1 Samuel 30:1-6

David's Return to Ziklag, 1 Samuel 30:1-31.

David's Camp Looted. 1 Samuel 30:1-6

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

1.

Why had the Amalekites sacked Ziklag? 1 Samuel 30:1

David and his men had made expeditions against these people when David wanted to impress Achish (1 Samuel 27:9-12). These Bedouin peoples had probably watched the departure of David and his men and had taken advantage of the opportunity to capture their women, children, and possessions. It is ironical that the people who led this expedition against David were the people whom Saul had been sent to destroy. Evidently Saul had not only spared the king, but had allowed some of the men to escape. These people then rose up to cause trouble for David.

2.

Why had they not slain any? 1 Samuel 30:2

They had not followed David's method of warfare. David had the extreme need for ridding himself of any witnesses and had entered into campaigns of total extermination. The captives taken by the Amalekites were probably destined to the Egyptian slave market. This was the way in which the Midianites were introduced in the days of Joseph. They bought him for twenty pieces of silver and took him to Egypt, where he was sold (Genesis 37:36).

3.

What caused David's excessive grief? 1 Samuel 30:4

David and his men had marched with the rearward of the Philistine armies as far as Aphek. There they were halted by the lords of the Philistines who were making the final assignments for the battle in the north. After they were discharged, they made a forced march for three days and had arrived in their home only to find it pillaged and burned. They wept until they had no more tears and no more mental, physical, or nervous energy to expend in their grief.

4.

Why did the men blame David? 1 Samuel 30:6

The men felt that their association with David would ultimately bring them only misfortune. The men are described as being bitter of soul. This description fits angry men as is evidenced by Judges 18:25 and 2 Samuel 17:8. The Shunamite woman whose son had died is described in this same way as she fell at Elisha's feet (2 Kings 4:27). The same idea is expressed in an attempt to describe Jacob's fear and distress as he was about to return to meet Esau (Genesis 32:7-8) and also the people of Israel as the Canaanite peoples whom they had left in the land distressed them (Judges 2:15). These men were at their wits-' end. Since David was their captain and ultimately responsible for the major decisions, they blamed him for all that had befallen them. They even considered seriously the actual stoning of David.

5.

How was David sustained in the day of peril? 1 Samuel 30:6 b

Hardly any stranger circumstances can be imagined than those which confronted David upon his return to Ziklag, He and his men had hurriedly returned from Aphek to Ziklag by a forced march of three days-' duration. Their welcome consisted of charred remains of what had been their homes and the knowledge that their women, children, and cattle had been driven away as spoil by the plundering Amalekites. Their grief was such that they wept until the fountains of weeping were run dry, and then the men turned and vented their grief by anger at David. There were conversations directed towards stirring up the men to stone David. In all this, we read, David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. By such faith David was sustained even in days of greatest peril.