I Samuel Chapter 30
Please read: I Samuel 30 –
David and his men were headed back to their temporary home in Ziklag having been rejected by the lords of the Philistines to fight alongside them against Israel. The event that happens next is the thing that woke David from his backslidden condition. It rocked him to his core, and he once again started seeking the LORD God to guide his life and his decisions. Sometimes it takes a very bad situation to shake us and awaken us from our spiritual slump making us realize that yes, we do need God in our life. We tend to make really bad decisions when we leave Him out.
We can learn a lot from the next steps that David took upon discovering the tragedy that took place at Ziklag. The Bible says, “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” This is more than just positive thinking and it’s even more than praying for help. But it is a humble recognition that God is God and that we are wretched sinners. I believe David spent some time alone with God repenting and remembering who God truly is. He took time to recall how God had been there for him in so many instances in his past. When we recall what God has done for us in the past it strengthens us to know that God will be with us in what we face in the immediate and in the future. There was an allotment of time given where David allowed his spirit to once again commune with the Spirit of God. And then David sought God’s wisdom and guidance for the next step to take.
Let's Reflect
1. While David and the men had been away preparing to join the Philistines in battle against Israel, the Amalekites attacked the homes of David and his men at Ziklag. What did the Amalekites do?
2. David’s two wives Ahinoam and Abigail had been captured as well as all the other family members of David’s men. The men had followed David wherever he wanted to go but now what did they want to do? See verse 6.
3. When David asked God for direction, God gave him an answer. What was God’s answer?
4. The men started out in pursuit of their families. When they reached the brook of Besor to get a drink, some of his men were too exhausted to continue following David. How many men stayed behind?
5. In their pursuit of this band of men who had attacked their families, they came across a young Egyptian who “just happened” to be a servant of the Amalekites who had attacked Ziklag. God gave David direction by sending him someone who knew exactly where to find the band of men who had raided their home. The Egyptian agreed to lead David and his men to the Amalekites if David promised him one thing. What did he ask David to promise him?
6. When David caught up to this band of men who had raided his family, they were partying. David and his men attacked under the cover of darkness. What does the Bible say they were able to recover from the Amalekites?
7. They were happily reunited with their family members. All of their families’ lives had been preserved by the hand of God. And upon arriving back to the brook of Besor, some of his men thought that those who stayed behind should not receive any of the spoils of war that they had collected. But David said they should do what?
8. David even sent some of the spoils of war on to some Israelite leaders of Judah. What message did he give about why he sent them these gifts?
