1 Samuel 30:1–10 (ESV) — 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. 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.” 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.
NOTE: This chapter
has a lot of things to digest. David has just returned from the gathering of
the Philistine armies for battle against Israel. David promised to fight the
enemies of the king but was extremely vague in terms of what that means. The
Philistines don't trust David and send him back home to Ziklag. Up until this
point God's name has been surprisingly absent. David has lied repeatedly in
order to protect himself and his men as to his actual activities. What happens
next is in contrast to Saul's experience and either God's way of keeping David
out of the fight or the consequence of David's choice to leave the land. The
Amelekites attack Ziklag and take their wives, children, possessions, and burn
down their homes. Everyone, including David, is in great pain. And many, not
surprisingly, blame David, suggesting that David's game was not accepted by
everyone in the group (not to mention that the group included a lot of misfits
and rabble-rousers). David inquires of the Lord and God provides direction.
In contrast, the
previous chapter is about Saul seeking direction. God does not answer Saul as
the Philistines gather for battle. Saul chooses to go a medium to seek
direction for the spirit of Samuel. Without getting into the story, suffice it
to say that Saul does not receive direction. The problem is that Saul only
seeks God when times are at severe cross-road. David, despite his lapses, does
seek God regularly, not just when things are collapsing around him. One lives
by religion whereas the other lives by a relationship. One thinks God is at his
beck and call, while the other believes he serves God. One obeys when he thinks
it is to his benefit, the other eagerly desires to obey all the time (but is
not perfect and does fail more than once). The result will be disaster for
Saul, the death of him and his sons, and ultimately the loss of his kingdom to
Judah. David's result will be the return of all the wives and children and the
recovery of a large amount of material possessions. Saul experiences the
ultimate bad ending while David experiences the ultimate good ending. Both made
poor choices, but David's heart was entirely different--he truly wanted to know
God and serve him. What is our heart? Why is our real reason for going to
church or pursuing religious instruction or claiming faith?
No comments:
Post a Comment