Year 1, Day 316: 1 Samuel 30

David and the Amalekites

I am struck by the generosity of the Amalekites compared to how David acted while in the land.  When David’s town of Ziklag is raided, the town is burned but the people are spared.  Granted, they are dragged into captivity probably to be kept or sold as slaves.  However, they are still alive.  This is more than David can say for how he has treated the people of land.

However, we do see a place here where David begins to turn up towards God again.  First, when David notices that his wives have been taken captive he inquires of the Lord.  He could have rashly gone out in pursuit.  He could have gone off half-cocked without stopping to think.  But he pauses to inquire of the Lord.  David seems to be coming back in line with God’s ways.

Second, David is merciful to the Egyptian slave that they find along the way.  The Egyptian had been abandoned by the Amalekite leader because he was too weary to travel on.  David finds him, treats him well, and finds an ally.  It is good to contrast this moment with the destruction of the villages David had done earlier.  When David was living in sin and covering his lies – he was destructive.  As he is returning to God’s ways we find him acting in mercy and grace to the sojourner once more.

We also see David ensure that the spoils go to the people who were not strong enough to pursue the enemy across the Besor.  David is generous to them even though they didn’t participate in the battle.  David makes a rational decision here when he says that those who go out to battle and those who “protect the baggage” (guard the rear) serve equally necessary jobs.  David is generous to all, and in a way we can see a foreshadowing of Christ’s parable of the landowner who pays all the workers the same wage regardless of how long the workers worked.  (See Matthew 20:1-16)  When David returns to seeking the will of the Lord over his own sinful way of living, we even get glimpses of Christ!  {Of course, this is true for each of us, too!}

The Reaction of the People to David

Now, let’s leave David behind.  He is turning again to the Lord – and there is no better time because the death of Saul is looming on the horizon.  We’ll leave David in this upswing and turn to talk about leadership, loyalty, and followers for the rest of the passage.  Let’s take a good look at 1 Samuel 29:6.  David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him because they were bitter about losing their families.

Now, let’s remember that David lost family, too.  Sure, everyone had a reason to be bitter.  In their going out to be loyal to the Philistine king the southern region of the Philistine land was exposed.  This left Ziklag open to attack and the Amalekites were quick to respond.  It was a bad tactical decision, but it was a decision made by humans, after all.  Human beings are going to occasionally make mistakes.

But now we look at the response of the people.  They want to stone David.  They want to be done with him.  Although he has suffered just as much as everyone else, there is an element of turning on the leader.  They don’t pause to think about David’s humanity, or the many ways that being with David had been a blessing to them.  They don’t think about how they are fortunate to have only encountered consequences from this one bad decision (albeit a big one).  After all, how many times had they been pursued by Saul and escaped?  How many times has David helped them prosper?  One bad set of consequences and the people turned on David. 

This is a pretty good chapter as far as a portrayal of life.  People will always remember the few times a person stumbles far more than the many times the person succeeds.  As we look at David, we are also reminded that we are always living in the upswing and downswing of righteousness and sinful behavior.  There is no utopia in life.  There is no perfect situation.  The best thing we can hope for is to understand the situation we are in, turn to God, and trust in Him.  We can trust in Him when loved ones turn on us.  We can trust in Him when we are our own worst enemy.  Better to trust in Him than anyone else, anyway!

<><