Prepare
Opening Prayer
Thank the Father for Scripture and the joy of Jesus, asking the Spirit for understanding, heartfelt application, and obedient lives.
Read
Scripture Passage
King James Version (KJV)
30:21 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.
30:22 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.
30:23 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.
30:24 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.
30:25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
30:26 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;
30:27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
30:28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
30:29 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,
30:30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,
30:31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
After the Lord gives David victory and restores every captive, wicked men refuse to share spoil with the two hundred who were too exhausted to fight. David insists that battle and supply guards share alike because the Lord preserved them and gave the victory, then distributes gifts throughout Judah.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
1 Samuel 30:23
But David said, my brethren, you shall not do so with what Yehovah has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us.
Bryan explicitly says verse 23 is underlined in his Bible. David grounds generosity and equity in the truth that the Lord, not the fighters' strength, preserved the people and gave the victory.
C — Called or Christ
C — Called to Do & Christ Connection
Give the Lord all glory and treat people with Christlike compassion rather than selfishly measuring everyone by identical strength, work, or capacity. Remember that the weak are still cared for and blessed, love others above yourself, and preserve and promote your neighbor's outward good.
Additional Notes
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are going to finish up 1 Samuel chapter 30 and we're going to find out more about David and how does this all play out as he's been trying to kind of play around, run around with the Philistines and yet they don't want him to fight with him and now the Amalekites have come and they've taken all the women and children. What's going to happen? Let's have some coffee.
We'll pray. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the blessing it is that we get to read your Word. We thank you for the joy that you have given us in your Son, Jesus. We pray for your Holy Spirit to please help us to understand your Word and that you would apply it to our hearts and that we might live it in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Here we go. 1 Samuel chapter 30 beginning at verse 21.
Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people and greeted them, Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man's wife and children, and they may lead them away and not depart. But David said, my brethren, you shall not do so with what Yehovah has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us.
For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies. They shall share alike. So it was, from that day forward, he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah. To those who were in Bethel, those who were in Ramoth, of the South, those who were in Jatir, those who were in Oror, those who were in Sifmoth, those who were in Eshtimoa, those who were in Rakhal, those who were in the cities of the Jarahelmalites, those who were in the cities of the Kenites, those who were in Horma, those who were in Chorasan. those who are in Athah, those who are in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to rove." Well, we need to ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do in response to this? Right, so A, what's this about?
Remember David and his men, they go chasing down the Amalekites. They find the Egyptian and he's starving in the field. He's been abandoned. And they say, we'll give you some food. Tell us what happened. They make an agreement with each other and they head on and they chase. But there's some guys who are just so weary, so tired. Right. They've already gone through the parade review. They've been marching. Now they've been chasing the enemies.
They know that if they try to go into the battle, it's not going to do well. They can't even walk. And so David says, you guys stay here. They go and they find the Amalekites, and God gives them a great routing. They defeat them. They bring back the women and the children, plus more plunder. And then on their way home, the text tells us, it's interesting that there's a value judgment here. It's not very often we get those value judgments. Sometimes we have to infer them or work through them.
It's interesting, here it says, then all the wicked, this is verse 22, then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said. These worthless and wicked guys say, they didn't have their women and their children, nothing else. They didn't fight with us, they don't go with us. David essentially says, No, man, it's the Lord who gave the victory. So we share the spoils. No, no, it's God who has saved us and given us this. And so, no, we don't get to be selfish now.
Now, just previously in the first part of this chapter, when they got back and Ziklag had been torched to the ground, Some of these guys thought about literally killing David. And now David is instituting justice and righteousness. And then there's the last part of this.
This becomes the ordinance, but then the verses 26 through 31, David is essentially showing good things to people back at home. I'm not sure if we can just say he's buying favor with them, but he is showing his care and he's sending these gifts back up to the people of Judah, far from becoming obnoxious in the nose of the people there. So what's this about? God giving David and his men victory and David showing what equity and love and kindness look like. So I think that's what this is about. Maybe you would summarize this with something else. Feel free to let me know down in the comments. B, what is the best verse to underline to summarize this?
I have verse 23 underlined in my Bible, but David said, my brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered us into our hand, the troop that came against us. So that's what I have underlined in my Bible. What do we see called to do? How does this tell us to live our lives or how does it point us to Jesus Christ or the covenant of grace?
Again, David is a type of Christ. We find David here. He could go with the power plays. He could go with those who are trying to look down their noses. You didn't go with us and this isn't fair and this isn't equitable but instead David is showing that no, no, no, the first will be last and the last will be first, right? No, no. We're going to take care of our own. This isn't about that type of individualistic, oh, I'm all for myself. I'm not for these guys.
No, no. The Lord gave the victory. The Lord gave the battle. He gets all the glory and all the people are blessed. I think that's where it shows us. God gives in the church so many diverse gifts and people, and not everybody is strong enough to do all the same amount of work, and that's okay.
And it's when we stop loving, even in our own families, or even in workplaces, right, when we just start expecting everyone to do the exact same type of work at the exact same intensity, at the same times, in the same ways, it just doesn't work out. People aren't machines. And so do we treat people with compassion? I'm not saying that there shouldn't be performance reviews and if you're running a business or that you shouldn't somehow, you know, pay the laborer his dues, right? What I am saying is there's a way to conduct ourselves that doesn't actually love people. Doesn't acknowledge that the victory belongs to the Lord. There they go in their yawns, man. I don't know why this happened. So I hope that you will find joy and peace in Jesus Christ.
That we're weak for the battle. And yet the Lord strengthens us. The Lord cares for us. The Lord blesses us even though we're weak. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would please give us strength to run the race before us. Give us strength to walk before you in righteousness and in truth. Lord, we pray that you would please help us. Help us, Lord, to love, to not just be about ourselves, but Lord, we pray that you might give us a heart to hold, to think more highly of others than we do ourselves. that we might be about not just the own accumulation of our own stuff, but that we might be the type of people who would preserve and promote our neighbor's outward estate. Lord, we thank you that you have shown us this model in Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen. Well, may you be filled with the fruits of the Spirit. May you have humility and joy and peace and comfort. May you be those who walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. I'll see you next time. Bye.