1 Samuel 29-30: “While David Goes To
By
1. INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at chapters 28
and the story of Saul going to the witch of Endor.
1.1.1.
In that chapter, we saw that the Philistine army
assembled to fight against King Saul and his army. King Saul was very nervous as he realized
that the hand of the Lord had long since departed from him, and that the Lord
had even told him that his kingdom would be taken away and given to another man
(that would be David). The king sensed
that things were not going to go well for him and his army in this battle. He determined to inquire of the Lord about
what to do and whether or not he would win the battle that will ensue. However, the Lord was completely silent and
would give him no word through any channel.
Therefore, he went to a medium at Endor to see if she would call up
Samuel so that he could get some counsel from Samuel. Samuel did in fact appear to Saul, however he
had a word from the Lord of impending judgment for Saul that he and his sons
would be killed in battle on the next day and
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at chapters
29 and 30.
1.2.1.
We have seen in the previous 28 chapters of the book
of 1 Samuel how that the Lord had been using David’s trials and difficulties to
mold him into the man that He wanted David to be, the man whom the Lord would
have to be king over His people. In our
study today, we will see that the final step in that process is completed
before David next begins to reign upon the throne over
1.2.2.
In chapter 29, we see that David and his men are
found in a very compromising position.
Because David and his men had gone over and lived among the Philistines
and served the king of the Philistines, the king of the Philistines now
commands David and his men to come with the Philistines in battle as he plans a
campaign to attack Israel.
1.2.2.1.
If David were to disobey the Philistine king’s
command to go to the battle against
1.2.2.1.
David had taken his men and gone to live among the
Philistines because he was tired of the Lord placing him in difficult
circumstances, especially regarding King Saul who was always chasing him down
and hunting him to kill him. This
decision of David’s to take his men and go and live in
1.2.2.1.1.
David was not living in faith in the Lord but rather
in unbelief.
1.2.2.1.2.
David had lost the confidence that the Lord was
mighty and had promised to protect him and give him victory in battle.
1.2.2.1.3.
David was in rebellion against the Lord.
1.2.2.1.4.
David tired of the trials he was going through in
running and hiding from King Saul who was constantly trying to kill him and
rather than learn the character lessons that the Lord was trying to teach him
in these trials, he chose instead to circumvent God’s working in his life and
thus he chose instead to take the easy path and serve the enemy of the Lord and
Israel.
1.2.2.2.
Now, David is facing the consequences of his actions
as he is going up to fight against
1.2.2.3.
The Lord will deliver David from having to fight
against God’s people when the Philistine commanders become concerned about
having David and his men in battle with them against the Israelites, thinking
they will turn and begin to fight against the Philistines. However, when David and his men are forced to
return from the battle and they go back to their home city of
1.2.2.4.
The Lord uses this circumstance at Ziklag to bring
David to the end of himself, to truly repent of going his own way apart from
the Lord.
1.2.2.4.1.
David has lost everything now and his men are even
threatening to stone him because they are holding him responsible for what has
happened.
1.2.2.4.2.
After repenting of his sin, David encourages his
heart in the Lord. Then, he inquires of
the Lord about whether he and his men should pursue the Amalekites (he hadn’t
inquired of the Lord in many months). He
is told to go and given assurance that he will recover all safely.
1.2.3.
In chapter 30, we see that David and his men pursue
the Amalekites and surprise them in battle.
The Amalekites are soundly defeated by David and his men and everything
taken by the Amalekites is recovered just as David had been told by the Lord.
1.2.4.
We will look in our study today how that at times we
as Christians follow in David’s footsteps and lose our passion for serving the
Lord as well as the vision of what the Lord wants to do in our lives.
2.
VS 29:1-10 - “1
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, while
the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel. 2 And
the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands,
and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. 3 Then
the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing
here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not
David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days,
or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he
deserted to me to this day?” 4 But the commanders of the
Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to
him, “Make the man go back, that he may return to his place where you have
assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he
may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself
acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these
men? 5 “Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying,
‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 6 Then
Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out
and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not
found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless,
you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. 7 “Now therefore
return and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the
Philistines.” 8 David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And
what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this
day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9
But Achish replied to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight,
like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said,
‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 “Now then arise early
in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as
soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, depart.”” -
2.1. In the previous chapter of 1
Samuel, we saw that Achish the king of the Philistines had commanded that David
and his men would accompany his army to go up in battle against
2.2.
David was in the dilemma of his life.
2.2.1.
It was mentioned in the previous study that whenever
we as God’s people become bound together with non-believers that we are
eventually going to be expected to reciprocate with them, but in doing so we
will have to compromise our morals. This
was David’s position. He was now being
expected to fight on the side of the Philistines against
2.2.2.
David feared that if he refused to fight against
2.3.
By the providence of God, David is delivered out of
his dilemma.
2.4.
We see here though that in spite of the compromise
that David had allowed in his life, and his backslidden heart, that the Lord
delivers David. Some of the Philistine
commanders began to question Achish and his decision to allow David and his men
to fight against
2.4.1.
At times the Lord seems to overlook our present
condition or state before him and act in deliverance for us even though there
are some character issues and sin that He knows need to be dealt with in our
lives. During those times, the Lord is
looking towards our future and acting according to His sovereign plans for our
life.
2.4.2.
When the Lord delivers us in these types of
situations, it is not because He looks the other way concerning our sins and
need for repentance, nor that He condones our actions, rather, just as happens
with David a little further in our story, He plans to deal with us regarding
those issues at a later time in the future.
2.4.3.
If each of us were to sit down and think about our
lives for a moment, I think we would come to the conclusion that there have
been many times that the Lord has delivered us from the consequences of our
sins, delivering us from our circumstances even when our hearts were not
perfect towards Him. What a gracious and
merciful God it is that we serve!
2.5.
David was quite an actor here, was he not? When Achish tells David that he and his men
are going to have to return home, David feigns being very disappointed and even
angry on account of not being able to fight with the king against Israel.
2.6.
Achish, for his part reveals that he is a bit
naïve. He seems to want to believe in
David’s loyalty and he treats David very considerately and respectfully. However, Achish did not understand that
within David’s heart burned a great love and a passion for the God of
3.
VS 29:11-30:7
- “11 So David arose early, he and his
men, to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the
Philistines went up to Jezreel. 1 Then it happened when David and
his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on
the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2
and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small
and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their
way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was
burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been
taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted
their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now
David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail
the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly
distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were
embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the Lord
his God. 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of
Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.” - David and his men return to their home in
Ziklag only to find that it has been burned by fire and all of the women and
children are missing
3.1.
Jezreel where the Philistines now proceed to was located
up in the north of
3.2.
Leaving the battle, David and his men begin the
three-day ride south to their home in Ziklag of the Philistines.
3.3.
I can just imagine what might have been going on in
David’s mind on this ride home:
3.3.1.
David is feeling pretty good about himself. He is probably light hearted and just having
a nice, maybe even fun, ride with his men.
3.3.2.
David knows that he is not perfect, that he had made
a bad choice in coming to live among the Philistines, and that he had almost
been required to suffer the consequences of his not being right with the Lord
and not seeking the Lord’s will in all areas of his life. However, the Lord had come through for him
even though he had been in this state, and even though he had not repented and
gotten his life right with the Lord.
3.3.3.
David probably thought that he was just a special
and unique individual who deserved what the Lord had done in delivering him on
this day.
3.4.
However, after the three-day ride home and as soon
as David and his men get to Ziklag and see the smoke rising from the city and
all of their wives and children missing, this sight must have been a horror of
horrors for David. We can imagine
David’s thoughts at seeing Ziklag on this day:
3.4.1.
David knew that it was the Amalekites who had done
this to his city. The Amalekites had
been waiting for an opportunity to exact revenge against David and his men for
the Amalekite cities and people that they had destroyed. In those attacks David and his men had
destroyed every man, woman and child in the Amalekite cities they had attacked,
therefore David probably thought that the Amalekites would kill all of the
women and children that had been in Ziklag.
3.4.2.
David realizes that he had presumed upon the
Lord. He had been thinking that even
though he had removed himself from being in fellowship and obedience with the
Lord that somehow everything would go fine with him, and that God would be his
protection, just as had happened to him all of his life up to this point. However, in taking himself out of fellowship
with the Lord, David also took himself out from under the protecting hand of
the Lord. David realizes now that the
Lord was under no obligation to protect David at this point in his life and
that the Lord was planning to use the consequences of his sin to bring him to
the place of repentance and again seeking the Lord first in his life.
3.4.2.1.
We Christians need to realize that we also remove
ourselves out from under the protecting hand of the Lord whenever we turn away
from following the Lord with all of our hearts.
Though the Lord may protect us during those times because of His grace
and mercy and because of fulfilling His sovereign will for our lives, we have
no assurances that we will not suffer the consequences of our sins either, just
as happened to David on this day.
3.4.2.1.1.
In fact, the scriptures teach in Col. 3:25, “If
any man does wrong he shall suffer the consequences and that without partiality.”
3.4.3.
David realizes that because of his sin and not
following the Lord that he has even lost his followers, the mighty fighting
men. They are now blaming David for this
evil that has befallen their home and families, and we can imagine their
thoughts on this day:
3.4.3.1.
If David hadn’t taken them from
3.4.3.2.
If David hadn’t led them to attack the Amalekites
secretly the Amalekites would not have sought revenge against them at this
time.
3.4.3.3.
If David hadn’t told them to leave Ziklag and go
with the king of the Philistines to fight against
3.5.
The Lord uses all of these circumstances on this day
to bring David to the end of himself.
David is now repentant of his sins and recommits his way to the
Lord. We can see the fruit of the
repentance of David:
3.5.1.
It says here that David ‘strengthened himself in the
Lord his God.’
3.5.1.1.
If David hadn’t truly repented at this point, then
he would have strengthened himself in his own self-will, self-centeredness, and
self-sufficiency, however now he strengthened himself in the Lord.
3.5.1.2.
David surely recounted the great things that the
Lord had done in his life in the past, including giving him victory over the
giant. He realized that nothing is
impossible with the Lord.
3.5.1.3.
David surely recounted many of the promises of God’s
word to His people.
3.5.1.4.
David surely recounted the fact that he had been
anointed as king by the Lord and promised that one day he would rule over
3.6.
We as believers need to learn to strengthen our
hearts in the Lord our God as well.
3.6.1.
If we will but do what David did on this day and
recount past victories of the Lord in our life and His promises to us from His
word, we too will be transformed into a man or woman who walks in faith and
obedience to the Lord.
3.6.2.
Whatever we have our mind to dwell upon will affect
our life dramatically.
3.7.
We read here that David asked for Abiathar the
priest to bring to him the ephod so that David could inquire of the Lord. It had been many months since David had
inquired of the Lord. Since moving from
4.
VS 30:8 - “8
David inquired of the Lord, saying,
“Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue,
for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.”” - David inquires of the Lord and is told to
pursue the Amalekites and that he will recover all that they had taken
4.1.
It is wonderful here to see that as soon as David
has repented of his sins and come to the end of himself that the Lord
immediately begins to speak to him and to lead him.
4.1.1.
The Lord didn’t place David on six months probation
before He was willing to work through David’s life again.
4.1.2.
The Lord didn’t tell David that He no longer knew if
He could really trust David.
4.1.3.
The Lord didn’t tell David that he was so unworthy
now of any good thing that the Lord would do through his life that David was
now going to have to settle for far less of a role in the Lord’s kingdom.
4.2.
The Lord promises to David not only victory over the
Amalekites, but also full recovery of all that they had lost to the Amalekites.
4.2.1.
When the Lord brings a man or a woman to salvation
through Christ, He not only forgives him of his sins, not only restores him to
fellowship with Himself, not only grants him to have eternal life through
Christ’s sacrifice, but He also “justifies” him. He makes it “just as if I’d never
sinned.” Every effect of a sinful nature
and committing sinful acts before the Lord is removed and the relationship that
a child of God now has with the Lord is made to be just as if he had never
sinned in the first place.
5.
VS 30:9-10 - “9
So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to
the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But
David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted
to cross the brook Besor remained behind.” - David and his men make haste to follow the
Lord’s leading and begin heading south pursuing the Amalekites, but they must
leave behind 200 men at Besor who are too weary to proceed
5.1.
Not only did the Lord restore David to himself
immediately upon his coming to the end of himself, because of the Lord’s grace
and mercy He also restored David’s men to him and they are again willing to
follow David into battle.
5.1.1.
I wonder if David told his men at Ziklag on this day
that he had in fact really blew it in those decisions and that he had been at
fault before the Lord? Perhaps this
admission is part of the reason they are now willing to follow David? Though the text does not tell us this, I
think that it is probably the case.
5.2.
David is now so passionate about following the Lord
and His will for his life that he drives his men so hard that after traveling
16 miles, 200 of the 600 men are too weary to continue the pursuit and they are
left at Besor.
6.
VS 30:11-16 -
“11 Now they found an Egyptian in the field
and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him
water to drink. 12 They gave him a piece of fig cake and two
clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten
bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 David said
to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a
young man of
6.1.
David and his men are pursuing the Amalekites whom
they know have taken their wives, children, and livestock. However, they don’t know exactly where the
Amalekites have gone, and for this they will have to depend upon the Lord to
lead them.
6.2.
6.3.
The Egyptian strikes a deal with David. He will provide David with the information
about where the Amalekites have gone in exchange for his own life.
6.4.
When David and his men come upon the Amalekites, the
Amalekites are taken completely unawares.
Having believed that David and his men would be in a long conflict far
away with the Israelites, the Amalekites felt that they were so safe they didn’t
even need to post a guard over them. The
Amalekites are scattered all over the land and are having a great big party
enjoying the spoils of their victory over Ziklag.
7.
VS 30:17-20 -
“17 David slaughtered them from the twilight
until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four
hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered
all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives. 19 But
nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil
or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all
back. 20 So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which
the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This
is David’s spoil.”” -
David and his men have a great victory over the Amalekites killing all
of them but 400 young men who fled on camels
7.1.
God’s is faithful.
Here we see that just as the Lord told David it would happen that he and
his men recover everything that was taken from them by the Amalekites.
7.2.
When it says here that the men said to David that
the spoil was his, what is meant is that David’s men acknowledged that David
could do with the spoil whatever he felt was best.
8.
VS 30:21-25 -
“21 When David came to the two hundred men who
were too exhausted to follow David, who had also been left at the brook Besor,
and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then
David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked
and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not
go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered,
except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away
and depart.” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers,
with what the Lord has given us,
who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. 24
“And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes
down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall
share alike.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made
it a statute and an ordinance for
8.1.
We see here that the men who didn’t want to share in
any of the spoils with the 200 who stayed behind are called “wicked and
worthless men.” These men were greedy
and didn’t want to share the spoils of the victory.
8.2.
David’s argument with these “wicked and worthless
men” is that since it was the Lord who had given David’s men the victory and
deliverance from the Amalekites that they had to share the spoils of the
victory with their brothers who earlier had simply been too weary to proceed.
8.3.
This principle enforced by David on this day of
sharing the spoils of battle with all regardless of whether or not they had
engaged in the battle was hereafter followed by
9.
VS 30:26-31 -
“26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some
of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a
gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord: 27 to those who were in Bethel, and to
those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, 28
and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to
those who were in Eshtemoa, 29 and to those who were in Racal, and
to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in
the cities of the Kenites, 30 and to those who were in Hormah, and
to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, 31 and
to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his
men were accustomed to go.”” - David sends some of the spoil to the elders
in
9.1.
Having almost come against
9.2.
These cities are the very ones who later, after the
death of King Saul, will name David to be king (2 Sam. 2:1-4).
9.3.
At
10.
CONCLUSIONS:
10.1.
As we have seen, David had been walking by faith
trusting in the Lord to be his strength, help, and hope, trusting the Lord to
protect and provide for him, however because of the duration and severity of
his trials he had taken matters into his own hands and moved his family and his
men to the land of the Philistines and began to serve the king of the
Philistines. However, David finally came
to repentance and to the end of himself as a result of having to taste the
consequences of his own sin in the choices he had made for his life.
10.2.
David had lost his passion for serving the Lord as
well as the vision for the things that God wanted him to do in his life, and
for each of us today, we ought to ask ourselves if we also have lost our
passion for serving the Lord.
10.2.1.
Have you lost your passion for serving the
Lord?
10.2.2.
Are you excited about worshipping the Lord? Are you excited about praying and claiming
souls for salvation or even for healing?
10.2.3.
Are you excited about and praying for opportunities
to share your faith with those who don’t know Christ?
10.2.3.1.
The following survey completed by Barna Research in
2002 shows how in the U.S. today that there are so few people who truly do know
the Lord, and these statistics should bother us as Christians if we are truly
sensitive to the fact that those who leave this life without Christ are going
to spend eternity in hell ( the Lake of Fire in Rev. 20-21 ). If our population in
Faith Groups
·
85% of Americans self-identify as
Christians.
·
5% of US adults classify as evangelicals
(see Evangelical archive for definition)
·
35% of US adults classify as born again,
but not evangelical
·
37% are self-described Christians but are
neither evangelical nor born again
·
8% of adults nationwide maintain
self-identify as atheists or agnostics
·
9% of the
God
·
95% believe in God (1997)
·
72% believe in God when described as the
all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world
today. (2001)
·
10% believe that that God represents a
state of higher consciousness. (2001)
·
7% believe that God is the total
realization of personal human potential. (2001)
·
15% say God is no longer involved in
their life. (1997)
·
Almost nine out of ten people (87%) say
the universe was originally created by God. (2000)
Other
·
43% of American adults attend
church in a typical weekend. (2002)
·
60% of all adults agree that “the Bible
is totally accurate in all of its teachings (45% agree strongly, 16% agree
somewhat) (2001)
·
The most commonly used verse of the Bible
in evangelistic conversations and preaching is John 3:16.
·
Two-thirds of the population (63%) has no
idea what "John 3:16" refers to, much less has the ability to quote
that verse. However, 24% of adults know that it is a verse from the Bible that
addresses salvation. Among born again Christians, 50% were aware of this.
(1994)
10.2.4. Are you excited about just
spending time with the Lord every single day?
10.2.5.
As part of keeping our passion where it should be
before the Lord, it is key that we keep our priorities what they should
be. Our priorities should be God,
family, work, hobbies. However, many
times Christians get the order exactly opposite: Hobbies, work, family, God. Yet, the thing that really separates
Christians regarding who is truly serving the Lord as he should is whether they
keep their priorities what they should be.
10.2.6.
It is important to be in fellowship with the body of
Christ. However, we must not only get
our bodies to church we need to prepare our hearts before we come to
church. Many times Christians think that
if they just get their bodies to church that they will hear what God has for
them, however if their hearts aren’t receptive to the Lord they will often miss
what God wants to say to them at fellowship.
Prepare your hearts before you come to church.
10.3.
Alan Redpath points out that so many times the
church is in the dilemma of either having a revival or a funeral. If we don’t rend our hearts before the Lord
in repentance and ask Him to do place the fire of passion in our hearts that He
wants to place, then we are in danger of simply flaming out for the Lord, and
the church is in danger of extinction.