David rescues his people who were taken from Ziklag |
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David rescues his people who were taken from Ziklag |
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| 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. |
2 - Taken women These would bring good prices as slaves and concubines. nu3115, jg2101. David should not have left them without protection. |
| 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, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. |
5 -
Ahinoam
She was the mother of his first son, Amnon who later raped his sister Tamar
2sa13.
6 - Encouraged himself It was a faith-building experience. |
| .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. |
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| 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. |
11 - Egyptian He was a captive taken from Egypt. |
| .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. |
16 - Drinking The alcohol made them vunerable to David. |
| 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. |
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| 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 saluted them.
22 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. |
"But for the restraining power of
God the Amalekites would have retaliated by destroying the people of Ziklag.
They decided to spare the captives, desiring to heighten the honor of the
triumph by leading home a large number of prisoners, and intending afterward
to sell them as slaves. Thus, unwittingly, they fulfilled God's purpose,
keeping the prisoners unharmed, to be restored to their husbands and fathers.
"All earthly powers are under the control of the Infinite One. To the mightiest ruler, to the most cruel oppressor, He says, 'Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.' Job 38:11. God's power is constantly exercised to counteract the agencies of evil; He is ever at work among men, not for their destruction, but for their correction and preservation." (Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 693, 694.) |
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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, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. |
24 - Part alike When Israel fought the Midianites, a system was established. Only part of the people went to battle. The Lord instructed Moses to divide what was taken into two parts so all could benefit. Amounts were set aside for the Levites and for an offering nu3125-54. This practice continued to be followed. |
| 26 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;
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. |
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