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;
1 Samuel 30: 1-6
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.
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.
There is a simple acronym that comes to mind when reading this account from 1 Samuel: PRAY!
P. Protect what you have
R. Recover all that the devil stole
A. Advance the Kingdom of God
Y. Because it is Yours
In this passage, God was teaching a lesson to David on how to be King over Israel, but He is also teaching all of us a valuable lesson on how to rule as children of the Kingdom. Before David could be an effective ruler over Israel, he had to learn how to protect his investments or (what God had already given him). Too often we try to advance God’s cause without properly protecting our anointing, our heart, our families and our possessions. God has given you stewardship over what you currently have and wants to see how you handle it.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the joy of your lord.
Matthew 25:23
In ancient warfare, when a King goes out to battle, he never sends all of his resources out of the city to advance his kingdom. He always leaves skilled fighters behind so that the enemy doesn’t overthrow him. If the enemy knows that you are leaving town without protecting the fortified city, he would just simply wait for you to leave and go in and plunder without any resistance. This was a hard lesson for David to learn, but I am sure that it is one that he never forgot. He never again left what God gave him unprotected during his reign as King. Often people try to save the world without regard to their own families. It’s easy to get side-tracked in trying to do too much outside of your house. Make sure your house is in order before you try and save someone else.
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.
1 Samuel 30:8-10
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.
David encouraged himself enough to ask God what to do. God may allow you to lose a battle here and there, but if you stick with Him, you won’t lose the war. In Christ, the battle has already been fought. God has given us complete victory over the enemy (the defeated Satan). Our job is to renew our minds so that we begin to think like God thinks. God wants us to recover all that was lost. Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God, and to recover all that was lost. If God told us to recover all, then we ought to have the mindset to do just that and nothing less.
Next week we will continue to explore this passage, and learn what it means to recover all that the enemy has stolen.
What a lesson! That in the battle were are constantly facing, we should n’t leave the home-front unprotected while fighting the enemies outside. God richly bless you for the message.
Glad you found this valuable. Blessings!
Thank you so much for writing this! Definitely a lesson to keep in mind! We must always protect what the Lord has entrusted to us. It’s all His! God is our greatest protection,. Our weapon of warfare is prayer, and His Word, the sword of the spirit.
As I read this lesson I wondered why David, a man after God’s own heart would leave his people unprotected. In search for an answer, I read chapters 27, 28 & 29, and also 31. I found that this event took place during a time when David was running from Saul was acting on his own will, not God’s. David was desperate. He had allowed fear, the greatest weapon of satan, to take over. In Ch. 27 v1 it says “And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” David was also lying to King Achish about killing his own people in order to gain the king’s trust!
I found this amazing and so eye opening! That David got sidetracked by the arrow of satan to the point of siding with the enemy. David chose to trust in himself for protection instead of God. God must be our refuge ALL the time.
Your lesson helped me to see how easily this can happen to ANY of God’s children when we allow the flesh and the enemy to overpower. His decision to seek protection by siding with and living in the enemy’s kingdom affected all his loved ones.
But our God is so merciful and kind! David learned his lesson as we see in Samuel 30:8.
May we always run to our Father in our moments of doubt and fear! May we always make sure our house is in order before we try and save someone else’s.
May God continue to bless you!
Really appreciate your further insight into this passage. Wonderful thoughts. So easy to get distracted by circumstances and lose sight of our purpose. May it not be so with us. Thanks for sharing!