1 Samuel 30:1-31
1 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,a every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he salutedb them.
22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of thosec that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.
23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward,d that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a presente for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;
27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,
30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,
31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
Returning to Ziklag, David and his men find themselves described by the meaning of Zikiag's name, "enveloped in grief." They had been at least some days away, and the Amalekites had invaded the land, sacking Zikiag and burning it. They had not killed the women and children, but had taken them captive (v.2). David had before attacked the Amalekites in a certain area at least and killed men, women and children (ch.27:8-9). Likely other remaining Amalekites would hear of it, so that this attack could have been in reprisal. At any rate, David had not been caring for his own city, but was on an ill-advised trip with Achish. This is a spiritually important lesson for us. When we are not properly on guard and in communion with the Lord, the lusts of the flesh (of which Amalek speaks) will almost certainly take advantage of us. This will not result in the total destruction of a believer, but will rob away from him much of that with God has entrusted him.
David and his men were so overcome with grief that they wept until they could weep no longer (v.4). It is mentioned too that David's wives, along with all others, had been taken captive (v.5). But David's distress was increased when the grief of his men turns to anger against him. They would easily point to David's wasting time in a useless trip which Achish, and being grieved at the loss of their families, they consider stoning David to death! Of course this would help nothing. Men similarly talk against God for allowing their enemies to harm them. In that case, it is totally unjust, and certainly of no help. But David turned to the Lord in his need. (v.6). This was the one source of real help.
David asks Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod. This was the garment the high priest wore over his robe. In the ephod was the breastplate containing the urim and thummin, the twelve precious stones, each of which symbolized a tribe of Israel (Exodus 28:6). It was used for enquiring from God. The twelve stones emphasize the vital truth that God will only answer on the basis of his love and care for ALL Israel, not from any sectarian viewpoint, as though favoring one person or another. Saul could not rightly use it for it was not Israel that he loved, but himself. It may be that Abiathar himself wore it when David enquired of the Lord.
It is good to see David so inquiring. He did not do so in the case of Nabal (ch.25:12-13), and was preserved from acting rashly only by God's grace in working in Abigail's heart. This time God answers his inquiry as to pursuing the Amalekites by assuring him that he would not only overtake them, but would recover all that had been taken.
They could therefore go with full confidence in the living God David's six hundred men went with him only as far as the brook Besor, where two hundred remained behind because they were tired out (v.9). The other four hundred, in pursuing, found an Egyptian man in an exhausted condition, and brought him to David. They first gave him bread and water, a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins, then found out that he had been without food and water for three days (vs.11-12). The man was welcomed and fed before they questioned him. This is a refreshing picture of the grace of God. The fact of one's need is enough to entitle him to a free salvation. Abundance of grace is waiting for those who know themselves to be in real need. Christ has already died for them and risen again. He is "the bread of life" (John 6:35), available for every hungry heart, and He gives "the water of life" freely to anyone who desires it (Revelation 22:17). That water is the Spirit of God (John 7:37) who applies the Word of God to the one who realizes his need of it (Ephesians 5:26). The figs and raisins indicate that the grace of God abounds beyond our actual need.
The man being revived, David questioned him, "To whom do you belong? and where are you from?" Every sinner on earth should be prepared to honestly answer these questions. If so, their answer would be similar to the answers of this man. "I am a young man of Egypt" (v.13). We know that Egypt is a type of the world in its independence of God. Typically then the men is saying, "I am a young man of the world." More than that, he adds, "servant to an Amalekite." Typically this means "servant to the lusts of the flesh." How many in the world today does this describe! They have never been freed from their bondage to sin.
His master had no care for him personally. When he became sick, his master left him lying in a field. Thus many become slaves to sin, to drink, to drugs, etc., and find themselves alone and destitute, hopelessly lost. The one true resource for them is the grace of God in Christ Jesus, who can save the guiltiest and lift them out of their miserable condition.
In verse 14 the man frankly confesses his part in the invasion the Amalekites had made in the land of the Cherethites, of Judah and Caleb, and in the burning of Zikiag. The confession of who he was and to whom he belonged, together with a confession of what he had done, illustrates the proper attitude of one who comes to the Lord Jesus for salvation. He hides nothing, but simply tells the truth, though it may hurt him to do so.
David then asks the man if he will bring him down to this band of the Amalekites (v.15). This is similar to the Lord asking a newly converted person if he will bring Christ to his former friends. The man agreed only on condition that David would swear to him by God that he would not kill him and would not give him back into the hands of his master. We do not need to be told that David gave him this assurance. God gives similar assurance to all who trust the Lord Jesus as Savior. The words of the Lord Jesus are, "they shall never perish" (John 10:28). Also, Romans 8:14 assures the believer, "sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace."