David has moved his army and his family to the land of the Philistines. He hasn't forgotten that he is to be the next king of Israel, nor has he forgotten who the enemies of the Lord are even though it seems that he has.
I Samuel 29:1-2- Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.
The Philistines were gathering together for another battle against Israel. The king of Gath, where David was living, had brought David and his men with him. The Lord didn't want David fighting against the children of Israel, so He was going to fix it so that David wouldn't have to.
I Samuel 29:3-4- Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?
The leaders of the Philistines told king Achish that they didn't want David and his men there in case they decided to start fighting against them during the battle.
Achish said that he trusted David. He said that he found no fault in him in. Does that ring a bell? There are only two people in the Bible that are said by a heathen to have no fault found in them- David and Christ. That's quite interesting!
I Samuel 29:6-7- Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not. Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
Achish called David and told him that the lords of the Philistines wanted him to leave, that they didn't trust him in the battle.
I Samuel 29:11- So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David and his men left in the morning, and it was a good thing, too! Because something had happened to their town of Ziklag while they were away.
I Samuel 30:1-4- 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; 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. 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. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
While they were away, some enemies came and took everything that they owned and destroyed their town! The soldiers were so heart broken over this that they even started to threaten David!
I Samuel 30:6-8- 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. 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. 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.
David was really stressing out! But, he turned to the Lord. He asked God if He would help him get his family and his possessions back. And God answered him! God said that he would recover all without fail- that means don't even worry because you're sure to win!
I Samuel 30:9-13- 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. 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. 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; 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. 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.
On their way to find who took their things, David's army had to split up. There were some men who were too weary to go to battle. They stayed behind with the provisions that David and his army had left, while the rest of the men pushed forward to find their enemies.
On the way, the found an Egyptian lying almost dead on the ground. they helped him to feel better and then asked him who he was. He said that he was the servant of the enemies that David was seeking.
I Samuel 30:15-16- 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. 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.
The Egyptian took David's army to where their enemies were. The Amalekites thought they had gotten away with their thieving and they were throwing a party because of it.
I Samuel 30:17-19- 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. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 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.
David attacked and killed all but 400 of them. This is significant because Samuel had told Saul to wipe out the Amalekites. Saul said that he had only saved the king, Agag. But, here there was a large army of Amalekites. Saul had let more than just the king live, and God knew it!
David was able to save his family, his soldier's family, and all their possessions. Plus, the got the other goods that the Amalekites had stolen from the other places they had attacked.
I Samuel 30:20-22- And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. 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 saluted them. Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those 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.
Now, David's army was a bunch of people that were either in debt or discontent with Saul's government. This didn't mean that they were good men. There were some wicked men among them. These wicked men didn't want to give the 200 that had stayed behind anything except their families.
I Samuel 30:23-25- 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. 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. And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
David said "no". He said that the people who stayed behind to take care of things at home would get the same reward as those who went out to the battle. This is very important. Sometimes we can't go to the mission field, or the prisons, or even preach; but you could give money, or buy tracts and Bibles, or even support the preacher through cleaning the church and helping others out. By doing this, we will be given the same rewards that the pastors, evangelists, and missionaries will be given in heaven. We will part alike!
David made it a rule in Israel.
David, also, shared some of his spoils with the towns of Judah where he and his men had hidden when Saul was chasing him.
I Samuel 30:26, 31- And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
You see, David was a man after God's own heart. He knew that the Lord would reward those who stayed and kept everything at home going smoothly. He knew that the Lord gave blessings to him so that he could pass those blessings on to others. And, we should follow David's example.
