s sight.
David also sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah. He recognised that God had given it to them and therefore there was no room for selfishness. David included those back in his homeland to mend his strained relationships with them who had been disappointed when he went to the Philistines (v26-31).
