The Life and Times of

Lesson 28: From Tragedy to Triumph (1 Samuel 30:1-31)

Introduction

I am reminded of a story in a fascinating book entitled Shantung Compound, written by Langdon Gilkey. The book is about how confinement affected the lives of those interned in Shantung Compound, an old church encampment hardly suited for the task, when the Japanese overran China during the Second World War and all western foreigners residing in China were interned there. Businessmen, diplomats, teachers, missionaries, and others were confined all together in substandard quarters. Not quite a P.O.W. camp, it was probably the equivalent of a minimum security prison. Conditions were such that Shantung Compound brought out the worse, and the best, of those interned there. The author was one of those interned at this facility.

When Christmas approached, a Red Cross vehicle arrived loaded with care packages for those confined at Shantung Compound. One would think the distribution of care packages would be an easy task, as they could simply divide the number of packages by the number of residents. If there were 600 residents and 1200 care packages, each resident would receive 2 packages. But this very simple “no-brainer” task proved to be quite a problem. You see, some of the American residents pointed out that these packages were from the American Red Cross, and reasoned the packages were specifically designated for American residents. They argued that the packages should be evenly divided among the American residents. If anyone wished to share some of their gifts with others, that was their prerogative.

Something very similar happens in the 1 Samuel in our text in chapter 30. David and his men pursue a band of Amalekite raiders, who have plundered and destroyed Ziklag and taken away their wives, children, and possessions. They are guided to the base camp of these raiders, where they utterly defeat them, recovering everything they lost. In addition, the spoils of this victory include all they had taken from the Israelite and Philistine towns and cities they had raided and plundered in addition to Ziklag. Some among David’s soldiers were unwilling to share any of these spoils with the 200 men who stayed behind with the luggage.

The lessons from our text are many. What seems at first glance to be an account of the “long ago and the far away” is of direct relevance and application to our own lives today. Since this message is being delivered on Easter Sunday, you surely must wonder why I am not teaching an Easter message. My response would be that our text is an Easter message. In fact, I dare say our text contains more than one Easter theme. Some may be skeptical, so I ask that you keep an open mind to what the Spirit of God is teaching us in this text.

The Setting (30:1-6a)

1 Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now David's two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters.

It doesn’t take long for word to get out that the Philistines are headed north to wage a major attack against Israel. The Amalekites, who seemed to make their living (not unlike David) by raiding Philistine and Israelite towns and cities in the south, could not have received better news. Since the men of fighting age had gone to war, few or none were left behind to defend the Israelite¹ and Philistine towns, including Ziklag. While David and his men are passing in review with the Philistine army (29:2), the Amalekites were plundering Ziklag. These raiders take all the cattle and possessions, kidnap all the women and children, and burn the city to the ground.

When David and his men approach the city of Ziklag, they are horrified to see that the city has been destroyed and their families taken captive. No one has been killed, but every living soul has been taken. It is little comfort that their families are still alive. Each man imagines what is happening (or would soon happen) to his wife and children. At best, they will become slaves, to be worked hard and cruelly treated. At worst . . . no one even wanted to consider this. David’s two wives also are taken.

These 600 fighting men are greatly distressed by what has happened to their city and their families. They weep until they have no sobs left. Then they began to think about how this came to pass. It had been David’s plan to bring them to the land of the Philistines (27:1-4); it was David’s request that they live in this remote city of Ziklag (27:5-6), and it was David who led them off to fight with the Philistines, leaving their families vulnerable to just such and attack. Some are so angry there is talk of stoning David.

Hot Pursuit; Cold Trail (30:6b-10)

But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.² 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them, and you shall surely rescue all.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor, remained behind.

As Davis points out, not since chapter 23 has David sought God’s will by means of the ephod, and not since chapter 26 has he mentioned the name of the Lord.³ As is often the case, tragedy turns David’s heart toward the Lord. 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.

We must remember the physical and mental condition of these men. They have just traveled nearly 60 miles from Aphek back to Ziklag, no doubt pressing hard to get home as soon as possible. They can rest up at Ziklag, once they arrive, or so they think. Then, finding their loved ones kidnapped, their cattle stolen, and their city destroyed by fire, they weary themselves weeping (verse 4). Now they are off in hot pursuit of the enemy. The enemy raiding party has a substantial lead, and the trail is getting cold. They can easily disappear into the wilderness. If they are to be overtaken in time to rescue their loved ones, David and his men must move quickly.

I imagine David and his men are marching double time. As time passes and the heat of the sun works on David and his men, they grow weary. When they come to the brook Besor, a third of the men simply cannot go on. They have plenty of motivation – their families are in danger, and they want to be there to rescue them – but they simply do not have the strength to continue on. Two hundred men collapse there by the brook, unable to press on. Even if they do go on, they will only slow the rest down. David and the other 400 men press on, leaving much of their gear behind with the 200 so that they can move faster and expend less energy.