The First Book of Samuel, otherwise called the First Book of the Kings
1 Samuel 30
Chapter XXX · Vol. II, pp. 673–674
1 The Amalekites spoil Ziklag. 3 David asking counsel is encouraged by God to pursue them. 11 By the means of a revived Egyptian he is brought to the enemies, and recovereth all the spoil. 22 David's law to divide the spoil equally between them that fight and them that keep the stuff. 26 He sendeth presents to his friends.
1 And it came to pass, when David and his men awere come to Ziklag on the third day, that bthe Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives that were therein: they cslew not any, either great or small,1 but carried them away, and went on their way.
c Is.10.5; 27.8. Hab.3.2. Job 38.11.
1 They saved them, not from any feeling of mercy, but for the purposes of slavery and sale. Man-stealing was one of the sins of these times and nations, which God most severely condemned, and for which he commanded their expulsion or extirpation. When infidels accuse Joshua, nay, the very God of Israel, of cruelty, they should recollect what were the crimes which God sentenced, and Joshua punished.—C.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, dit was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him elifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
e Nu.14.1,39. Ju.2.4; 20.23,26; 21.2. ch.4.13. Ezr.10.1.
5 And fDavid's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
f ch.25.42,43; 27.32. 2 Sa.3.2,3.
6 And David was ggreatly distressed: for the people spake of hstoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,2 every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David iencouraged himself in the LORD his God.3
g Ps.6.1-4; 42.7; 69.1; 130.1.
h Ex.17.4. Nu.14.10. Jn.8.59, with ch.27.1. Ps.39.9; 62.8.
2 Heb. bitter.
i Ps.56.3. Ro.4.18-20; 8.31. Hab.3.17,18. He.13.5,6.
3 The lamentation of the people and the distress of David form an affecting picture; his faith in God affords both instruction and encouragement. Instruction—for his faith, that had failed under lesser evils, now revives. Encouragement—for God, the covenant-God, is an unfailing resource in all emergencies.—C.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, kbring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
k ch.23.2,9,11. Nu.27.21. Ju.1.1; 20.18,23,28. 2 Sa.5.19,23.
8 And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? lAnd he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
9 So David went, he and the msix hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor,4 where those that were left behind stayed.
m ch.22.1,2; 23.13; 25.13; 27.2.
4 Supposed by good authorities to be the 'river of Egypt,' Jos. 15. 4, 47, the southern boundary of the promised land. It is also supposed to be that in which the Ethiopian was baptized, Ac. 8. 26, and though a brook in summer, in winter it is a considerable torrent, which prevented the weary soldiers from passing, while its cooling waters afforded them a favourable place for refreshment.—C.
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.)
11 And they nfound 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 owhen he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
o ch.14.27. Ju.15.19. Is.40.29-32.
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 5me, pbecause three days agone I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion upon qthe south of the Cherethites,6 and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb;7 and we burnt Ziklag with fire.
q ver.16. Eze.25.15,16. Jos.14.13; 15.13.
6 This young Egyptian was evidently well acquainted with the geography of the district, he speaks so familiarly of the divisions. The Cherethites whom he mentions occur frequently in the history of David. Who they were, is not clear. Some think them a remnant of the aborigines of Crete.—C.
7 A district in the south of Judah, in which were the cities of Kirjath-arba or Hebron and Kirjath-sepher, belonging to the family of Caleb.—I.
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, rSwear 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.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, seating, and drinking, and dancing,8 because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
s Lu.12.19,20; 17.27-29; 21.34,35. 1 Th.5.3. Is.22.13. Da.5.1,30. Re.11.10,13.
8 The revelry of the Amalekites had unfitted them for resistance, so they perish, while David loses not a single follower.—Note, Luxury, under the name of enjoyment, is the great cause of the ruin of individuals, families, armies, and nations.—C.
17 And David tsmote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day:9 and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
t Job 20.5. Da.5.6. Lu.17.26-29.
9 Heb. their morrow.
18 And David urecovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
u Ge.14.16. Mat.6.33. Ps.34.9,10; 37.4,5. Job 1.10.
19 And there was nothing lacking1 to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
1 'The spoil was recovered and brought off; nothing was lost, but a great deal gotten. Providence had so ordered, that the Amalekites carefully preserved all that they had taken, concluding that they kept it for themselves, though really they preserved it for the right owners. There was 'nothing lacking;' so it proved when they concluded all was gone; so much better is God oftentimes to us than our own fears.'—Henry.
20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is xDavid's spoil.
x ver.26. Is.53.12. Re.19.17-19.
21 And David came to the ytwo 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 zDavid came near to the people, he saluted them.2
22 Then answered all the wicked men and mena of Belial,3 of those4 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.
a De.13.13. Ju.19.22. 1 Ki.21.10. Pr.19.28. 2 Co.6.15. 2 Ti.3.2-5.
3 One of Satan's chief temptations and means of mischief is covetousness. By it he seeks first to introduce injustice and then division into David's army. Let Christians, who are not ignorant of his devices, be watchful against this snare.—C.
4 Heb. men.
23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, bmy brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, cwho 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 das his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.5
25 And it was so from that day forward,6 that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
6 Heb. and forward.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even toe his friends, saying, Behold a fpresent for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD:7
27 To them which were in gBeth-el,8 and to them which were in south Ramoth,9 and to them which were in Jattir,1
g Ge.12.8. Jos.8.9; 19.8; 15.48. Ju.1.23.
8 Probably not the Bethel so distinguished in Scripture history, but another in Simeon, Jos. 19. 4.—C.
9 So called to distinguish it from Ramoth-gilead on the other side Jordan.—C.
1 'A city of the priests in the hill country of Judah, Jos. 15. 48; 21. 14. 1 Ch. 6. 42. Eusebius identifies it with Jetheira, a Christian village in the district of Daroma, 20 miles from Eleutheropolis.'—Winer
28 And to them which were in hAroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to ithem which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,
i ch.27.10. Ju.1.16. 1 Ch.2.9,42.
30 And to them which were in kHormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach,
k Nu.14.45; 21.3. Jos.19.4,17.
31 And to them which were in lHebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.2
l Jos.10.3; 15.54; 21.13; 14.13,14. Nu.13.22. Ge.23.2. 2 Sa.2.1; 15.10.
2 There was much sound policy as well as generosity in this act of David. It is probable he sent the cattle taken from the Amalekites, which he had himself little means, if any, of keeping. Besides, had he brought them back, they might have produced war with the Philistines. He enriches his country while he impoverishes her enemies, and attaches his friends.—C.
Notes
Reflections.—Saul's sparing of the Amalekites did but entail murder and ravage on his own subjects. When we go abroad, we know not what scenes of mourning may meet us at our return. And the more comfort we promise ourselves in the creature, the more bitter will be our disappointment. We had need to be always in the way of our duty, as it is only in that we can expect God's protection to ourselves and families. He can marvellously restrain the rage of the most barbarous, and save his people alive in their hands. How hard is it to bear heavy trials without fretting against the Lord, and raging against those who imprudently occasion them! But circumstances can never be so bad but there is ground for faith in the promises of God. To encourage ourselves in him as our God is the surest and shortest method of relief from our troubles: and they are generally great saints indeed who become such by means of great sufferings. If by neglecting to consult God we have formerly plunged ourselves into troubles, we ought the more earnestly to ask his direction, in order to get out of them. He can at once arrest the adversary, and conduct us to them. Even discouraging providences in our way should but excite and animate our faith to press forward. Cruelty, even to servants, entails misery on the guilty, while compassion and charity usually bring their own reward. We know not how much good or evil the weakest instruments may do us. Great events often depend on small and unexpected accidents. Carnal security is the great mean of a sinner's destruction. The dance and song often hand them forward into everlasting woe, when destruction cometh upon them suddenly in an instant. Such followers of Christ as are willing, but weak, ought to be comforted under their infirmities: but the heart of the covetous is hardened against the sufferings of the needy: and it is neither the best companions, nor the best instructions, that will change the hearts of men of Belial: but rulers must oblige such to comply with the ministrations of equity. Such as have shown us kindness deserve a recompense when God puts it in our power: nay, liberality in compliments is, on some occasions, great prudence, and an urgent letter of recommendation. But in a time of need it will require all engagements to constrain us to our duty.