Text -- 1 Samuel 30:1-18 (NET)

David Defeats the Amalekites

30:1 On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. 30:2 They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way. 30:3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 30:4 Then David and the men who were with him wept loudly until they could weep no more. 30:5 David’s two wives had been taken captive– Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 30:6 David was very upset, for the men were thinking of stoning him; each man grieved bitterly over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God. 30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 30:8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!” 30:9 So David went, accompanied by his six hundred men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there. 30:10 David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there. 30:11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. 30:12 They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 30:13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The young man said, “I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. 30:14 We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag.” 30:15 David said to him, “Can you take us down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party.” 30:16 So he took David down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 30:17 But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels. 30:18 David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Sa 30:1

Namely, the southern part of Judah, and the adjacent parts.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:4

It is no disparagement to the boldest, bravest spirits, to lament the calamities of friends or relations.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:6

As the author of their miseries, by coming to Ziklag at first, by provoking the Amalekites to this cruelty, and by his forwardness in marching away with Achish, and leaving their wives and children unguarded.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:6

That is, in this that the all - wise, and all - powerful Lord, was his God by covenant and special promise, and fatherly affection, as he had shewed himself to be in the whole course of his providence towards him. It is the duty of all good men, whatever happens, to encourage themselves in the Lord their God, assuring themselves, that he both can and will bring light out of darkness.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:7

And put it upon thyself, that thou mayst enquire of God according to his ordinance, David was sensible of his former error in neglecting to ask counsel of God by the ephod, when he came to Achish, and when he went out with Achish to the Battle; and his necessity now brings him to his duty, and his duty meets with success.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:8

Before, God answered more slowly and gradually, 1Sa 23:11-12, but now he answers speedily, and fully at once, because the business required haste. So gracious is our God, that he considers even the degree of our necessities, and accommodates himself to them.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:10

A small number for such an attempt: but David was strong in faith, giving God the glory of his power and faithfulness.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:12

One whole day and part of two others, as appears from the next verse, where he saith, three days ago I fell sick, but in the Hebrew it is, this is the third day since I fell sick.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:13

God by his providence so ordering it, that he was not one of that cursed race of the Amalekites, who were to be utterly destroyed, but an Egyptian, who might be spared.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:13

In this place and condition: which was barbarous inhumanity: for he ought, and easily might have carried him away with the prey which they had taken. But he paid dear for this cruelty, for this was the occasion of the ruin of him and all their company. And God by his secret providence ordered the matter thus for that very end. So that there is no fighting against God, who can make the smallest accidents serviceable to the production of the greatest effects.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:14

That is, the Philistines.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:14

This is added by way of explication: that part of the south of Judah which belongs to Caleb's posterity.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:15

For his master had told him whither they intended to go, that he might come after them, as soon as he could.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:16

Secure and careless, because they were now come almost to the borders of their own country, and the Philistines and Israelites both were otherwise engaged, and David, as they believed, with them. So they had no visible cause of danger; and yet then they were nearest to destruction.

Wesley: 1Sa 30:17

The word signifies both the morning and evening twilight. But the latter seems here intended, partly because their eating, and drinking, and dancing, was more proper work for the evening, than the morning; and partly, because the evening was more convenient for David, that the fewness of his forces might not be discovered by the day - light. It is probable, that when he came near them, he reposed himself, and his army, in some secret place, whereof there were many parts, for a convenient season; and then marched on so as to come to them at the evening time.

JFB: 1Sa 30:1

While the strength of the Philistine forces was poured out of their country into the plain of Esdraelon, the Amalekite marauders seized the opportunity of the defenseless state of Philistia to invade the southern territory. Of course, David's town suffered from the ravages of these nomad plunderers, in revenge for his recent raid upon their territory.

JFB: 1Sa 30:2

Their conduct seems to stand in favorable contrast to that of David (1Sa 27:11). But their apparent clemency did not arise from humane considerations. It is traceable to the ancient war usages of the East, where the men of war, on the capture of a city, were unsparingly put to death, but there were no warriors in Ziklag at the time. The women and boys were reserved for slaves, and the old people were spared out of respect to age.

JFB: 1Sa 30:3

The language implies that the smoke of the conflagration was still visible, and the sacking very recent.

JFB: 1Sa 30:6

He had reason, not only on his own personal account (1Sa 30:5), but on account of the vehement outcry and insurrectionary threats against him for having left the place so defenseless that the families of his men fell an unresisting prey to the enemy. Under the pressure of so unexpected and widespread a calamity, of which he was upbraided as the indirect occasion, the spirit of any other leader guided by ordinary motives would have sunk;

JFB: 1Sa 30:6

His faith supplied him with inward resources of comfort and energy, and through the seasonable inquiries he made by Urim, he inspired confidence by ordering an immediate pursuit of the plunderers.

JFB: 1Sa 30:9

Now Wady Gaza, a winter torrent, a little to the south of Gaza. The bank of a stream naturally offered a convenient rest to the soldiers, who, through fatigue, were unable to continue the pursuit.

JFB: 1Sa 30:11-15

Old and homeborn slaves are usually treated with great kindness. But a purchased or captured slave must look to himself; for, if feeble or sick, his master will leave him to perish rather than encumber himself with any additional burden. This Egyptian seems to have recently fallen into the hands of an Amalekite, and his master having belonged to the marauding party that had made the attack on Ziklag, he could give useful information as to the course taken by them on their return.

JFB: 1Sa 30:14

That is, the Philistines (Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5).

JFB: 1Sa 30:15

Whether there was still among these idolatrous tribes a lingering belief in one God, or this Egyptian wished to bind David by the God whom the Hebrews worshipped, the solemn sanction of an oath was mutually recognized.

JFB: 1Sa 30:16

Believing that David and all his men of war were far away, engaged with the Philistine expedition, they deemed themselves perfectly secure and abandoned themselves to all manner of barbaric revelry. The promise made in answer to the devout inquiries of David (1Sa 30:8) was fulfilled. The marauders were surprised and panic-stricken. A great slaughter ensued--the people as well as the booty taken from Ziklag was recovered, besides a great amount of spoil which they had collected in a wide, freebooting excursion.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:1

On the third day - This was the third day after he had left the Philistine army at Aphek. Calmet supposes that Aphek was distant from Ziklag more than thirty leagues

Clarke: 1Sa 30:1

The Amalekites had invaded - These were, doubtless, a travelling predatory horde, who, availing themselves of the war between the Philistines and the Israelites, plundered several unprotected towns, and among them Ziklag. It is likely they had not heard of what David did to some of their tribes, else they would have avenged themselves by slaying all they found in Ziklag.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:4

Wept, until they had no more power to weep - This marks great distress; they wept, as says the Vulgate, till their tears failed them.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:6

The people spake of stoning him - David had done much to civilize those men; but we find by this of what an unruly and ferocious spirit they were; and yet they strongly felt the ties of natural affection, they "grieved every man for his sons and for his daughters.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:6

David encouraged himself in the Lord - He found he could place very little confidence in his men; and, as he was conscious that this evil had not happened either through his neglect or folly, he saw he might the more confidently expect succor from his Maker.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:7

Bring me hither the ephod - It seems as if David had put on the ephod, and inquired of the Lord for himself; but it is more likely that he caused Abiathar to do it.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:9

The brook Besor - This had its source in the mountain of Idumea, and fell into the Mediterranean Sea beyond Gaza. Some suppose it to have been the same with the river of the wilderness, or the river of Egypt. The sense of this and the following verse is, that when they came to the brook Besor, there were found two hundred out of his six hundred men so spent with fatigue that they could proceed no farther. The baggage or stuff was left there, 1Sa 30:24, and they were appointed to guard it.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:12

A cake of figs - See on 1Sa 25:18 (note).

Clarke: 1Sa 30:13

My master left me, because three days agone I fell sick - This was very inhuman: though they had booty enough, and no doubt asses sufficient to carry the invalids, yet they left this poor man to perish; and God visited it upon them, as he made this very person the means of their destruction, by the information which he was enabled to give to David and his men.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:14

Upon the south of the Cherethites - Calmet and others maintain, that the כרתי kerethi , which, without the points, might be read Creti, were not only at this time Philistines, but that they were aborigines of Crete, from which they had their name Cherethites or Cretans, and are those of whom Zephaniah speaks, Zep 2:5 : Wo to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites. And by Ezekiel, Eze 25:16 : Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and will cut off the Cherethim. In 2Sa 15:18 we find that the Cherethites formed a part of David’ s guards

Clarke: 1Sa 30:14

South of Caleb - Somewhere about Kirjath-arba, or Hebron, and Kirjath-sepher; these being in the possession of Caleb and his descendants.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:15

Swear unto me - At the conclusion of this verse, the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic add, that David swore to him. This is not expressed in the Hebrew, but is necessarily implied.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:16

Out of the land of the Philistines - That these Amalekites were enemies to the Philistines is evident, but it certainly does not follow from this that those whom David destroyed were enemies also. This, I think, has been too hastily assumed by Dr. Chandler and others, in order the better to vindicate the character of David.

Clarke: 1Sa 30:17

There escaped not a man of them - It is well known to every careful reader of the Bible, that the Amalekites were a proscribed people, even by God himself, and that in extirpating them it has been supposed David fulfilled the express will of God. But all this depends on whether he had an express commission to do so, received from God himself, as Saul had.

TSK: 1Sa 30:1

were come : 1Sa 29:11; 2Sa 1:2

on the third : This was the third day after he had left the Philistine army at Aphek, from which place, Calmet supposes, Ziklag was distant more than thirty leagues.

the Amalekites : 1Sa 15:7, 1Sa 27:8-10; Gen 24:62; Jos 11:6

TSK: 1Sa 30:2

slew not : 1Sa 30:19, 1Sa 27:11; Job 38:11; Psa 76:10; Isa 27:8, Isa 27:9

TSK: 1Sa 30:3

burned : Psa 34:19; Heb 12:6; 1Pe 1:6, 1Pe 1:7; Rev 3:9

TSK: 1Sa 30:4

lifted up : 1Sa 4:13, 1Sa 11:4; Gen 37:33-35; Num 14:1, Num 14:39; Jdg 2:4, Jdg 21:2; Ezr 10:1

TSK: 1Sa 30:5

two wives : 1Sa 1:2, 1Sa 25:42, 1Sa 25:43, 1Sa 27:3; 2Sa 2:2, 2Sa 3:2, 2Sa 3:3

TSK: 1Sa 30:6

was greatly : Gen 32:7; Psa 25:17, Psa 42:7, Psa 116:3, Psa 116:4, Psa 116:10; 2Co 1:8, 2Co 1:9, 2Co 4:8, 2Co 7:5

the people : Exo 17:4; Num 14:10; Psa 62:9; Mat 21:9, Mat 27:22

grieved : Heb. bitter, 1Sa 1:10; Jdg 18:25; 2Sa 17:8; 2Ki 4:27 *marg.

David : Job 13:15; Psa 18:6, Psa 26:1, Psa 26:2, Psa 27:1-3, Psa 34:1-8, Psa 40:1, Psa 40:2, Psa 42:5, Psa 42:11; Psa 56:3, Psa 56:4, Psa 56:11, Psa 62:1, Psa 62:5, Psa 62:8, Psa 118:8-13; Pro 18:10; Isa 25:4, Isa 37:14-20; Jer 16:19; Hab 3:17, Hab 3:18; Rom 4:18, Rom 8:31; 2Co 1:6, 2Co 1:9, 2Co 1:10; Heb 13:6

TSK: 1Sa 30:7

Abiathar : 1Sa 22:20, 1Sa 22:21, 1Sa 23:2-9; 1Ki 2:26; Mar 2:26

TSK: 1Sa 30:8

inquired : 1Sa 23:2, 1Sa 23:4, 1Sa 23:10-12; Jdg 20:18, Jdg 20:23, Jdg 20:28; 2Sa 5:19, 2Sa 5:23; Pro 3:5, Pro 3:6

he answered him : 1Sa 14:37, 1Sa 28:6, 1Sa 28:15, 1Sa 28:16; Num 27:21; Psa 50:15, Psa 91:15

TSK: 1Sa 30:10

for two hundred : 1Sa 30:21

so faint : 1Sa 14:20, 1Sa 14:31; Jdg 8:4, Jdg 8:5

the brook Besor : This brook or torrent, it is evident from the circumstances of the history, must be in the south-west part of Judea, and must empty itself into the Mediterranean Sea. In the more particular situation of it writers are not agreed. Some suppose it to be between Gaza and Rhinocorura; but Jerome places it between Rhinocorura and Egypt. It is supposed by some to be the same as the river of the wilderness (Amo 6:14), and the river of Egypt, Jos 15:4.

TSK: 1Sa 30:11

gave him : Deu 15:7-11, Deu 23:7; Pro 25:21; Mat 25:35; Luk 10:36, Luk 10:37; Rom 12:20, Rom 12:21

TSK: 1Sa 30:12

his spirit : 1Sa 14:27; Jdg 15:19; Isa 40:29-31

three days : 1Sa 30:13; Est 4:16; Jon 1:17; Mat 27:63

TSK: 1Sa 30:13

my master : Though they had booty enough, and this poor sick slave might have been carried on an ass or a camel, yet they inhumanely left him to perish; but, in the righteous providence of God, this cruelty was the occasion of their destruction; whilst David’ s kindness to a perishing stranger and slave was the means of his success, and proved the truest policy. Job 31:13-15; Pro 12:10; Jam 2:13

TSK: 1Sa 30:14

the Cherethites : Calmet and others suppose that these people, who inhabited the same district as the Philistines, were the aborigines of the island of Crete, from which they derived their name. 1Sa 30:16; 2Sa 8:18; 1Ki 1:38, 1Ki 1:44; 1Ch 18:17; Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5

Caleb : A district in the south of Judea, in which were the cities of Kirjath-Arba or Hebron, and Kirjath-sepher, belonging to the family of Caleb. Jos 14:13, Jos 15:13

we burned : 1Sa 30:1-3

TSK: 1Sa 30:15

Swear : 1Sa 29:6; Jos 2:12, Jos 9:15, Jos 9:19, Jos 9:20; Eze 17:13, Eze 17:16, Eze 17:19

nor deliver : Deu 23:15, Deu 23:16

TSK: 1Sa 30:16

when he : Jdg 1:24, Jdg 1:25

eating : 1Sa 25:36-38; Exo 32:6, Exo 32:17-19, Exo 32:27, Exo 32:28; Jdg 16:23-30; 2Sa 13:28; Isa 22:13; Dan 5:1-4; Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20, Luk 17:27-29, Luk 21:34, Luk 21:35; 1Th 5:3; Rev 11:10-13

because of all : Job 20:5

TSK: 1Sa 30:17

the next day : Heb. their morrow

and there : 1Sa 11:11; Jdg 4:16; 1Ki 20:29, 1Ki 20:30; Psa 18:42

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Sa 30:1

On the third day - This indicates that Aphek was three days’ march from Ziklag, say about 50 miles, which agrees very well with the probable situation of Aphek (1Sa 4:1 note). From Ziklag to Shunem would not be less than 80 or 90 miles.

The Amalekites, in retaliation of David’ s raids 1Sa 27:8-9, invaded "the south"of Judah Jos 15:21; but owing to the absence of all the men with David there was no resistance, and consequently the women and children were carried off as prey, and uninjured.

Barnes: 1Sa 30:7

Abiathar had continued to abide with David, ever since he joined him at Keilah 1Sa 23:6. On inquiry of the Lord by the ephod, see Jdg 1:1 note. The answers were evidently given by the Word of the Lord in the mouth of the high priest (compare Joh 11:51).

Barnes: 1Sa 30:9

Besor - Thought to be the stream of the Wady Sheriah which enters the sea a little south of Gaza.

Barnes: 1Sa 30:12

Three days and three nights - Indicating that at least so long a time had elapsed since the sack of Ziklag.

Barnes: 1Sa 30:14

The Cherethites - Here used as synonymous with Philistines 1Sa 30:16. In David’ s reign the body-guard commanded by Benaiah consisted of Cherethites and Pelethites (Philistines?) and a picked corps of six hundred men of Gath commanded by Ittai the Gittite. It would seem from this that the Cherethites and Philistines were two kindred and associated tribes, like Angles and Saxons, who took possession of the seacoast of Palestine. The Philistines, being the more powerful, gave their name to the country and the nation in general, though that of the Cherethites was not wholly extinguished. Many persons connect the name Cherethite with that of the island of Crete.

Poole: 1Sa 30:1

On the third day to wit, after David’ s departure from Achish; for Ziklag was at a great distance from the camp and place of fight, as appears from 2Sa 1:2 ; and David’ s men being all footmen, could make but slow marches.

The Amalekites the remainders of that people who lived near those parts where David had destroyed their brethren, 1Sa 27:8,9 .

The south to wit, the southern part of Judah, and the adjacent parts. See below, 1Sa 30:14 .

Smitten Ziklag i.e. sacked and spoiled it.

Poole: 1Sa 30:2

They slew not any which was strange, considering how David dealt with them, 1Sa 27:9 . But this must be ascribed partly to their selfish or fleshly interest; for they might reserve them, either to make sale of them for their profit, or to abuse them for their lust; or, it may be, to revenge themselves upon David and his men, by reserving them to extraordinary, and lingering, and repeated punishments; but principally to God’ s overruling and wonderful providence, who set these bounds to their rage; and though he designed to chastise David’ s sin and folly, yet would not deliver him nor his up to death.

Poole: 1Sa 30:4

Till either the humour was wholly spent, or the consideration of their calamity had made them stupid.

Poole: 1Sa 30:6

The people spake of stoning him as the author of their miseries, by coming to Ziklag at first, by provoking the Amalekites to this cruelty, by his forwardness in marching away with Achish, and leaving their wives and children unguarded.

In the Lord his God i.e. in this, that the all-wise and all-powerful Lord was his God by covenant relation, and special promise, and true and fatherly affection, as he had showed himself to be in the whole course of his providence towards him.

Poole: 1Sa 30:7

Bring me hither the ephod and put it upon thyself, that thou mayst inquire of God according to his ordinance, Num 27:21 . See above, 1Sa 23:9 . David was sensible of his former error in neglecting to ask counsel of God by the ephod when he came to Achish, and when he went out with Achish to the battle; and his necessity now brings him to his duty, and his duty meets with success.

Poole: 1Sa 30:8

Before God answered more slowly and gradually, 1Sa 23:1,12 , but now he answers speedily and fully at once, because the business here required more haste. So gracious is our God, that he considers even the degree of other necessities, and accommodates himself to them.

Poole: 1Sa 30:10

Four hundred men a small number for such an attempt; but David was strong in faith, giving God the glory of his power and faithfulness.

Poole: 1Sa 30:11

They found an Egyptian whom by his habit they guessed to be a soldier that had been engaged in that expedition.

They made him drink water partly out of humanity and compassion to a perishing creature; and partly in prudence, that by him they might learn the true state of their enemies

Poole: 1Sa 30:12

Which is to be understood synecdochically of one whole day, and part of two others, as the same phrase is taken Mat 12:40 , as appears from the next verse, where he saith, three days agone I fell sick , but in the Hebrew it this is the third day since I fell sick .

Poole: 1Sa 30:13

I am a young man of Egypt God by his providence so ordering it, that he was not one of that cursed race of the Amalekites, who were to be utterly destroyed, but an Egyptian, who might be spared.

My master left me in this place and condition; which was barbarous inhumanity; for he ought, and easily might have carried him away with the prey which they had taken. But he paid dearly for this cruelty, for this was the occasion of the ruin of him and of all their company. And God by his secret providence ordered the matter thus for that very end. So that there is no fighting against God, who can make the smallest accidents serviceable to the production of the greatest effects.

Poole: 1Sa 30:14

The Cherethites i.e. the Philistines, as is manifest from 1Sa 30:16 , who are so called Zep 2:5 .

And upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb: this is added by way of explication: q.d. that part of the south of Judah which belongs to Caleb’ s posterity, Jos 14:13 .

Poole: 1Sa 30:15

For his master had told him whither they intended to go, that he might come after them as soon as he could.

Poole: 1Sa 30:16

Spread abroad upon all the earth secure and careless, because they were now come almost to the borders of their own country, and the Philistines and Israelites both were otherwise engaged, and David, as they believed, with them. So they had no visible cause of danger; and yet then they were nearest to their destruction.

Poole: 1Sa 30:17

From the twilight: the word signifies both the morning and evening twilight. But the latter seems here intended, partly because their eating, and drinking, and dancing was more customary and proper work for the evening than for the morning; and partly because the evening was more convenient for David, that the fewness of his forces might not be discovered by the day-light.

Object. It is not likely that David would fall upon the Amalekites before his men, who had been tired with a long and hasty march, were refreshed.

Answ Nor is it said that he did. It is probable that when he came near them, he reposed himself and his army in some secret place, whereof there were many in those parts, for a convenient season; and then marched on so as to come to them at the evening time.

Haydock: 1Sa 30:1

Weary. Hebrew pigru, denotes those who are "lazy and dead." Septuagint, "some sat down on the other side of the torrent." Syriac and Arabic insinuate, to defend the passage. But why then do the rest complain? (Calmet) ---

They acted irrationally, as David shewed afterwards. Some of the 600 might well be more exhausted than others, and these were selected to guard the baggage, ver. 24. This was only the third day since they left Aphec, ver. 1. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:1

Day. It was distant from Aphec about 90 miles. ---

Smitten, yet without killing any. (Calmet) ---

We may adore a merciful Providence, which prevented these barbarians from treating David's men as he had treated theirs, chap. xxvii. 11. (Salien, the year before Christ 1074.) ---

He would allow them to burn the city, &c., that David might be roused to execute the divine vengeance upon them. (Theodoret)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:4

Tears. Hebrew, "till they had no more power to weep." (Menochius) ---

See Lamentations ii. 11. Cicero exclaims, Hei mihi! consumptis enim lachrymis, infixus tamen hæret in corde dolor. (Phil. ii.)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:6

Stone him, as the author of all their losses, because he had not left a sufficient garrison at Siceleg, and had irritated the Amalecites. Inconstant people! they thought that he we indebted to them for all that he possessed! (Calmet) ---

David, without being too much dejected, sought out for an immediate remedy, and led them on to battle. Their ancestors had once threatened to stone Moses, Exodus xvii., &c. (Tirinus)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:7

To David. Some think that David put on the ephod; but this was the function of the high priest, who, according to Grotius, turned towards David, that he might see the brightness of the precious stones. See Exodus xxviii. 30. By means of the priest David was enlightened. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:9

Besor is formed by the water falling from the mountains of Idumea, and discharges itself into the Mediterranean, below Gaza. (Calmet) ---

Some take it to be the torrent of the desert, or the river of Egypt. Adrichomius makes it run from the mountains of Juda, so as to form the southern boundary of the tribe of Simeon. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:12

Raisins. Hebrew tsimmukim. See chap. xxv. 18. (Calmet) ---

The soldiers very prudently took some provisions with them, as they were going into a desert country. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:13

Ago. His master's inhumanity was justly punished, and God provided for the safety of his poor slave, while he sent a guide for David. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:14

Cerethi, denotes the Philistines, (R. David. See ver. 16.; Haydock) who came originally from Crete, 2 Kings xv. 18., and Ezechiel xxv. 16. (Calmet) ---

They might be natives of some province of the Philistines, (Vatable) belonging to Gaza, (Menochius) or Geth. (Haydock) ---

Caleb. Hebron and Cariath-sepher fell to his share. The enemy had a good opportunity to ravage all those places, as most of the soldiers were absent (Calmet) at Jezrahel. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:15

Him. David did not require this slave to betray his master, for the latter had lost all his claim, and David had acquired it by relieving the distressed. Si herus negaverit servo suo alimenta, & alius suppeditet, sit occupantis. See Martyr. and the Roman laws. The Amalecites dwelt in tents, and the slave knew where they commonly lodged. (Calmet) ---

Perhaps his master had told him where to meet him, in case he recovered.

Haydock: 1Sa 30:16

Drinking. Hebrew adds, "and dancing," (Salien) in honour of their gods. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Sa 30:17

Evening. Hebrew, "twilight," in the morning (Calmet) or evening. (Haydock) ---

Some think that the pursuit lasted three days; others only from three till five in the evening. But David more probably slaughtered the intoxicated people, during the space of a whole day, from morning till evening. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "from the morning or evening star rising, Greek: aro eosphorou, till the afternoon, and on the following day," (Haydock) which commenced at sun-set. (Calmet) ---

It was no battle, but flight and carnage. (Menochius)

Gill: 1Sa 30:1

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag, on the third day,.... Either from their departure from thence, when they went out with Achish, or rather from the time of their leaving Achish, and the camp of the Philistines; so long they were upon their march homewards, see 2Sa 1:1; and no wonder, if it was the distance of eighty eight miles; see Gill on 1Sa 29:11,

that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag; the southern parts of the land of the Philistines, and of Judah, as appears from 1Sa 30:14; taking the opportunity of the Philistines being gone into the land of Israel, and particularly of David's absence from Ziklag, to whom they bore a grudge for his invasion, destruction, and spoil of them not long ago, see 1Sa 27:8,

and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire; not that they smote the inhabitants of it, there were no men in it, and the women and children they carried captive; but they demolished the buildings in it, pulled down the houses after they had rifled them, and burnt them with fire, that David and his men might dwell there no more.

Gill: 1Sa 30:2

And had taken the women captives, that were therein,.... There being no other to take, the men were gone with David:

they slew not any, either great or small; that is, of the women, whether married or unmarried, old, or maidens, or children; which was very much, since David destroyed all that came within his reach, men and women, when he invaded them, 1Sa 27:9; but perhaps this was not owing to their humanity, but to their covetousness, designing to make an advantage of them by selling them for slaves; no doubt they were restrained by the providence of God:

but carried them away, and went on their way; homewards with their captives.

Gill: 1Sa 30:3

So David and his men came to the city,.... Or however to the place where it had stood, and where it now lay in ruins:

and, behold, it was burnt with fire; the whole city was laid in ashes:

and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives; as it appeared afterwards; for upon their first coming they knew not but they were all destroyed; and which they might reasonably suppose from their former treatment of them, unless there were any left upon the spot which could inform them how things were, which does not appear, and which must make their distress the greater.

Gill: 1Sa 30:4

Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice,.... In doleful shrieks, and loud lamentations:

and wept, until they had no more power to weep; till nature was quite exhausted, and no moisture left; so the Vulgate Latin version, "till tears failed in them"; they could shed no more.

Gill: 1Sa 30:5

And David's two wives were taken captives,.... Which is observed as one cause of his particular distress, and another follows in 1Sa 30:6,

Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite: that is, who had been his wife; for he was now dead, 1Sa 25:39, and was so before she was married to David; both these came with him to Gath, and were left at Ziklag when he went with Achish, and here they were taken; see 1Sa 25:42.

Gill: 1Sa 30:6

And David was greatly distressed,.... Partly for the loss of his two wives, and partly because of the mutiny and murmuring of his men:

for the people spake of stoning him; as the Israelites did of Moses and Aaron, Num 14:10; the reason of this was, because, as they judged, it was owing to David that they went along with Achish, and left the city defenceless, and because he had provoked the Amalekites by his inroad upon them, who took this opportunity of avenging themselves. Abarbinel is of opinion that it was his excess of sorrow for his two wives, and his remissness and backwardness to take vengeance on their enemies, that provoked them, and put them on talking after this manner:

because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; as well as David; and they were very desirous of recovering them if possible, and of taking vengeance on those who had carried them captive:

but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God; took all patiently, and exercised faith on his God; he encouraged himself in the power and providence of God; in the promises of God, and his faithfulness in keeping them; in a view of his covenant relation to God; in remembrance of the grace, mercy, and goodness of God, and his former experiences of it; hoping and believing that God would appear for him in some way or another, and work salvation for him. The Targum is,"he strengthened himself in the Word of the Lord his God;''in Christ the Word of God, and in the power of his might, and in the grace that is in him, Eph 6:10.

Gill: 1Sa 30:7

And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son,.... The son of Ahimelech, who was slain at Nob by the order of Saul, 1Sa 22:19; and Abiathar his son, who fled to David with the ephod, on the death of his father, 1Sa 22:20, was now high priest in his room; and who it seems was with David when he went with Achish, and returned with him; for had he been left at Ziklag, he and his ephod, in all probability, had been carried off by the Amalekites, unless we can suppose him under the protection of a special providence: it is much David had not inquired of the Lord by him about his going with Achish; perhaps the present disaster brought to mind that neglect, and made him the more diligent now:

I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod; not to put it on himself, but that the high priest might put it on, and inquire by it before him of the Lord:

and Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David; for the sake of David, that inquiry might be made before him of the Lord by Urim and Thummim.

Gill: 1Sa 30:8

And David inquired of the Lord,.... That is, by Abiathar, who reported his questions to the Lord in his name:

saying, shall I pursue after this troop? the large company of the Amalekites, as it appears by what follows they were:

shall I overtake them? two questions are here put together, and answers returned to them, contrary to a notion of the Jews; See Gill on 1Sa 23:11,

and he answered him, pursue; which respects the first question:

for thou shall surely overtake them; which is an answer to the second question, and a full one, giving full assurance of overtaking; to which is added more than what was inquired about:

and without fail recover all; their wives, sons, and daughters, and the spoil that was taken; or "in delivering thou shall deliver" ^p, out of the hands of the Amalekites, whatsoever they had taken.

Gill: 1Sa 30:9

So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him,.... Encouraged by the oracle of the Lord:

and came to the brook Besor; which Adrichomius ^q places in the tribe of Simeon; it is thought to be near Gaza. Aristaeus ^r speaks of brooks that flowed by Gaza and Ashdod, places that belonged to the Philistines; some take it to be the river of the wilderness in Amos; see Gill on Amo 6:14,

where those that were left behind stayed: or a part of them were left, as the Targum; all the six hundred came to this brook, but two hundred of them were left here, 1Sa 30:10 shows, and stayed here till the rest returned; for this is not to be understood of any that were left behind at Ziklag, for all came from thence to this brook.

Gill: 1Sa 30:10

But David pursued, he and four hundred men,.... Not discouraged with being obliged to leave a third part of his little army behind; though it was doubtless a trial of his faith, with these to pursue an enemy, whose numbers he knew not, which must greatly exceed his; for after the rout and slaughter of them, as many escaped on camels as David had with him, 1Sa 30:17,

for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint; through their grief and sorrow for the loss of their wives and children, and through their march from the camp of the Philistines to Ziklag, and from thence hither, that they looked like a corpse, as the word signifies; Procopius Gazaeus has it only seventy men:

so that they could not go over the brook Besor: being so weak and feeble; for this was not owing to fear of their enemies, and faint heartedness on that account, then it would rather have been said, "they would not go over"; the Targum renders the word "faint" by "restrained" or prohibited, as if they were forbid by David to go over, but were ordered to tarry here by the stuff, while the rest pursued; and, according to the Syriac and Arabic versions, they were placed there, that none might go over the brook; and it seems, by 1Sa 30:22, that they had a good will to go over, but were made to abide there; or as all Gideon's army, but three hundred, were sent back, and not suffered to go with him, being too many, Jdg 7:2.

Gill: 1Sa 30:11

And they found an Egyptian in the field,.... As they passed along, lying there, having been sick, and was half starved, almost dead:

and brought him to David; to know what was to be done with him; being in the habit of a soldier, they concluded he might be one of the company they were in pursuit of; but whether they should kill him, or make use of him for intelligence and as a guide, could they bring him to himself, they knew not, and therefore brought him to David:

and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water; both which they had with them for their own use; had he been an Amalekite, and not an Egyptian, they might not have relieved or spared him, but must have destroyed him at once; see Deu 25:19.

Gill: 1Sa 30:12

And they gave him a piece of cake of figs,.... That were dried and pressed together, and made into cakes:

and two clusters of raisins; or dried grapes, as the Targum:

and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; he seemed to be quite dispirited, almost lifeless, but upon eating some food he was refreshed, and his spirits revived, and he was capable of conversing:

for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights; that is, one whole day, and part of two days, as appears from 1Sa 30:13.

Gill: 1Sa 30:13

And David said unto him, to whom belongest thou?.... To what country or people? and to whom among them?

and whence art thou? of what nation? where wast thou born? what countryman art thou? for his being called an Egyptian before seems to be by anticipation, unless it was guessed at by his habit; for until he had eaten and drank he could not speak, and so could not be known by his speech:

for he said, I am a young man of Egypt; that was the country he belonged to, and came from; he was an Egyptian by birth:

servant to an Amalekite; one of those that had invaded the country, and burnt Ziklag, as it follows:

and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick; which was very barbarous and cruel to leave him at all, when they had camels with them, 1Sa 30:17; and no doubt carriages for their arms, provision, and spoil, and men; and more so to leave him without anybody with him to take care of him, and without any food, when he capable of eating any; but so it was ordered by the providence of God, that should be left to be the instrument of the just ruin of his master, and of the whole troop.

Gill: 1Sa 30:14

We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites,.... The Philistines so called, or at least one nation of them, such that dwelt to the south of the land, 1Sa 30:16; See Gill on Zep 2:5,

and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah; the south of Judah, where David pretended he had been, and had spoiled, and which was now actually done by the Amalekites, 1Sa 27:10,

and upon the south of Caleb; that part of the tribe of Judah which belonged to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and his posterity, and which was the southern part of it, Jos 15:19,

and we burnt Ziklag with fire; and then departed.

Gill: 1Sa 30:15

And David said unto him, canst thou me down to this company?.... That is, show him, or direct him where they were:

and he said, swear unto me by God; the Targum is, by the Word of the Lord; but it is highly probable this man had no notion of Jehovah, and his Word, or of the true God; only that there was a God, and that an oath taken by him was solemn, sacred, and inviolable, and might be trusted to and depended on:

that thou wilt neither kill me; for he found now he was in the hands of those whose city he had been concerned in plundering and burning, and so might fear his life was in danger:

nor deliver me into the hands of my master; who had been a cruel one to him, and therefore would gladly be clear of him; and if he had nothing else against him, his late usage of him was sufficient to raise his resentment of him:

and I will bring thee down to this company; or show him where they were, having heard them say where they would stop, and make merry, and divide their spoil; and perhaps his master might tell him they would be at such a place at such a time, where, if he was better, he might come to them; the Vulgate Latin version adds, "and David swore to him": which, though not expressed in the original text, was no doubt done by him; and the Syriac and Arabic versions begin 1Sa 30:16 thus, "when David had sworn to him".

Gill: 1Sa 30:16

And when he had brought him down,.... To the place where the company of the Amalekites were, or near it:

behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth; they were not in any regular order, and much less in any military form, but lay about in the fields, scattered here and there, were in detached parties:

some eating and drinking; in one place:

and dancing; others, in another place, expressing their joy, and perhaps their thankfulness to their idols

because of the great spoil they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah; from Ziklag, and from the south of the Cherethites, and the south of Judah, they had invaded, 1Sa 30:14; and here they were in the greatest security; knowing: that the armies of the Philistines were gone into the land of Israel, and were about to engage in battle with the Israelites, and David they supposed was with the Philistines, so that they had nothing to fear from any quarter; and thus it is often, that when men cry peace, peace, sudden destruction comes upon them.

Gill: 1Sa 30:17

And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day,.... As there are two twilights, the twilight of the morning, and the twilight of the evening; this is differently understood some take it for the twilight of the morning, and that it was night when David came to them, and let them alone till they were drunk and asleep, and then early in the morning fell upon them, and smote them until the evening; so Josephus ^s relates it; but others take it to be the twilight of the evening, and that he fell upon them that night, and continued the slaughter of them to the evening of the next day, with which agrees the Targum; nay, some take the next day, or the morrow, to be that which followed after the two evenings; so that this slaughter was carried on to the third day:

and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men that rode upon camels, and fled; that sort of camels called dromedaries, according to Josephus ^t, and which were very swift, and much used by the Arabians, near whom these people dwelt, see Isa 60:6.

Gill: 1Sa 30:18

And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away,.... The wives and children of the Israelites, and their goods, excepting the provisions they had eaten:

and David rescued his two wives; which is particularly observed, because a special concern of his.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:1

¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:3

¹ tn Heb “and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:4

¹ tn Heb “people.”

² tn Heb “lifted up their voice and wept.”

³ tn Heb “until there was no longer in them strength to weep.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:6

¹ tn Heb “people.”

² tn Heb “said to stone him.”

³ tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:9

¹ tn Heb “stood.” So also in v. 10.

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:12

¹ tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:14

¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:16

¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:17

¹ tn Heb “who rode on camels and fled.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 30:18

¹ tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“he”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:1

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on ^{( a )} the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and ^{( b )} smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

^{( a )} After that he departed from Achish.

^{( b )} That is, destroyed their city.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:3

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, [it was] burned with fire; and their ^{( c )} wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

^{( c )} For those only remained in the city, when the men were gone to war.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:6

And David was greatly distressed; for the people ^{( d )} 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.

^{( d )} Thus we see that in trouble and adversity we do not consider God's providence, but like raging beasts forget both our own duty and contemn God's appointment over us.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:8

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 ^{( e )} recover [all].

^{( e )} Though God seem to leave us for a time, yet if we trust in him, we will be sure to find comfort.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:11

And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him ^{( f )} bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;

^{( f )} God by his providence both provides for the needs of the poor stranger, and made him a guide to David to accomplish his enterprise.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:15

And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, ^{( g )} 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.

^{( g )} For others were in all ages held in most reverence, even among the heathen.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:16

And when he had brought him down, behold, [they were]

spread abroad upon all the earth, ^{( h )} 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.

^{( h )} The wicked in their pomp and pleasures do not consider the judgment of God, which is then at hand to smite them.

Geneva Bible: 1Sa 30:17

And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening ^{( i )} of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.

^{( i )} Some read, and to the morrow of the two evenings, that is, three days.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Sa 30:1-31

1 The Amalekites spoil Ziklag.

4 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 recovers all the spoil.

22 David's law to divide the spoil equally between them that fight and them that keep the stuff.

26 He sends presents to his friends.

Maclaren: 1Sa 30:6

1 Samuel 30:6

David was at perhaps the very lowest ebb of his fortunes. He had long been a wandering outlaw, and had finally been driven, by Saul's persistent hostility, to take refuge in the Philistines' country. He had gathered around himself a band of desperate men, and was living very much like a freebooter. He had found refuge in a little city of the Philistines, far down in the South, from which he and his men had marched as a contingent in the Philistine army, which was preparing an attack upon Saul. But, naturally, the Philistine soldiers doubted their ally, and he was obliged to take himself and his troops back again to their temporary home.

When he came there it was a heap of smoking ruins.

Everything was gone; property, cattle, wives, children --and all was desolation. His turbulent followers rose against him, a mutiny broke out--a dangerous thing amongst such a crew--and they were ready to stone him. And at that moment what did he do? Nothing. Was he cast down? No. Was he agitated? No.

But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.' Now the first thing I notice is,

I. The Grand Assurance Which This Man Gripped Fast At Such A Time.

It is not by accident, nor is it a mere piece of tautology, that we read the Lord his God.' For, if you will remember, the very keynote of the psalms which are ascribed to David is just that expression, My God,' My God.' So far as the very fragmentary records of Jewish literature go, it would appear as if David was the very first of all the ancient singers to grapple that thought that he stood in a personal, individual relation to God, and God to him. And so it was his God that he laid hold of at that dark hour.

Now I am not putting too much into a little word when I insist upon it that the very essence and nerve of what strengthened David, at that supreme moment of desolation, was the conviction that welled up in his heart that, in spite of it all, he had a grip of God's hand as his very own, and God had hold of him. Just think of the difference between the attitude of mind and heart expressed in the names that were more familiar to the Israelitish people, and this name for Jehovah. The God of Israel'--that is wide, general; and a man might use it and yet fail to feel that it implied that each individual of the community stood by himself in a personal relation to God. But David penetrated through the broad, general thought, and got into the heart of the matter. It was not enough for him, in his time of need, to stay himself upon a vague universal goodness, but he had to clasp to his burdened heart the individualizing thought, the God of Israel is my God.'

Think, too, of the contrast of the thoughts and emotions suggested by My God,' and by the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.' Great as that name is, it carries the mind away back into the past, and speaks of a historical relation in former days, which may or may not continue in all its tenderness and sweetness and power into the prosaic present. But when a man feels, not only the God of Jacob is our Refuge,' but, the God of Jacob is my God,' then the whole thing flashes up into new power. My sun '--will one man claim property in that great luminary that pours its light down on the whole world? Yes.

The sun whose beams most glorious are,Disdaineth no beholder,'

as the old song has it. Each man's eye receives the straight impact of its universal beams. It is my sun, though it be the light that lightens all men that come into the world. My atmosphere'--will one man claim the free, unappropriated winds of heaven as his? Yes, for they will pour into his lungs; and yet his brother will be none the poorer.

I would not go the length of saying that the living realization, in heart and mind, of this personal possession of God is the difference between a traditional and vague profession of religion and a vital possession of religion, but if it is not the difference, it goes a long way towards explaining the difference. The man who contents himself with the generality of a Gospel for the world, and who can say no more than that Jesus Christ died for all, has yet to learn the most intimate sweetness, and the most quickening and transforming power, of that Gospel, and he only learns it when he says,' Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.'

So do not let us be content with saying, the God of Israel,' and its many thousands, or' the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,' who filled the past with His luster, but let us bring the general good into our own houses, as men might draw the waters of Niagara into their homes through pipes, and let us cry: My Lord and my God!' David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.'

II. Now Note, Secondly, The Sufficiency Of This One Conviction And Assurance.

Here is one of the many eloquent buts' of the Bible. On the one hand is piled up a black heap of calamities, loss, treachery and peril; and opposed to them is only that one clause: But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.' There was only one possession in all the world, except his body and the clothes that he stood in, that he could call his own at that moment. Everything else was gone; his property was carried off by raiders, his home was smoldering embers. But the Amalekites had not stolen God from him. Though he could no longer say, My house, my city, my possessions,' he could say, My God.' Whatever else we lose, as long as we have Him we are rich; and whatever else we possess, we are poor as long as we have not Him. God is enough; whatever else may go. The Lord his God was the sufficient portion for this man when he stood a homeless pauper. He had lost everything that his heart clung to; wives, children; Abigail and Abinoam were captives in the arms of some Amalekites; his house was left to him desolate; his heart was bleeding. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God,' and the bleeding heart was stanched, and the yearning for some one to love and be loved by was satisfied, when he turned himself from the desolation of earth to the riches in the heavens. He was standing on the edge of possible death, for his followers were ready to stone him. He had come through many perils in the past, but he had never been nearer a fatal end than he was at that moment. But the thought of the undying Friend lifted him buoyantly above the dread of death, and he could look with an unwinking eye right into the fleshless eye-sockets of the skeleton, and say, I fear no evil, for Thou art with me.'

So for poverty, loss, the blasting of earthly hopes, the crushing of earthly affections, the extremity of danger, and the utmost threatening of death, here is the sufficient remedy--that one mighty assurance: The Lord is my God.' For if He is the strength of my heart,' He will be my portion for ever.' He is not poor who has God for his, nor does he wander with a hungry heart who can rest his heart on God's; nor need he fear death who possesses God, and in Him eternal life.

So, brethren, in all our changing circumstances, there is more than enough for us in that sweet, simple, strong thought. The end of sorrow (that is to say, the purpose thereof) is to breed in us the conviction that, God is ours, to drive us to Him by lack of all beside; and the end of sorrow (that is to say, the termination thereof) is the kindling in our hearts of the light of that blessed assurance, for with Him we shall fear no evil You never know the good of the breakwater until the storm is rolling the waves against its outer side. Light a little candle in a room, and you will not see the lightning when it flashes outside, however stormy the sky, and seamed with the fiery darts. If we have God in our hearts, we have enough for courage and for strength.

I need not remind you, I suppose, how this darkest moment of David's fortunes was the moment at which the darkness broke. Three days after this emeute of his turbulent followers, there came a fugitive into the camp with news that Saul was dead and David was king. So it was not in vain that he had strengthened himself in the Lord his God.' Our light affliction which is but for a moment' leads on to a manifestation of the true power of God our Friend, and to the breaking of the day.

III. The Effort By Which This Assurance Is Attained And Sustained.

And now the last thing to be noted this assurance is attained and sustained.

The words of the original convey even more forcibly than those of our translation the thought of David's own action in securing him the hold of God as his. He strengthened himself in the Lord his God.' The Hebrew conveys the notion of effort, persistent and continuous; and it tells us this, that when things are as black as they were round David at that hour--it is not a matter of course, even for a good man, that there shall well up in his heart this tranquilizing and victorious conviction; but he has to set himself to reach and to keep it. God will give it, but He will not give it unless the man strains after it. David' strengthened himself in the Lord,' and if he had not doggedly set about resisting the pressure of circumstances, and flinging himself as it were, by an effort, into the arms of God, circumstances would have been too strong for him, and despair would have shrouded his soul. In the darkest moment it is possible for a man to surround himself with God's light, but even in the brightest it is not possible to do so unless he makes a serious effort.

That effort must consist mainly in two things. One is that we shall honestly try to occupy our minds, as well as our hearts, with the truth which certifies to us that God is, in very deed, ours.' If we never think, or think languidly and rarely, about what God has revealed to us, by the word and life and death and intercession of Jesus Christ, concerning Himself, His heart of love towards us, and His relations to us, then we shall not have, either in the time of disaster or of joy, the blessed sense that He is indeed ours. If a man will not think about Christian truth he will not have the blessedness of Christian possession of God. There is no mystery about the road to the sweetness and holiness and power that may belong to a Christian. The only way to win them is to be occupied, far more than most of us are, with the plain truths of God's revelation in Jesus Christ. If you never think about them they cannot affect you, and they will not make you sure that God is yours.

But we cannot occupy ourselves with these truths unless we have a distinct and resolute purpose running through our lives, of averting our eyes from the things that might make us lose sight of them and of Him. David had his choice. He could either, as a great many of us do, stand there and look, and look, and look, and see nothing but his disasters, or he could look past them; and see beyond them God. Peter had his choice whether he would look at the water, or whether he would look at Jesus Christ. He chose to look at the water; and when he saw the wind boisterous he began to sink '--of course, and when he looked at Christ and cried: Lord, save me!' he was held up--equally of course. Make the effort not to let the sorrowful things, or the difficult things, or the fearful things, or the joyous things, in your life, absorb you, but turn away, and, as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, in another connection, look off unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith.' David had to put constraint upon himself, to admit any other thoughts into his mind than those that were pressed into it by the facts before his eyes; but he put on the constraint, and so he was encouraged because he encouraged himself.

There is another thing which we have to make an effort to do, if we would have the blessedness of this conviction filling and flooding our hearts. For the possession is reciprocal; we say, My God,' and He says, My people.' Unless we yield ourselves to Him and say, I am Thine,' we shall never be able to say, Thou art mine.' We must recognize His possession of us; we must yield ourselves; we must obey; we must elect Him as our chief good, we must feel that we are not our own, but bought with a price. And then when we look up into the heavens thus submissive, thus obedient, thus owning His authority and His rights, as well as claiming His love and His tenderness, and cry:' My Father,' He will bend down and whisper into our hearts: Thou art My beloved son.' Then we shall be strong, and of a good courage,' however weak and timid, and we shall be rich, though, like David, we have lost all things.

MHCC: 1Sa 30:1-6

When we go abroad in the way of our duty, we may comfortably hope that God will take care of our families in our absence, but not otherwise. If, when we come off a journey, we find our abode in peace, and not laid waste, as David here found his, let the Lord be praised for it. David's men murmured against him. Great faith must expect such severe trials. But, observe, that David was brought thus low, only just before he was raised to the throne. When things are at the worst with the church and people of God, then they begin to mend. David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. His men fretted at their loss, the soul of the people was bitter; their own discontent and impatience added to the affliction and misery. But David bore it better, though he had more reason than any of them to lament it. They gave liberty to their passions, but he set his graces to work; and while they dispirited each other, he, by encouraging himself in God, kept his spirit calm. Those who have taken the Lord for their God, may take encouragement from him in the worst times.

MHCC: 1Sa 30:7-15

If in all our ways, even when, as in this case, there can be no doubt they are just, we acknowledge God, we may expect that he will direct our steps, as he did those of David. David, in tenderness to his men, would by no means urge them beyond their strength. The Son of David thus considers the frames of his followers, who are not all alike strong and vigorous in their spiritual pursuits and conflicts; but, where we are weak, there he is kind; nay more, there he is strong, 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10. A poor Egyptian lad, scarcely alive, is made the means of a great deal of good to David. Justly did Providence make this poor servant, who was basely used by his master, an instrument in the destruction of the Amalekites; for God hears the cry of the oppressed. Those are unworthy the name of true Israelites, who shut up their compassion from persons in distress. We should neither do an injury nor deny a kindness to any man; some time or other it may be in the power of the lowest to return a kindness or an injury.

MHCC: 1Sa 30:16-20

Sinners are nearest to ruin, when they cry, Peace and safety, and put the evil day far from them. Nor does any thing give our spiritual enemies more advantage than sensuality and indulgence. Eating and drinking, and dancing, have been the soft and pleasant way in which many have gone down to the congregation of the dead. The spoil was recovered, and brought off; nothing was lost, but a great deal gained.

Matthew Henry: 1Sa 30:1-6

Here we have, I. The descent which the Amalekites made upon Ziklag in David's absence, and the desolations they made there. They surprised the city when it was left unguarded, plundered it, burnt it, and carried all the women and children captives, 1Sa 30:1, 1Sa 30:2. They intended, by this to revenge the like havoc that David had lately made of them and their country, 1Sa 27:8. He that had made so many enemies ought not to have left his own concerns so naked and defenceless. Those that make bold with others must expect that others will make as bold with them and provide accordingly. Now observe in this, 1. The cruelty of Saul's pity (as it proved) in sparing the Amalekites; if he had utterly destroyed them, as he ought to have done, these would not have been in being to do this mischief. 2. How David was corrected for being so forward to go with the Philistines against Israel. God showed him that he had better have staid at home and looked after his own business. When we go abroad in the way of our duty we may comfortably hope that God will take care of our families in our absence, but not otherwise. 3. How wonderfully God inclined the hearts of these Amalekites to carry the women and children away captives, and not to kill them. When David invaded them he put all to the sword (1Sa 27:9), and no reason can be given why they did not retaliate upon this city, but that God restrained them; for he has all hearts in his hands, and says to the fury of the most cruel men, Hitherto thou shalt come, and no further. Whether they spared them to lead them in triumph, or to sell them, or to use them for slaves, God's hand must be acknowledged, who designed to make use of the Amalekites for the correction, not for the destruction, of the house of David.

II. The confusion and consternation that David and his men were in when they found their houses in ashes and their wives and children gone into captivity. Three days' march they had from the camp of the Philistines to Ziklag, and now that they came thither weary, but hoping to find rest in their houses and joy in their families, behold a black and dismal scene was presented to them (1Sa 30:3), which made them all weep (David himself not excepted), though they were men of war, till they had no more power to weep, 1Sa 30:4. The mention of David's wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, and their being carried captive, intimates that this circumstance went nearer his heart than any thing else. Note, It is no disparagement to the boldest and bravest spirits to lament the calamities of relations and friends. Observe, 1. This trouble came upon them when they were absent. It was the ancient policy of Amalek to take Israel at an advantage. 2. It met them at their return, and, for aught that appears, their own eyes gave them the first intelligence of it. Note, When we go abroad we cannot foresee what evil tidings may meet us when we come home again. The going out may be very cheerful, and yet the coming in be very doleful. Boast not thyself therefore of tomorrow, nor of tonight either, for thou knowest not what a day, or a piece of a day, may bring forth, Pro 27:1. If, when we come off a journey, we find our tabernacles in peace, and not laid waste as David here found his, let the Lord be praised for it.

III. The mutiny and murmuring of David's men against him (1Sa 30:6): David was greatly distressed, for, in the midst of all his losses, his own people spoke of stoning him, 1. Because they looked upon him as the occasion of their calamities, by the provocation he had given the Amalekites, and his indiscretion in leaving Ziklag without a garrison in it. Thus apt are we, when we are in trouble, to fly into a rage against those who are in any way the occasion of our trouble, while we overlook the divine providence, and have not that regard to the operations of God's hand in it which would silence our passions, and make us patient. 2. Because now they began to despair of that preferment which they had promised themselves in following David. They hoped ere this to have been all princes; and now to find themselves all beggars was such a disappointment to them as made them grow outrageous, and threaten the life of him on whom, under God, they had the greatest dependence. What absurdities will not ungoverned passions plunge men into? This was a sore trial to the man after God's own heart, and could not but go very near him. Saul had driven him from his country, the Philistines had driven him from their camp, the Amalekites had plundered his city, his wives were taken prisoners, and now, to complete his woe, his own familiar friends, in whom he trusted, whom he had sheltered, and who did eat of his bread, instead of sympathizing with him and offering him any relief, lifted up the heel against him and threatened to stone him. Great faith must expect such severe exercises. But it is observable that David was reduced to this extremity just before his accession to the throne. At this very time, perhaps, the stroke was struck which opened the door to his advancement. Things are sometimes at the worst with the church and people of God just before they begin to mend.

IV. David's pious dependence upon the divine providence and grace in this distress: But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. His men fretted at their loss. The soul of the people was bitter, so the word is. Their own discontent and impatience added wormwood and gall to the affliction and misery, and made their case doubly grievous. But 1. David bore it better, though he had more reason than any of them to lament it; they gave liberty to their passions, but he set his graces on work, and by encouraging himself in God, while they dispirited each other, he kept his spirit calm and sedate. Or, 2. There may be a reference to the threatening words his men gave out against him. They spoke of stoning him; but he, not offering to avenge the affront, nor terrified by their menaces, encouraged himself in the Lord his God, believed, and considered with application to his present case, the power and providence of God, his justice and goodness, the method he commonly takes of bringing low and then raising up, his care of his people that serve him and trust in him, and the particular promises he had made to him of bringing him safely to the throne; with these considerations he supported himself, not doubting but the present trouble would end well. Note, Those that have taken the Lord for their God may take encouragement from their relation to him in the worst of times. It is the duty and interest of all good people, whatever happens, to encourage themselves in God as their Lord and their God, assuring themselves that he can and will bring light out of darkness, peace out of trouble, and good out of evil, to all that love him and are the called according to his purpose, Rom 8:28. It was David's practice, and he had the comfort of it, What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. When he was at his wits' end he was not at his faith's end.

Matthew Henry: 1Sa 30:7-20

Solomon observes that the righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked cometh in his stead, that the just falleth seven times a-day and riseth again; so it was with David. Many were his troubles, but the Lord delivered him out of them all, and particularly out of this of which we have here an account.

I. He enquired of the Lord both concerning his duty - Shall I pursue after this troop? and concerning the event - Shall I overtake them? 1Sa 30:8. It was a great advantage to David that he had the high priest with him and the breast-plate of judgment, which, as a public person, he might consult in all his affairs, Num 27:21. We cannot think that he left Abiathar and the ephod at Ziklag, for then he and it would have been carried away by the Amalekites, unless we may suppose them hidden by a special providence, that they might be ready for David to consult at his return. If we conclude that David had his priest and ephod with him in the camp of the Philistines, it was certainly a great neglect in him that he did not enquire of the Lord by them concerning his engagement to Achish. Perhaps he was ashamed to own his religion so far among the uncircumcised; but now he begins to apprehend that this trouble is brought upon him to correct him for that oversight, and therefore the first thing he does is to call for the ephod. It is well if we get this good by our afflictions, to be reminded by them of neglected duties, and particularly to be quickened by them to enquire of the Lord. See 1Ch 15:13. David had no room to doubt but that his war against these Amalekites was just, and he had an inclination strong enough to set upon them when it was for the recovery of that which was dearest to him in this world; and yet he would not go about it without asking counsel of God, thereby owning his dependence upon God and submission to him. If we thus, in all our ways, acknowledge God, we may expect that he will direct our steps, as he did David's here, answering him above what he asked, with an assurance that he should recover all.

II. He went himself in person, and took with him all the force he had, in pursuit of the Amalekites, 1Sa 30:9, 1Sa 30:10. See how quickly, how easily, how effectually the mutiny among the soldiers was quelled by his patience and faith. When they spoke of stoning him (1Sa 30:6), if he had spoken of hanging them, or had ordered that the ringleaders of the faction should immediately have their heads struck off, though it would have been just, yet it might have been of pernicious consequence to his interest in this critical juncture; and, while he and his men were contending, the Amalekites would have clearly carried off their spoil. But when he, as a deaf man, heard not, smothered his resentments, and encouraged himself in the Lord his God, the tumult of the people was stilled by his gentleness and the power of God on their hearts; and, being thus mildly treated, they are now as ready to follow his foot as they were but a little before to fly in his face. Meekness is the security of any government. All his men were willing to go along with him in pursuit of the Amalekites, and he needed them all; but he was forced to drop a third part of them by the way; 200 out of 600 were so fatigued with their long march, and so sunk under the load of their grief, that they could not pass the brook Besor, but staid behind there. This was, 1. A great trial of David's faith, whether he could go on, in a dependence upon the word of God, when so many of his men failed him. When we are disappointed and discouraged in our expectations from second causes, then to go on with cheerfulness, confiding in the divine power, this is giving glory to God, by believing against hope, in hope. 2. A great instance of David's tenderness to his men, that he would by no means urge them beyond their strength, though the case itself was so very urgent. The Son of David thus considers the frame of his followers, who are not all alike strong and vigorous in their spiritual pursuits and conflicts; but, where we are weak, there he is kind; nay, more there he is strong, 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10.

III. Providence threw one in their way that gave them intelligence of the enemy's motions, and guided theirs; a poor Egyptian lad, scarcely alive, is made instrumental of a great deal of good to David. God chooses the foolish things of the world, with them to confound the wise. Observe, 1. His master's cruelty to him. He had got out of him all the service he could, and when the lad fell sick, probably being over-toiled with his work, he barbarously left him to perish in the field, when he was in no such haste but he might have put him into some of the carriages, and brought him home, or, at least, have left him wherewithal to support himself. That master has the spirit of an Amalekite, not of an Israelite, that can thus use a servant worse than one would use a beast. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. This Amalekite thought he should now have servants enough of the Israelite-captives, and therefore cared not what became of his Egyptian slave, but could willingly let him die in a ditch for want of necessaries, while he himself was eating and drinking, 1Sa 30:16. Justly did Providence make this poor servant, that was thus basely abused, instrumental towards the destruction of a whole army of Amalekites and his master among the rest; for God hears the cry of oppressed servants. 2. David's compassion to him. Though he had reason to think he was one of those that had helped to destroy Ziklag, yet, finding him in distress, he generously relieved him, not only with bread and water (1Sa 30:11), but with figs and raisins, 1Sa 30:12. Though the Israelites were in haste, and had no great plenty for themselves, yet they would not forbear to deliver one that was drawn unto death, nor say, Behold, we knew it not, Pro 24:11, Pro 24:12. Those are unworthy the name of Israelites who shut up the bowels of their compassion from persons in distress. It was also prudently done to relieve this Egyptian; for, though despicable, he was capable of doing them service: so it proved, though they were not certain of this when they relieved him. It is a good reason why we should neither do an injury nor deny a kindness to any man that we know not but, some time or other, it may be in his power to return either a kindness or an injury. 3. The intelligence David received from this poor Egyptian when he had come to himself. He gave him an account concerning his party. (1.) What they had done (1Sa 30:14): We made an invasion, etc. The countries which David had pretended to Achish to have made an incursion upon (1Sa 27:10) they really had invaded and laid waste. What was then false now proved too true. (2.) Whither they had gone, 1Sa 30:15. This he promised David to inform him of upon condition he would spare his life and protect him from his master, who, if he could hear of him again (he thought), would add cruelty to cruelty. Such an opinion this poor Egyptian had of the obligation of an oath that he desired no greater security for his life than this: Swear unto me by God, not by the gods of Egypt or Amalek, but by the one supreme God.

IV. David, being directed to the place where they lay, securely celebrating their triumphs, fell upon them, and, as he used to pray, saw his desire upon his enemies. 1. The spoilers were cut off. The Amalekites, finding the booty was rich, and having got with it (as they thought) out of the reach of danger, were making themselves very merry with it, 1Sa 30:16. All thoughts of war were laid aside, nor were they in any haste to house their prey, but spread themselves abroad on the earth in the most careless manner that could be, and there they were found eating, and drinking, and dancing, probably in honour of their idol-gods, to whom they gave the praise of their success. In this posture David surprised them, which made the conquest of them, and the blow he gave them, the more easy to him and the more dismal to them. Then are sinners nearest to ruin when they cry, Peace and safety, and put the evil day far from them. Nor does any thing give our spiritual enemies more advantage against us than sensuality and the indulgence of the flesh. Eating, and drinking, and dancing, have been the soft and pleasant way in which many have gone down to the congregation of the dead. Finding them thus off their guard, and from their arms (many of them, it may be, drunk, and unable to make any resistance), he put them all to the sword, and only 400 escaped, 1Sa 30:17. Thus is the triumphing of the wicked short, and wrath comes on them, as on Belshazzar, when they are in the midst of their jollity. 2. The spoil was recovered and brought off, and nothing was lost, but a great deal gotten. (1.) They retrieved all their own (1Sa 30:18, 1Sa 30:19): David rescued his two wives; this is mentioned particularly, because this pleased David more than all the rest of his achievements. Providence had so ordered it 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, so that there was nothing lacking to them; so it proved, when they concluded all was gone: so much better is God oftentimes to us than our own fears. Our Lord Jesus was indeed the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, in this resembling them both (Abraham, Gen 14:16, and David here), that he took the prey from the mighty, and led captivity captive. But this was not all. (2.) They took all that belonged to the Amalekites besides (1Sa 30:20): Flocks and herds, either such as were taken from the Philistines and others, which David had the disposal of by the law of war; or perhaps he made a sally into the enemy's country, and fetched off these flocks and herds thence, as interest for his own. This drove was put in the van of the triumph, with this proclamation, " This is David's spoil. This we may thank him for."Those who lately spoke of stoning him now caressed him and cried him up, because they got by him more than they had then lost. Thus are the world and its sentiments governed by interest.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 30:1-10

During David's absence the Amalekites had invaded the south country,smitten Ziklag and burnt it down, and carried off the women and childrenwhom they found there; whereat not only were David and his menplunged into great grief on their return upon the third day but Davidespecially was involved in very great trouble, inasmuch as the peoplewanted to stone him. But he strengthened himself in the Lord his God (1Sa 30:1-6).

1Sa 30:1-5

1Sa 30:1-4 form one period, which is expanded by the introductionof several circumstantial clauses. The apodosis to "It came to pass, when,"etc. (1Sa 30:1), does not follow till 1Sa 30:4, "Then David and the people,"etc. Butthis is formally attached to 1Sa 30:3, "so David and his men came,"with whichthe protasis commenced in 1Sa 30:1 is resumed in an altered form. " It came topass, when David and his men came to Ziklag ... the Amalekites hadinvaded ... and had carried off the wives ... and had gone their way, and Davidand his men came into the town (for 'when David and his men came,' etc.), and behold it was burned ... . Then David and the people with him lifted uptheir voice .""On the third day:" after David's dismission by Achish, notafter David's departure from Ziklag. David had at any rate gone withAchish beyond Gath, and had not been sent back till the whole of theprinces of the Philistines had united their armies (1Sa 29:2.), so that hemust have been absent from Ziklag more than two days, or two days and ahalf. This is placed beyond all doubt by 1Sa 30:11., since the Amalekites arethere described as having gone off with their booty three days beforeDavid followed them, and therefore they had taken Ziklag and burned itthree days before David's return. These foes had therefore taken advantageof the absence of David and his warriors, to avenge themselves for David'sinvasions and plunderings (1Sa 27:8). Of those who were carried off," the women "alone expressly mentioned in 1Sa 30:2, although the femalepopulation and all the children had been removed, as we may see from theexpression " small and great "(1Sa 30:3, 1Sa 30:6). The lxx were therefore correct,so far as the sense is concerned, in introducing the words καὶ πάντα before בּהּ עשׁר . " They had killed no one, but (only) carried away ." נהג , to carry away captive, as in Isa 20:4. Among those who had been carried off were David's two wives, Ahinoamand Abigail (vid., 1Sa 25:42-43; 1Sa 27:3).

1Sa 30:6-10

David was greatly distressed in consequence; " for the peoplethought ('said,' sc., in their hearts) to stone him ,"because they sought theoccasion of their calamity in his connection with Achish, with which manyof his adherents may very probably have been dissatisfied. " For the soulof the whole people was embittered (i.e., all the people were embittered intheir souls) because of their sons and daughters ,"who had been carriedaway into slavery. "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God," i.e., sought consolation and strength in prayer and believing confidence inthe Lord (1Sa 30:7.). This strength he manifested in the resolution to followthe foes and rescue their booty from them. To this end he had the ephodbrought by the high priest Abiathar (cf. 1Sa 23:9), and inquired bymeans of the Urim of the Lord, " Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtakeit? "These questions were answered in the affirmative; and the promisewas added, "and thou wilt rescue." So David pursued the enemy with hissix hundred men as far as the brook Besor , where the rest, i.e., twohundred, remained standing (stayed behind). The words עמדוּ והנּותרים , which are appendedin the form of a circumstantial clause, are to be connected, so far as thefacts are concerned, with what follows: whilst the others remained behind,David pursued the enemy still farther with four hundred men. By theword הנּותרים the historian has somewhat anticipated thematter, and therefore regards it as necessary to define the expression stillfurther in 1Sa 30:10 . We are precluded from changing the text, as Theniussuggests, by the circumstance that all the early translators read it in thismanner, and have endeavoured to make the expression intelligible byparaphrasing it. These two hundred men were too tired to cross the brookand go any farther. ( פּגר , which only occurs here and in 1Sa 30:21,signifies, in Syriac, to be weary or exhausted.) As Ziklag was burnt down,of course they found no provisions there, and were consequently obligedto set out in pursuit of the foe without being able to provide themselveswith the necessary supplies. The brook Besor is supposed to be the Wady Sheriah , which enters the sea below Ashkelon (see v. Raumer, Pal . p. 52).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 30:11-12

On their further march they found an Egyptian lying exhausted upon thefield; and having brought him to David, they gave him food and drink,namely " a slice of fig-cake (cf. 1Sa 25:18), and raisin-cakes to eat;whereupon his spirit of life returned (i.e., he came to himself again), as hehad neither eaten bread nor drunk water for three days ."

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 30:13-14

When David asked him whence he had come (to whom, i.e., to whatpeople or tribe, dost thou belong?), the young man said that he was anEgyptian, and servant of an Amalekite, and that he had been left behind byhis master when he fell sick three days before ("to-day three,"sc., days):he also said, "We invaded the south of the Crethites, and what belongs toJudah, and the south of Caleb, and burned Ziklag with fire." הכּרתי , identical with כּרתים (Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5), denotesthose tribes of the Philistines who dwelt in the south-west of Canaan, andis used by Ezekiel and Zephaniah as synonymous with Philistim. Theorigin of the name is involved in obscurity, as the explanation whichprevailed for a time, viz., that it was derived from Creta , is withoutsufficient foundation (vid., Stark, Gaza , pp. 66 and 99ff.). The Negeb"belonging to Judah"is the eastern portion of the Negeb. One part of itbelonged to the family of Caleb, and was called Caleb's Negeb (vid., 1Sa 25:3).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 30:15-16

This Egyptian then conducted David, at his request, when he had swornthat he would neither kill him nor deliver him up to his master, down tothe hostile troops, who were spread over the whole land, eating, drinking,and making merry, on account of all the great booty which they hadbrought out of the land of the Philistines and Judah.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 30:17

David surprised them in the midst of their security, and smote them fromthe evening twilight till the evening of the next day, so that no oneescaped, with the exception of four hundred young men, who fled uponcamels. Nesheph signifies the evening twilight here, not the dawn, - ameaning which is not even sustained by Job 7:4. The form מחרתם appears to be an adverbial formation, like יומם .

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 30:18-19

Through this victory David rescued all that the Amalekites had taken, histwo wives, and all the children great and small; also the booty that theyhad taken with them, so that nothing was missing.

Constable: 1Sa 16:1--31:13

IV. SAUL AND DAVID 1 Sam. 16--31

The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. We might call it the theme of the Lord's anointed.

"The theological thread running through Samuel and Kings is God's choice of a leader to represent Him as He implements His covenants with Israel."¹⁶⁸

Saul had been God's anointed vice-regent, but with Saul's rejection David began to move into that position. These chapters record the gradual transition and slow transformation of the nation as the Israelites and others increasingly realized that David was now God's anointed. Saul remained the Lord's anointed as long as he lived. Part of the reason David succeeded was he recognized this and related to Saul accordingly. However, David too was God's anointed though God was still preparing him to take leadership and mount the throne. While the hero of this last half of 1 Samuel is David, Saul is also prominent. Saul declined as the old anointed as David arose as the new anointed.

"There will be many twists in the story of David's progress towards the throne, and not a few crisis-points, yet all is told in the knowledge that God can put his men where he wants them to be, whether the route is direct, or ever so circuitous."¹⁶⁹

Chronology of David's Life170
Event	Date	Age	Reference
Birth	1041	0	2 Sam. 5:4-5
Anointing by Samuel	1029	12	1 Sam. 16:1-13
Defeat of Goliath	1024	17	1 Sam. 17
Exile from Saul	1020-1011	21-30	1 Sam. 21-31
Anointing as King over Judah	1011	30	2 Sam. 2:1-4
Anointing as King over all Israel	1004	37	2 Sam. 5:1-3
Philistines Wars	1004	37	2 Sam. 5:17-25
Conquest of Jerusalem	1004	37	2 Sam. 5:6-10
Mephibosheth's Move to Jerusalem	996	45	2 Sam. 9:1-13
The Three Year Famine	996-993	45-48	2 Sam. 21:1-14
The Ammonite Wars	993-990	48-51	2 Sam. 10-12
Adultery and Murder	992	49	2 Sam. 11
Birth of Solomon	991	50	2 Sam. 12:24-25
Rape of Tamar	987	54	2 Sam. 13:1-22
Death of Amnon	985	56	2 Sam. 13:23-36
Exile of Absalom	985-982	56-59	2 Sam. 13:37-39
Absalom's Return to Jerusalem	982-980	59-61	2 Sam. 14:21-24
Construction of Palace	980-978	61-63	1 Chron. 15:1
Construction of Tabernacle	977	64	1 Chron. 15:1
Move of Ark to Jerusalem	977	64	2 Sam. 6:12-19
Absalom's Rebellion and David's Exile	976	65	2 Sam. 15-18
Rebellion of Sheba	976	65	2 Sam. 20:1-22
The Census	975	66	2 Sam. 24:1-17
Purchase of Temple Site	973	68	2 Sam. 24:18-25
The Davidic Covenant	973	68	2 Sam. 7
Co-regency with Solomon	973-971	68-70	1 Chron. 23:1
Rebellion of Adonijah	972	69	1 Kings 1:5-37
Coronation of Solomon	971	70	1 Chron. 29:22-23
Death	971	70	1 Kings 2:10-11

Constable: 1Sa 21:1--30:31

C. David in Exile chs. 21-30

In chapters 21-30 we see David's forces growing stronger and stronger while Saul's forces get weaker and weaker. This is a further demonstration of the fertility theme. However these chapters also develop the motif of the proper response to Yahweh's anointed.

Interesting, too, are the parallels between David's experiences as the Lord's anointed and Jesus Christ's as the Lord's anointed. Rejection preceded acceptance, and suffering preceded reigning in both cases. God blessed both of these servants personally, and they became a blessing to others because of their commitment to Yahweh and His Law.

"The true servant of God must willingly suffer affliction with the full assurance that God is performing His purposes. Positions of prominence and prestige are not to be sought and worked for. Rather, the leader who desires Christ's blessing must wait patiently on Him for advancement and promotion to opportunities of greater service."²²⁶

Several of the Psalms have their backgrounds in these chapters (Ps. 18; 34; 52; 54; 56; 57; 63; 124; 138; 142; and possibly others).

Constable: 1Sa 27:1--31:13

4. The end of Saul's reign chs 27-31

David's commitment to God resulted in his continuing to be God's instrument of blessing to the Israelites and His instrument of judgment to Israel's enemies. This was true in spite of David's failure to seek guidance from the Lord before moving back into Philistine territory. David's strength continued to grow as Saul's continued to wane. In these last chapters of 1 Samuel the writer moved back and forth first describing David's activities, and then Saul's, then David's, and then Saul's. This technique puts the fates of the two men in stark contrast side by side. Thus the book closes with the narrative contrast technique with which it opened in which the writer contrasted Samuel and Eli's sons.

Constable: 1Sa 30:1-31

David's wise leadership of the Israelites ch. 30

This chapter reveals many qualities that marked David as an outstanding leader. As Saul continued to decline, God perfected the characteristics of leadership in David that prepared him for the throne. The Amalekites' capture of Ziklag at first looked as if tragedy had struck, but later it proved to be a great blessing. In this respect this event resembled David's whole career. As a result of this victory, the people of Judah came to regard David as the obvious successor to Saul's throne.

The chiastic structure of the chapter focuses attention on the defeat of the Amalekites, the people that God had commissioned Israel's leaders to annihilate.

"A. David reaches destroyed Ziklag and finds it plundered (30:1-3).

B. David and his men are promised the Lord's help (30:4-8).

C. David defeats the Amalekites (30:9-20)

B'. David shares the Lord's plunder with his men (30:21-25).

A'. David returns to Ziklag and distributes the remaining plunder (30:26-31)."²⁸⁷

Constable: 1Sa 30:1-6

David's crisis and his response 30:1-6

David took three days to return from Aphek (29:11) to Ziklag. The Amalekites, whom David had previously raided (27:8), took advantage of the Philistines' and David's absence to retaliate in the Negev and on Ziklag. They plundered both Philistine and Judahite territory (v. 16). When David and his men arrived back home, they discovered Ziklag empty of inhabitants and burned down. David joined his men in weeping over the tragedy that the enemies of God's kingdom had caused (cf. Matt. 23:37). David's supporters then turned on him and almost stoned him giving him trouble on two fronts simultaneously. In his distress David, as usual, strengthened himself in the Lord by relying on Yahweh and inquiring of Him (vv. 6-8). From the Psalms we know that David often did this by looking back on God's past faithfulness, looking up in prayer, and looking forward with God's promises in view.

"David's genius was his spiritual resilience."²⁸⁸

"Both David and Saul are portrayed as persons in deep crises of leadership, and both are deeply at risk. What interests us is the difference of response. . . . Saul seeks refuge in a medium, [but David inquired of the Lord]."²⁸⁹

Constable: 1Sa 30:7-10

God's provision of guidance 30:7-10

David obtained an answer through the Urim and Thummim, which the high priest carried in the breastpiece of his ephod (cf. 23:2, 4, 9). God no longer responded to Saul's prayers (28:15), but He did answer David's (v. 8). David divided his troops into two groups as he had when he organized his attack against Nabal (25:13).²⁹⁰ The Besor brook is probably the Wadi el Arish, which flows west into the Mediterranean Sea a few miles south of Ziklag. This stream marked the southwestern border of the land that God had promised to Abraham's descendants.

Constable: 1Sa 30:11-15

David's kindness to the Egyptian servant 30:11-15

David and his men were undoubtedly very angry and ready to kill anyone who proved to have had a hand in kidnapping their family members. To his credit David did not kill this Egyptian, as he planned to kill Nabal earlier. Instead he treated him kindly, in contrast to the Amalekite master's treatment of him, and won his favor and cooperation. Contrast Nabal's disdain for David, whom Nabal regarded as a runaway servant (25:10-11). The Egyptian wanted a guarantee of safety from David, as had Saul (cf. 24:2). Receiving this he agreed to lead David and his men to the Amalekites' camp.

Constable: 1Sa 30:16-20

David's successful victory over the Amalekites 30:16-20

The Amalekites were feasting on the plunder that they had taken even though the Egyptian servant had received nothing to eat or drink when he fell ill (cf. v. 12). David launched his attack early in the morning the next day and did not give up until night fell. Since 400 of the Amalekites escaped, the total number of David's soldiers (v. 10), they obviously had a much larger army than David did. The camel was the vehicle of choice at this time; it was the fastest means of transportation (cf. Judg. 7:12). David recovered everything substantial (cf. v. 16) that the Amalekites had taken plus booty from this enemy (cf. v. 26).

Guzik: 1Sa 30:1-31

1 Samuel 30 - David in Victory Again

A. David's distress.

1. (1-2) Ziklag is plundered by the Amalekites.

Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.

a. Now it happened: It certainly happened, but it didn't happen by accident. God had a purpose for all of this in David's life.

b. "On the third day indicates that David and his men covered about twenty-five miles a day on the march south from Aphek to Ziklag, where they would have arrived tired, hungry and expecting all the comforts for a welcome home." (Baldwin <Baldwin.htm>)

c. The Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it to the ground: While David and his men were to the north trying to join the Philistine army, their own city of Ziklag was unguarded. The opportunistic Amalekites took advantage of the defenseless city, attacked it, and burned it to the ground.

d. Worse than that, they had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great. Not only was the city burned, but all their women and children were taken away.

i. There is a touch of the LORD's poetic justice in all this. David had brought this exact calamity on other cities. 1 Samuel 27:8-11 says during his time among the Philistines, David made his living as a bandit, robbing cities and whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive. The Amalekites were being more merciful than David had been!

ii. God, who is great in mercy, does not discipline us as much as we deserve. Like a compassionate father, He tempers the stroke of His hand with kindness and love.

2. (3-6) David and his men come upon the empty, burned city.

So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

a. So David and his men came to the city: As they came within a few miles of their city, the hearts of David and his men must have brightened. They were discouraged that they hadn't been allowed to fight with the Philistines; they are soldiers, and soldiers want to fight! But at least they knew they were coming home, and home meant all their familiar surroundings, and all their families. But that bright thought quickly turned black as night.

b. And there it was, burned with fire: Even off in the distance they could see something was wrong. Smoke rose from their city, but it wasn't the smoke of cooking fires. It was too much smoke for that, and the smoke was too black. They wondered why no one had come to greet them afar off - where were their wives and children? Weren't they glad to see them? But when they came to the city and saw it was a ghost town, a pile of burned rubble, with no voice of the survivors, it seemed that everything was lost.

i. "May you see your self-righteousness burned like Ziklag, and all your carnal hopes carried away captive, and may you then encourage yourselves in Christ, for he will recover all for you, and give you spoil besides, and there shall be joy and rejoicing." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

c. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep: All had been lost. At this point, David has nothing more to support him. No one in Israel can help him. The Philistines don't want him. His family is gone; all he has owned is gone. But at least he has his friends, right? Not really; the people spoke of stoning him. Every support is gone, except the LORD. That is a good place to be in, not a bad place.

i. David did not weep only because everything and everyone was lost. He also wept because he knew that he was responsible for it. No wonder David was greatly distressed. He is about as low in his backslidden state as a man can be; David is like the prodigal son who now sits in the pigpen.

d. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God: It took a lot to bring David to this place, but now he is here - God is his only strength.

i. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. This was backslidden David, wayward David, "fight with the Philistines" David. Why would God strengthen him? Because God is rich in mercy and grace, and because David was now completely broken, ready to be filled. Sometimes we think we have to achieve God's blessing or strength, but David shows us another way.

ii. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. He received the strength, and felt it flow through himself, and was bold enough to ask for it and receive it from God. Before this, he didn't see himself as weak, but after coming home to a burned-out ghost town, David knew he was weak and needed God's strength.

iii. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. He didn't wait for someone else to strengthen him. He didn't say, "Well LORD, if You want to strengthen me, that's fine. I'll just wait here until You do it." David knew that the LORD's strength was there for those who wait upon Him, so he strengthened himself in the LORD his God. God's strength was there for David all the time, but now he takes it for himself and will strengthen himself in the LORD his God.

iv. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. This wasn't some kind of rah-rah cheerleader kind of positive thinking mumbo jumbo. This was the strength of the living God making itself real in the life and heart of a hurting man. This was strength for recognition, strength for brokenness, strength for repentance, strength for determination to win back what the enemy has stolen. This is the same strength that would raise Jesus from the dead!

e. How did David strengthen himself in the LORD?

i. David would have strengthened himself remembering God's love. At this point of total loss, David now saw the love of the LORD in the rejection of the Philistine leaders. If they had not sent him away, he and his men would not have returned right now, when the Amalekites had just left and the fires of their destruction were still burning. If God had not sent him back home through the rejection of the Philistines, it would have been months and months until he returned, and the situation would have been far worse. That which stung him before became sweet to him now, and the most precious expression of the LORD's love.

ii. David would have strengthened himself remembering God's promise and calling. He could shake his head, clear the fog that had set about it for the last year or so, and say "I am a man anointed by God, called by God, and promised by God to be the next king of Israel. I have a high calling and promise from God, and He hasn't taken it away. I need to start living according to that destiny." David could thank God and see the glory of His power in this high call.

iii. David would have strengthened himself remembering God's past deliverances. He could say, "This is a terrible spot, no doubt. But remember all the times when the LORD delivered me out of a bad spot before? If He did it then, He will do it now. He didn't deliver me before just to let me perish now."

f. David took his only encouragement from the LORD. 1 Chronicles 12:19-20 gave David a reason for encouragement - men from the tribe of Manasseh came to him at this time, and stood with him when others were turning on David. But that isn't mentioned as encouragement to David at all. "God was beginning to cure his servant by a bitter dose of distress, and the evidence of the cure was that he did not encourage himself by his new friends, or by the hope of others coming; but he encouraged himself in the Lord his God." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

g. What David said in his heart in 1 Samuel 27:1 got him into this whole mess; now, what he says to himself to strengthen himself in the LORD will help bring him out. "Some of the best talks in the world are those which a man has with himself. He who speaks to everybody except himself is a great fool." (Spurgeon)

B. David wins back what was lost - and more.

1. (7-8) David inquires of the LORD.

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."

a. In 1 Samuel 30:6, David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Now, it was time to do something with that strength from the LORD. First, David uses that strength when he inquired of the LORD.

b. Of all the time David spent among the Philistines, this is the first time we read of him seeking God in any way. During his time of compromise and backsliding, David simply didn't inquire of the LORD in this way.

i. "Some other times, when he should, he called not for it; but proceeded only upon his own head. Now being in this great distress, though very desirous to pursue his enemies, and recover his wives, he would not go without the God's approbation and direction. We are usually best when at worst." (Trapp <Trapp.htm>)

c. How did David inquire of the LORD? He did it the way God said to inquire of Him; David sought God with the help of the priest, almost certainly using the Urim and Thummim that were part of the priest's ephod. An ephod was a special apron that priests would wear, to cover over their clothing, so the sacrificial blood and gore would splash on the ephod, not so much on their clothing.

i. It is likely that this wasn't just any ephod; this was the ephod of the High Priest, which had the breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28:15) attached to it (Exodus 28:28). The breastplate had in it a pouch with two stones, known as the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30). When David inquired of the LORD, he probably asked Abiathar to use the Urim and Thummim.

ii. How did the priest use the Urim and Thummim to inquire of the LORD? The names Urim and Thummim mean "Lights and Perfections." We aren't sure what they were or how they were used. Most think they were a pair of stones, one light and another dark, and each stone indicated a "yes" or "no" from God. The idea is that High Priest would ask God a question that could be answered with a "yes" or a "no," reach into the breastplate, and pull out the stone indicating God's answer.

iii. We don't have the Urim and Thummim today; and even if they were discovered in a miracle of archaeology, God would no more bless their use today than He would bless a re-establishment of the Old Testament priesthood. The day for the Old Testament priesthood is past for us today, being perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But in David's day it was commanded of the LORD. The key to the effectiveness of the Urim and Thummim was that God's Word gave them. In seeking God through the Urim and Thummim, David was really going back to God's Word for guidance, because it was the word of God that commanded their place and allowed their use. Today, if we have the same focus on God's Word, He will guide us also.

d. What did David ask the LORD? David asked, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? At one time, David would not have bothered to even ask these questions. He would have simply done it, because when a soldier is attacked, he attacks back. But in returning from his backsliding, David brings everything to the LORD. Nothing is done just because it was done before. He asks God about everything.

e. What did God answer David? Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all. God first gave David something to do (pursue). Then, God gave David a promise in the doing (you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all). When God gives us something to do, He also gives us a promise in the doing.

2. (9-10) David pursues the Amalekites who conquered Ziklag.

So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.

a. So David went: God told David to go and pursue them, and David did exactly that. Obedience to the LORD is often that simple.

i. What is the use of calling Jesus "Lord" if we will not do what He tells us to do? Is there a single thing you have done, or a single thing you have not done, for the simple reason that Jesus told you to do it or not do it?

b. He and the six hundred men who were with him: David's men were almost at a place of mutiny against him (the people spoke of stoning him, 1 Samuel 30:6). But now, since he strengthened himself in the LORD his God (1 Samuel 30:6), and since he inquired of the LORD (1 Samuel 30:8), and since he did what God told him to do, his men are totally back on his side.

i. When it says, David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, it implies that David said, "Men, I'm going. I have a promise from God for victory, and I'm going to believe it. It doesn't matter if you come with me or not, because God is on my side, and I have to beat all the Amalekites all by myself, God's promise will not fail." But such faith in God stirred the hearts of the six hundred men, and they couldn't stand by and not follow David.

ii. What a sight it must have been! David and the six hundred men on the march again, this time not hoping to fight for the Philistines, or for themselves, but off again on a mission from God. There wasn't an army on earth that could beat David and his six hundred men when they walked in God's will.

c. For two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor: This might have been tremendously discouraging to David. As he pursues a significantly larger Amalekite army, he finds that one-third of his men can't continue. But David doesn't let this trial stop him. He sets the one-third to work guarding the supplies, lightening the load of the 400 who continue, and he sets out again, full of faith.

i. "But mark this, he was not delivered without further trial . . . Many a leader would have given up the chase with one out of three of his troop in hospital, but David pursued with his reduced force. When God means to bless us, he often takes away a part of the little strength we thought we had. We did not think our strength equal to the task, and the Lord takes away a portion even of the little power we had. Our God does not fill till he has emptied. Two hundred men must be rent away from David's side before God could give him victory . . . Expect then, O troubled one, that you will be delivered, but know that your sorrow may yet deepen, that you may have all the greater joy by-and-by." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

3. (11-15) David and his men befriend a helpless Egyptian.

Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire." And David said to him, "Can you take me down to this troop?" So he said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop."

a. Then they found an Egyptian in the field: As David and the 600 men pursue the Amalekites, they come across a man collapsed in the wilderness. It would have been easy, and perhaps logical, to ignore this man because they had a "much greater" mission in pursing the Amalekites. But David and his men show unexpected kindness to this man, and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.

i. The Egyptian was near death; he had eaten no bread nor drunk any water for three days and three nights. It would have been easy to ignore him, and pass him by. They could have said, "Look, this is a very sad case but this man is near death anyway. We can't do much to save him, so let's be on our way." They could have said, "We are on a mission from God and nothing can get in our way, so let's be on our way." But David and his men refused these excuses, and showed an unexpected kindness to this man. This shows that David was really walking in the heart of God.

ii. The fact that this was unexpected care and kindness is significant. We may all pat ourselves on the back for showing expected love to others, but what great praise is that? Jesus' question in the Sermon on the Mount rings true: What do you do more than others? (Matthew 5:47)

b. Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" David - the leader of these 600 men, and anointed to be the next king of Israel - didn't have to take a caring interest in this man, but he did. David did what some would have thought was a waste of time: he showed simple care and kindness to a nobody. They didn't just give this Egyptian food and water, they gave him care and kindness.

i. Spurgeon has a wonderful sermon on David's question to the Egyptian, "To whom do you belong?" (A Searching Question). In one section, he helps his listeners discover to whom they really belong by asking these questions: 1. Where were you born? 2. What company do you keep? 3. What is your dialect? 4. What have you learned to do? 5. What do the angels see you do?

c. I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite . . . we burned Ziklag with fire: In showing unexpected kindness to this Egyptian, God shows David unexpected blessing. Since he knew where they came from, he knew where they would return, and he promised to guide David and his men there.

i. "The emphatic 'we' at the beginning of v. 14 suggests that the slave participated personally in the Amalekites' raids." (Youngblood <ebc.htm>)

d. The southern area of the Cherethites: "Ketrthi, which, without the points, might be read Creti, were not only at this time Philistines, but that they were aborigines of Crete, from which they had their name Cherethites or Cretans, and are those of whom Zephaniah speaks, chapter 2:5: Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: 'I will destroy you; So there shall be no inhabitant.' And Ezekiel, chapter 25:16: Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.' In 2 Samuel 15:18 we find that the Cherethites formed a part of David's guards." (Clarke <Clarke.htm>)

4. (16-20) David routs and spoils the Amalekites, winning back everything that was taken.

And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all. Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil."

a. Catching the Amalekites in the midst of their victory celebration, David and his men attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. How surprised the Amalekites must have been! They figured that all the Philistine and Israelite armies were far to the north, preparing to fight each other. They weren't expecting this army that was neither Philistine, nor among the Israelite army.

i. Twilight is probably a bad translation here, and it should be from dawn until evening of the next day. "The Hebrew word nesep, translated 'dawn' in Job 7:4 and Psalm 119:147, has this sense here . . . Having noted the situation, David and his men took some rest and attacked at first light, when the Amalekites would be suffering from the soporific effects of the feast, and least able to defend themselves." (Baldwin <Baldwin.htm>)

ii. It was wise to attack the Amalekites when they were hung over from the party the night before. "Whom they found it no hard matter to stab with the sword, who were cup-shot before." (Trapp <Trapp.htm>)

b. David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: Everything that the enemy had taken, David took back. God gave him a complete victory, because David strengthened himself in the LORD his God (1 Samuel 30:6), David inquired of the LORD (1 Samuel 30:8), David did what God told him to do, and David showed unexpected care and kindness to others.

i. God's promise was proved true. When David inquired of the LORD, God promised You shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all (1 Samuel 30:8). The promise was fulfilled exactly, but it wasn't fulfilled as David sat back passively and said, "All right God, now You can do it." The LORD fulfilled His promise, but He used David's actions to fulfill the promise. God's promise didn't exclude David's cooperation, the promise invited his cooperation.

ii. "Many who get into trouble seem to expect an angel to come and lift them up by the hair of their heads; but angels have other matters in hand. The Lord generally helps us by enabling us to help ourselves, and it is a way which does us double good. It was more for David's benefit that he should himself smite the Amalekites than that God should hurl hailstones out of heaven upon them, and destroy them. David will have their spoil for the wage of battle, and be rewarded for the forced march and the fight. Brother, you will have to work and labor to extricate yourself from debt and difficulty, and so the Lord will hear your prayer. The rule is to trust in God to smite the Amalekites, and then to march after them, as if it all depended upon yourself." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

iii. "How truly it can be said that the greater Son of David has recovered all. All that was lost by sin, our glorious and victorious Captain has recovered. What then shall be his spoil? It was foretold that 'He shall divide the spoil with the strong.' Let your hearts and mine, and all we are, and all we have, be yielded up to him, and let us say of it all, 'This is Jesu's spoil, and to him be glory evermore!'" (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

c. This is David's spoil: God gave David even more than what was promised. He received spoil from the battle, beyond what had been taken from Ziklag. This was blessing straight from the grace of God.

i. "Now, in the great battle of Christ on our behalf, He has not only given us back what we lost, but He has given us what Adam in his perfection never had. And I want you to dwell upon that, because this part of it is peculiarly our Lord's spoil. Those good things which we now possess, over and above what we lost by sin, come to us by the Lord Jesus. Now that the Son of God has come into the field, He is not content with restoration, He turns the loss into a gain, the fall into a greater rising." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

ii. We should come to Jesus, and by our free will give Him everything we have, everything we are. We give our lives to Him and say, "This is Jesus' spoil." We give our gifts and abilities to Him and say, "This is Jesus' spoil." We give our possessions to Him and say, "This is Jesus' spoil." We give our praise to Him and say, "This is Jesus' spoil." We give our time to Him and say, "This is Jesus' spoil."

iii. Some wonder why David was allowed to keep the spoil of the Amalekites when Saul was expressly commanded to not keep any spoil from that nation (1 Samuel 15:1-3), and was judged by God for not obeying that command (1 Samuel 15:13-23). The answers are simple: First, David had no specific command from God to destroy all the spoil from the Amalekites, as Saul did. Second, David was recovering what the Amalekites had taken from others, though he recovered far beyond what was taken from his city. Third, David was not acting as the king of Israel, representing the LORD's nation, as Saul was. So in this case, simply put, the rules were different for David.

C. The spoil from the battle is divided.

1. (21-25) The spoils are distributed equally among those who fought and those who supported.

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, he 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, that they may lead them away and depart." But David said, "My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD 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.

a. Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary they could not follow David: Apparently, when David was in swift pursuit of the Amalekites, 200 men among his company could not continue on. So they made a camp where they were, and lightened the supply load from the soldiers who would continue. Now, David returns to the two hundred men who stayed by the supply camp.

b. Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said: When David returned, these men of the supply camp saw their own possessions among the spoils of battle, and they wanted them back. The wicked and worthless men (apparently, there were some among David's men) protested, and said they could only have back every man's wife and children, but none of their possessions.

c. My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD has given us . . . 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. David declares an important principle: the supply lines are just as vital as the soldiers are and God will reward both "soldiers" and "supporters" properly.

i. Many people serve the LORD in invisible, behind-the-scenes ways, often supporting a much more visible aspect of the LORD's work. God will support the hidden servant with the same reward as prominent servant.

ii. The wicked and worthless men looked at the spoil and said, "We fought for this spoil and it is ours." David looked at the spoil and said, "Look at what the LORD has given us." When you looked at it that way, how could you not share? When the LORD had given David such a great victory, he really saw it as the LORD's victory more than his own.

d. This principle was so important that it was declared to be a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. The principle should be declared and believed among God's people today.

i. There is encouragement for the weary here. "You Little-Faiths, you Despondencies, you Much-Afraids, you Feeble-Minds, you that sigh more than you sing, you that would but cannot, you that have a great heart for holiness, but feel beaten back in your struggles, the Lord shall give you his love, his grace, his favor, as surely as he gives it to those who can do great things in his name." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

ii. Poole on why those who stayed back were worthy of a portion of the spoil: "The reason of it is manifest, because they were exposed to hazards as well as their brethren, and were a reserve to whom they might retreat in case of a defeat; and they were now in actual service, and in the station in which their general had placed them."

2. (26-31) David mends strained relationships.

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 the LORD"; to those who were in Bethel, those who were in Ramoth of the South, those who were in Jattir, those who were in Aroer, those who were in Siphmoth, those who were in Eshtemoa, those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the Kenites, those who were in Hormah, those who were in Chorashan, those who were in Athach, those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to rove.

a. When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends: David knew that his time among the Philistines had strained his relationships with God's people. Now he knows he must do whatever he can to put things right again, so he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah.

i. "David became rich and able to send presents to his friends; but he was also the better man, the holier man, the stronger man, the more fit to wear that crown which was so soon to adorn his brow. Oh, brothers and sisters, the deeper your trouble the louder will be your song, if you can but trust in God and walk in fellowship with Jesus." (Spurgeon <Spurgeon.htm>)

b. This is the final step in David's getting things right after his time of backsliding among the Philistines.

· David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

· David inquired of the LORD.

· David believed God's promise.

· David did what God told him to do.

· David showed unexpected care and kindness to others.

· David saw it as the LORD's victory.

· David shared the reward with others.

· David did what he could to mend relationships.

i. Baldwin says well, "David's genius was his spiritual resilience. He expected to find the resources he needed in the Lord his God, and he was not disappointed."

c. Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD: David sent spoil from the battle to more than 13 cities. Obviously, there was spoil to spare from the battle. In this, David is a picture of his greater Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus triumphed on the cross, He won the greatest battle, and He had "spoil to share." He shared the spoil with His people, as it says in Ephesians 4:7-8: But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." Jesus has spoil from His victory to give you!

d. David is a remarkable picture of Jesus in this chapter. Note these five points of association:

· We are like David's men, David is like Jesus.

· We are like the weary ones left behind, David is like Jesus.

· We are like the Egyptian slave, David is like Jesus.

· We are like the spoil David recovered, David is like Jesus.

· We are like the elders of Judah, and David is like Jesus.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF SAMUEL. The two were, by the ancient Jews, conjoined so as to make one book, and in that form could be called the Book of Samuel with more propriety than now, the second being wholly occupied with the relation of transactions that did not take place till after the death of that eminent judge. Accordingly, in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, it is called the First and Second Books of Kings. The early portion of the First Book, down to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, was probably written by Samuel; while the rest of it and the whole of the Second, are commonly ascribed to Nathan and Gad, founding the opinion on 1Ch 29:29. Commentators, however, are divided about this, some supposing that the statements in 1Sa 2:26; 1Sa 3:1, indicate the hand of the judge himself, or a contemporary; while some think, from 1Sa 6:18; 1Sa 12:5; 1Sa 27:6, that its composition must be referred to a later age. It is probable, however, that these supposed marks of an after-period were interpolations of Ezra. This uncertainty, however, as to the authorship does not affect the inspired authority of the book, which is indisputable, being quoted in the New Testament (1Sa 13:14 in Act 13:22, and 2Sa 7:14 in Heb 1:5), as well as in many of the Psalms.

JFB: 1 Samuel (Outline)

• OF ELKANAH AND HIS TWO WIVES. (1Sa 1:1-8)
• HANNAH'S PRAYER. (1Sa 1:9-18)
• SAMUEL BORN. (1Sa 1:20)
• HANNAH'S SONG IN THANKFULNESS TO GOD. (1Sa 2:1-11)
• THE SIN OF ELI'S SONS. (1Sa 2:12-17)
• SAMUEL'S MINISTRY. (1Sa 2:18-26)
• A PROPHECY AGAINST ELI'S HOUSE. (1Sa 2:27-35)
• THE LORD APPEARS TO SAMUEL IN A VISION. (1Sa 3:1-10)
• ISRAEL OVERCOME BY THE PHILISTINES. (1Sa 4:1-11)
• ELI HEARING THE TIDINGS. (1Sa 4:12-22)
• THE PHILISTINES BRING THE ARK INTO THE HOUSE OF DAGON. (1Sa 5:1-2)
• DAGON FALLS DOWN. (1Sa 5:3-5)
• THE PHILISTINES ARE SMITTEN WITH EMERODS. (1Sa 5:6-12)
• THE PHILISTINES COUNSEL HOW TO SEND BACK THE ARK. (1Sa 6:1-9)
• THE ARK AT KIRJATH-JEARIM. (1Sa 7:1-2)
• THE ISRAELITES, THROUGH SAMUEL'S INFLUENCE, SOLEMNLY REPENT AT MIZPEH. (1Sa 7:3-6)
• WHILE SAMUEL PRAYS, THE PHILISTINES ARE DISCOMFITED. (1Sa 7:7-14)
• OCCASIONED BY THE ILL-GOVERNMENT OF SAMUEL'S SONS, THE ISRAELITES ASK A KING. (1Sa. 8:1-18)
• SAUL, DESPAIRING TO FIND HIS FATHER'S ASSES, COMES TO SAMUEL. (1Sa 9:1-14)
• GOD REVEALS TO SAMUEL SAUL'S COMING, AND HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE KINGDOM. (1Sa 9:15-27)
• SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL, AND CONFIRMS HIM BY THE PREDICTION OF THREE SIGNS. (1Sa. 10:1-27)
• NAHASH OFFERS THEM OF JABESH-GILEAD A REPROACHFUL CONDITION. (1Sa 11:1-4)
• THEY SEND TO SAUL, AND ARE DELIVERED. (1Sa 11:5-11)
• SAUL CONFIRMED KING. (1Sa 11:12-15)
• SAMUEL TESTIFIES HIS INTEGRITY. (1Sa 12:1-5)
• HE TERRIFIES THEM WITH THUNDER IN HARVEST-TIME. (1Sa 12:17-25)
• SAUL'S SELECTED BAND. (1Sa 13:1-2)
• HE CALLS THE HEBREWS TO GILGAL AGAINST THE PHILISTINES. (1Sa 13:3-4)
• THE PHILISTINES' GREAT HOST. (1Sa 13:5)
• THE ISRAELITES' DISTRESS. (1Sa 13:6-8)
• SAUL, WEARY OF WAITING FOR SAMUEL, SACRIFICES. (1Sa 13:9-16)
• JONATHAN MIRACULOUSLY SMITES THE PHILISTINES' GARRISON. (1Sa 14:1-14)
• SAUL SENT TO DESTROY AMALEK. (1Sa 15:1-6)
• HE SPARES AGAG AND THE BEST OF THE SPOIL. (1Sa 15:7-9)
• GOD REJECTS HIS FOR DISOBEDIENCE. (1Sa 15:10-11)
• SAMUEL SENT BY GOD TO BETHLEHEM. (1Sa 16:1-10)
• HE ANOINTS DAVID. (1Sa 16:11-14)
• THE ISRAELITES AND PHILISTINES BEING READY TO BATTLE. (1Sa 17:1-3)
• GOLIATH CHALLENGES A COMBAT. (1Sa 17:4-11)
• DAVID ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE, AND SLAYS HIM. (1Sa. 17:12-58)
• JONATHAN LOVES DAVID. (1Sa 18:1-4)
• SAUL ENVIES HIS PRAISE. (1Sa 18:5-9)
• SEEKS TO KILL HIM. (1Sa 18:10-12)
• FEARS HIM FOR HIS GOOD SUCCESS. (1Sa 18:13-16)
• HE OFFERS HIM HIS DAUGHTER FOR A SNARE. (1Sa 18:17-21)
• JONATHAN DISCLOSES HIS FATHER'S PURPOSE TO KILL DAVID. (1Sa 19:1-7)
• SAUL'S MALICIOUS RAGE BREAKS OUT AGAINST DAVID. (1Sa 19:8-17)
• DAVID FLEES TO SAMUEL. (1Sa 19:18-23)
• SAUL PROPHESIES. (1Sa 19:24)
• DAVID CONSULTS WITH JONATHAN FOR HIS SAFETY. (1Sa 20:1-10)
• THEIR COVENANT RENEWED BY OATH. (1Sa 20:11-23)
• SAUL, MISSING DAVID, SEEKS TO KILL JONAHAN. (1Sa. 20:24-40)
• JONATHAN AND DAVID LOVINGLY PART. (1Sa 20:41-42)
• DAVID, AT NOB, OBTAINS OF AHIMELECH HALLOWED BREAD. (1Sa 21:1-7)
• HE TAKES GOLIATH'S SWORD. (1Sa 21:9)
• AT GATH HE FEIGNS HIMSELF MAD. (1Sa 21:10-15)
• DAVID'S KINDRED AND OTHERS RESORT TO HIM AT ADULLAM. (1Sa 22:1-8)
• DOEG ACCUSES AHIMELECH. (1Sa 22:9-16)
• SAUL COMMANDS TO KILL THE PRIESTS. (1Sa 22:17-19)
• ABIATHAR ESCAPES AND FLEES AFTER DAVID. (1Sa 22:20-23)
• DAVID RESCUES KEILAH. (1Sa 23:1-6)
• SAUL'S COMING, AND TREACHERY OF THE KEILITES. (1Sa 23:7-13)
• DAVID ESCAPES TO ZIPH. (1Sa 23:14-18)
• SAUL PURSUES HIM. (1Sa 23:19-29)
• DAVID IN A CAVE AT ENGEDI CUTS OFF SAUL'S SKIRT, BUT SPARES HIS LIFE. (1Sa 24:1-7)
• HE URGES THEREBY HIS INNOCENCY. (1Sa 24:8-15)
• SAMUEL DIES. (1Sa 25:1-9)
• THE CHURLISH ANSWER PROVOKES HIM. (1Sa 25:10-13)
• ABIGAIL PACIFIES HIM. (1Sa. 25:14-35)
• NABAL'S DEATH. (1Sa 25:36-44)
• SAUL COMES TO THE HILL OF HACHILAH AGAINST DAVID. (1Sa 26:1-4)
• DAVID STAYS ABISHAI FROM KILLING SAUL, BUT TAKES HIS SPEAR AND CRUSE. (1Sa. 26:5-25)
• SAUL HEARING THAT DAVID WAS FLED TO GATH, SEEKS NO MORE FOR HIM. (1Sa 27:1-4)
• DAVID BEGS ZIKLAG OF ACHISH. (1Sa 27:5-12)
• ACHISH'S CONFIDENCE IN DAVID. (1Sa 28:1-6)
• SAUL SEEKS A WITCH, WHO, BEING ENCOURAGED BY HIM, RAISES UP SAMUEL. (1Sa. 28:7-25)
• DAVID MARCHING WITH THE PHILISTINES TO FIGHT WITH ISRAEL. (1Sa 29:1-5)
• THE AMALEKITES SPOIL ZIKLAG. (1Sa 30:1-5)
• BUT DAVID, ENCOURAGED BY GOD, PURSUES THEM. (1Sa 30:6-15)
• AND RECOVERS HIS TWO WIVES AND ALL THE SPOIL. (1Sa. 30:16-31)
• SAUL HAVING LOST HIS ARMY AT GILBOA, AND HIS SONS BEING SLAIN, HE AND HIS ARMOR-BEARER KILL THEMSELVES. (1Sa 31:1-7)
• THE PHILISTINES TRIUMPH OVER THEIR DEAD BODIES. (1Sa 31:8-10)
• THE MEN OF JABESH-GILEAD RECOVER THE BODIES AND BURY THEM AT JABESH. (1Sa 31:11-13)

TSK: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

The First Book of SAMUEL, otherwise called " The First Book of the KINGS."

TSK: 1 Samuel 30 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Sa 30:1, The Amalekites spoil Ziklag; 1Sa 30:4, David asking counsel, is encouraged by God to pursue them; 1Sa 30:11, By the means of a revived Egyptian he is brought to the enemies, and recovers all the spoil; 1Sa 30:22, David’s law to divide the spoil equally between them that fight and them that keep the stuff; 1Sa 30:26, He sends presents to his friends.

Poole: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL OTHERWISE CALLED

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS.

THE ARGUMENT.

IT is not certainly known who was the penman of this Book, or whether it was written by one or more hands; nor is it or any great importance; for since there are sufficient evidences that God was the chief author of it, it matters not who was the instrument. As when it appears that such a thing was really an act of parliament, or of the council-table, it is not considerable who was the clerk or which was the pen that wrote it. And this is the less material in such historical hooks, wherein there is but little which concerns the foundation of faith and good life, and therefore it was not necessary to name the writer of them. It may abundantly suffice that there were in these times divers prophets and holy men of God; as Samuel, and Nathan, and Gad, and David himself, who might each of them write some part of this and the following book. But if any man will out of perverseness doubt or deny that these wrote it, yet this I suppose no discreet and impartial man will deny, that it is wholly incredible that such books should be written in their times, and recommended to the church as a part of the Holy Scriptures, and so received by the succeeding generation, without their approbation, who had so great a power and authority in the church and commonwealth of Israel.

Poole: 1 Samuel 30 (Chapter Introduction)

SAMUEL CHAPTER 30

The Amalekites in David’ s absence spoil Ziklag, and carry away the people and his two wives captives, 1Sa 30:1-6 . David asking counsel is encouraged by God to pursue them, 1Sa 30:7-10 . By the means of an Egyptian, who was left behind, he is brought to the enemies, and recovereth all the spoil, and spoileth them, 1Sa 30:11-20 ; makes an order for the dividing the prey, 1Sa 30:21-25 ; sendeth presents to his friends, 1Sa 30:26-31 .

MHCC: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

In this book we have an account of Eli, and the wickedness of his sons; also of Samuel, his character and actions. Then of the advancement of Saul to be the king of Israel, and his ill behaviour, until his death made way for David's succession to the throne, who was an eminent type of Christ. David's patience, modesty, constancy, persecution by open enemies and feigned friends, are a pattern and example to the church, and to every member of it. Many things in this book encourage the faith, hope, and patience of the suffering believer. It contains also many useful cautions and awful warnings.

MHCC: 1 Samuel 30 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Sa 30:1-6) Ziklag spoiled by the Amalekites.

(1Sa 30:7-15) David overtakes the Amalekites.

(1Sa 30:16-20) He recovers what had been lost.

(1Sa 30:21-31) David's distribution of the spoil.

Matthew Henry: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Samuel

This book, and that which follows it, bear the name of Samuel in the title, not because he was the penman of them (except of so much of them as fell within his own time, to the twenty-fifth chapter of the first book, in which we have an account of his death), but because the first book begins with a large account of him, his birth and childhood, his life and government; and the rest of these two volumes that are denominated from him contains the history of the reigns of Saul and David, who were both anointed by him. And, because the history of these two kings takes up the greatest part of these books, the Vulgar latin calls them the First and Second Books of the Kings, and the two that follow the Third and Fourth, which the titles in our English Bibles take notice of with an alias: otherwise called the First Book of the Kings, etc. The Septuagint calls them the first and second Book of the Kingdoms. It is needless to contend about it, but there is no occasion to vary from the Hebrew verity. These two books contain the history of the last two of the judges, Eli and Samuel, who were not, as the rest, men of war, but priests (and so much of them is an appendix to the book of Judges), and of the first two of the kings, Saul and David, and so much of them is an entrance upon the history of the kings. They contain a considerable part of the sacred history, are sometimes referred to in the New Testament, and often in the titles of David's Psalms, which, if placed in their order, would fall in these books. It is uncertain who was the penman of them; it is probable that Samuel wrote the history of his own time, and that, after him, some of the prophets that were with David (Nathan as likely as any) continued it. This first book gives us a full account of Eli's fall and Samuel's rise and good government, ch. 1-8. Of Samuel's resignation of the government and Saul's advancement and mal-administration, ch. 9-15. The choice of David, his struggles with Saul, Saul's ruin at last, and the opening of the way for David to the throne, ch. 16-31. And these things are written for our learning.

Matthew Henry: 1 Samuel 30 (Chapter Introduction)

When David was dismissed from the army of the Philistines he did not go over to the camp of Israel, but, being expelled by Saul, observed an exact neutrality, and silently retired to his own city Ziklag, leaving the armies ready to engage. Now here we are told, I. What a melancholy posture he found the city in, all laid waste by the Amalekites, and what distress it occasioned him and his men (1Sa 30:1-6). II. What course he took to recover what he had lost. He enquired of God, and took out a commission from him (1Sa 30:7, 1Sa 30:8), pursued the enemy (1Sa 30:9, 1Sa 30:10), gained intelligence from a straggler (1Sa 30:11-15), attacked and routed the plunderers (1Sa 30:16, 1Sa 30:17), and recovered all that they had carried off (1Sa 30:18-20). III. What method he observed in the distribution of the spoil (1Sa 30:21-31).

Constable: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

First and Second Samuel were originally one book called the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (made ca. 250 B.C.) was the first to divide it into two books. The Septuagint translators titled these books 1 and 2 Kingdoms. That division has persisted ever since and has even been incorporated into subsequent editions of the Hebrew Bible (since A.D. 1517). The title "Samuel" was given by Jerome in his Latin translation, the Vulgate (ca. A.D. 400).

The Jews gave the name "Samuel" to it because Samuel is the first major character in the book. Samuel anointed both Saul and David, so in this respect he was superior to them both.

Date and Writer

Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) and some of it even after the division of the kingdom following Solomon's death (e.g., 1 Sam. 27:6). These features have made it difficult to date the book.

"Our guess is that the author was a high state official in frequent attendance at the court, enjoying the full confidence of David and his household, who served David throughout his reign in Jerusalem and also Solomon during the early years of his reign, and whose duties may have been connected with literary work."¹

Most conservative scholars prefer the view that Samuel may have written or been responsible for noting the record of earlier events in the book (chs. 1-24). Then some unidentifiable writer put it in its final form later, perhaps soon after Solomon's death.

Rationalistic critics of the book tend to believe it was the result of much more piecing together, and some of them date its final form as late as 500 B.C.²

Scope

The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.³ David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11; 5:5). This means he came to power in 1011 B.C. Saul also reigned for 40 years (Acts 13:21) so he became king in 1051 B.C. We can estimate the date of Samuel's birth fairly certainly on the basis of chronological references in the text to have been about 1121 B.C.⁴ Thus the Book of Samuel covers about 1121-971 B.C., or about 150 years of history.

We should note that the first part of 1 Samuel overlaps historically with the end of the judges period that we find in the Book of Judges. Apparently Samson was born just a few years before Samuel. Samson's 20-year judgeship evidently began shortly before the battle of Aphek (1104 B.C.) at which time Eli died (1 Sam. 4:18). It ended not many years before the battle of Mizpah (1084 B.C.) when the Philistine domination of Israel ceased temporarily (1 Sam. 7:13). Samuel's ministry therefore probably ran concurrent with that of Samson until Samson died. Saul began to reign about 35 years after Samson died (i.e., 1051 B.C.). Samuel evidently lived about 30 years after that.⁵

Old Testament History
Events	Biblical References
Creation to Israel's move to Egypt	Genesis 1-50
The Exodus	Exodus 1-18
Israel at Mt. Sinai	Exodus 19--Numbers 10
The Wilderness Wanderings	Numbers 11-21
Israel on the Plains of Moab	Numbers 22--Joshua 2
The Conquest and Division of Canaan	Joshua 3-24
The Amphictyony	-Judges 1-1 Samuel 7
The Reign of Saul	1 Samuel 8-31; 1 Chronicles 10
The Reign of David	2 Samuel 1-24; 1 Chronicles 11-29
The Reign of Solomon	1 Kings 1-11; 2 Chronicles 1-9
The Divided Monarchy	-1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 10-31
The Surviving Kingdom of Judah	2 Kings 18-25; 2 Chronicles 32-36
The Return under Zerubbabel	Ezra 1-6
The Return under Ezra	Ezra 7-10
The Return under Nehemiah	Nehemiah 1-13

Message⁶

First and 2 Samuel are really one story. The translators divided them into two books for convenience, not because of subject matter.

First Samuel records Israel's transition from amphictyony to monarchy.

The key passage that explains this transition is 8:4-7. Two statements from this passage are especially significant.

The human desire that produced the transition expressed itself in verse 5: "Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." God had brought Israel into existence as a nation to be unlike all the nations (Exod. 19:5-6). The essence of its uniqueness was Yahweh's rule over it as King. God wanted Israel to be a demonstration for all the world to see how glorious it can be to live under the authority of God.

The real meaning of the people's request comes out in verse 7: ". . . they have rejected me from being king over them." During the period of the judges, religious apostasy spread and characterized Israel. The people refused to obey their King. It is this attitude that finds expression in verse 5. The people wanted to substitute the false for the true. This is the essence of sin, and it results in idolatry. Every idol is a witness to man's need of God. When people reject the true God they must put something in His place to meet that need. Human beings must have a god.

Israel turned from God as her King in 1 Samuel. She desired a king like the other nations. This book shows the immediate effects of that desire.

One of the great revelations of 1 Samuel is how from the human viewpoint God adapts to continue His reign.

This statement appears to contradict 8:7, but it does not. The people rejected Yahweh, but they did not dethrone Him. The first act is possible, the second is not. This is a major lesson of 1 Samuel. The great revelation of this book is not primarily its three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David. It is Yahweh reigning by adapting to human situations and moving surely and steadily toward the fulfillment of His purposes. In spite of disobedience or obedience, failure or success, rebellious or loyal people, the reign of God moves on. We see this great lesson in the history of 1 Samuel's three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David.

The writer introduced Samuel's story with his mother Hannah's experience with God. Hannah was a great woman of faith who lived in the judges period. Her faith became God's foothold for advance. Her song reveals a profound appreciation for Yahweh as the God who reigns over all (2:6-8, 10). The similarities between this prayer and Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1 are interesting and noteworthy.

Samuel was a prophet. In one sense he was the first of the prophets (Acts 3:24). Of course, Moses was a prophet and so was Abraham, but Samuel was the first of the order of prophets who mediated between God and the Israelites during the monarchy. The kings of Israel and Judah were never mediators between God and the people in the sense of speaking for God to the people. When the Israelites rejected Yahweh as their king, He withdrew from close communion and intimate fellowship with them. He never recognized their kings as standing between Himself and them to mediate His Word to the people. He chose their kings for them. He allowed their desire for a human king to work itself out in ultimate disaster through the centuries that followed. Yet He never spoke to the people through the king. He always spoke to them through the prophets. Samuel was the first of these. David, of course, was a king and a prophet. The role of the kings was to govern the people. The role of the prophets was to reveal God's will to them.

With Samuel the office of prophet in Israel emerges as that of Yahweh's authoritative representative to His people. Samuel became the king-maker finding and anointing both Saul and David. >From now on when God had a message for the people it normally did not come directly to the king but to the king and the people through the prophet. The prophet's office was always superior to that of Israel's kings. (You have the privilege of speaking for God to your generation. You have a high calling similar to that of Israel's prophets.) When Israel rejected Yahweh as her king, God chose Samuel, the child of a woman's simple faith, trained him in the tabernacle, and called him when he was only a boy. Then He gave him a message to deliver and sent him to anoint Saul as the king after the people's own heart, and David as the king after God's own heart. The prophets became God's mediators, His messengers, and the interpreters of His law. Thus Yahweh reigned though He adapted His methods of ruling by raising up the prophets. He called Samuel as the first of these mediators. During the monarchy God provided guidance through two offices rather than through one as He had done previously. The kings provided political leadership, and the prophets gave the people spiritual leadership. God had previously provided both types of leadership through single individuals namely Moses, Joshua, and the judges.

Saul's story is one of the most tragic in Scripture. It is unusually fascinating and has tremendous power in its appeal to our lives. When God placed Saul on Israel's throne He answered the prayer of His rebellious people in 8:5. God "gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them" (Ps. 106:15; NASB).

Saul was a revelation to the Israelites of what the possession of "a king like the nations" really meant. He had unusual physical strength, but he was fitful and he failed the people. He had mental acumen, but he was moody and eventually turned into a madman. He was sluggish and dull spiritually lacking in spiritual insight and power, and eventually he abandoned Yahweh for a witch.

His reign was also a disaster. At the beginning of his reign, Israel was virtually without a leader. At its end it was under the control of an enemy neighbor. Saul was never able to expand the borders of Israel because he never was strong enough to dominate his enemy neighbors. David on the other hand did both of these things. At the end of Saul's reign, Israel had almost destroyed itself through its wars with the Philistines.

David's story is one of the most glorious in Scripture. After Saul, God gave His people another king, but this time he was a man after God's own heart.

God prepared David for the throne by putting him through training as a shepherd in the fields, a courtier in the palace, and an "outlaw" in exile. (By "outlaw" I do not mean David was lawless but that he lived outside Saul's control.) His shepherd training prepared him to care for and protect the Israelites under his charge. His courtier experience prepared him to deal with high governmental leaders. His "outlaw" years perfected the disciplines that enabled him to become a strong ruler. These disciplines included relying on God in every situation, practicing self-restraint, and leading his people.

In all David's training God was reigning, moving forward to the fulfillment of His plans and purposes. God had previously done this by making the child of faith, Samuel, His prophet. He had also done this by making outwardly promising Saul a revelation to the nation of her sins in turning away from God.

The second great revelation of this book is that people cooperate with God by either being loyal or by being disloyal to Him.

In Samuel's case he had opportunity to glorify God because of his parentage, his call by God, and his appointment as God's prophet. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently God's messages got delivered, and God's work moved ahead. Samuel was an instrument of blessing.

In Saul's case he had opportunity to glorify God too. His opportunity came in his call by God, his anointing by Samuel, his friendship with Samuel, his popularity with the people, and his personal abilities. He responded disobediently, with disloyalty to God as seen in his vacillating and self-will. Consequently he failed as a king, and he died under the judgment of God. His life was a failure.

In David's case his opportunities were his call, his anointing, his waiting, and his suffering. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently he became God's instrument of progress and blessing. He was a success.

Each man had his opportunity, made his response, and experienced the consequences of his response. Two obeyed, one disobeyed. All cooperated with God in fulfilling His ultimate purposes either to his own blessing or to his own blasting.

As a result of these two major revelations I would summarize the message of 1 Samuel as follows. God will accomplish His purposes regardless of man's personal response to Him. However man's response to God's revealed will determines a person's own success or failure in life.

First Samuel teaches us the methods of the sovereign God. All territory is within God's jurisdiction, every person is under His control, and all events are in His hands. All of God's plans and purposes are moving toward accomplishment. He makes use of all antagonistic facts and forces as well as all positive facts and forces. He also makes use of all the agents He has chosen to use regardless of their responses. Paul's comments in 2 Tim. 2:20-21 are very much to the point here.

First Samuel also teaches us that God's ultimate victory is independent of the attitudes and actions of individuals and groups of people (e.g., Israel) toward Him. Nevertheless the ultimate destiny of individuals and groups of people depends on their attitudes and actions toward Him.

Samuel was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. Saul was disobedient, was God's instrument, and experienced destruction. David was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. My attitudes and actions do not determine God's ultimate victory, but they do determine my ultimate destiny. Everything depends on my choices and me regarding my earthly destiny. Nothing depends on me regarding God's ultimate victory. God uses all people, loyal and rebellious, to produce His ultimate purposes. However we determine the outcome of our lives by our attitudes and responses to Him. We see these principles working themselves out around us all the time. Dr. Walvoord is an example of a Samuel or a David in our day. The DTS graduates in prison are examples of the Sauls of our day.

Constable: 1 Samuel (Outline)

Outline

I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3

A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:10

1. Hannah's condition 1:1-8

2. Hannah's vow 1:9-18

3. Hannah's obedience 1:19-28

4. Hannah's song 2:1-10

B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2:11-36

1. Eli's sons' wickedness 2:11-17

2. Hannah's godly influence on Samuel and its effect 2:18-21

3. Eli's lack of influence on his sons and its effect 2:22-26

4. The oracle against Eli's house 2:27-36

C. God's first revelation to Samuel ch. 3

1. Samuel's call 3:1-18

2. Samuel's ministry 3:19-4:1a

II. The history of the ark of the covenant 4:1b-7:1

A. The capture of the ark 4:1b-22

1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11

2. The response of Eli 4:12-18

3. The response of Phinehas' wife 4:19-22

B. Pagan fertility foiled by God ch. 5

C. The ark returned to Israel by God 6:1-7:1

1. The plan to terminate God's judgment 6:1-9

2. The return of the ark to Bethshemesh 6:10-18

3. The removal of the ark to Kiriath-jearim 6:19-7:1

III. Samuel and Saul 7:2-15:35

A. Samuel's ministry as Israel's judge 7:2-17

1. Samuel's spiritual leadership 7:2-4

2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14

3. Samuel's regular ministry 7:15-17

B. Kingship given to Saul chs. 8-12

1. The demand for a king ch. 8

2. The anointing of Saul 9:1-10:16

3. The choice of Saul by lot 10:17-27

4. Saul's effective leadership in battle 11:1-11

5. The confirmation of Saul as king 11:12-12:25

C. Kingship removed from Saul chs. 13-15

1. Saul's disobedience at Gilgal 13:1-15

2. Saul's struggle against the Philistines 13:16-14:23

3. Saul's cursing of Jonathan 14:24-46

4. Saul's limited effectiveness in battle 14:47-52

5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15

IV. Saul and David 1 Sam. 16-31

A. David's rise as the new anointed 16:1-18:5

1. God's selection of David for kingship ch. 16

2. The reason for God's selection of David ch. 17

3. The results of God's selection of David ch. 18:1-19:17

B. David driven out by Saul 19:18-20:42

1. God's deliverance in Ramah 19:18-24

2. Jonathan's advocacy for David ch. 20

C. David in exile chs. 21-31

1. David's initial movements chs. 21-22

2. Saul's pursuit of David ch. 23

3. David's goodness to two fools ch. 24-26

4. The end of Saul's reign 27-31

(Continued in notes on 2 Samuel)

Constable: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL;

otherwise called,

THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the Hebrews, the Books of Samuel, because they contain the history of Samuel, and of the two kings, Saul and David, whom he anointed. They are more commonly named by the Fathers, the First and Second Book of Kings. As to the writer of them, it is the common opinion that Samuel composed the first book, as far as the twenty-fifth chapter; and that the prophets Nathan and Gad finished the first and wrote the second book. See 1 Paralipomenon, alias 1 Chronicles, xxix. 19. (Challoner) --- The authors of the Third and Fourth Books of Kings were also prophets, but we know not exactly their names. These works have nevertheless been always esteemed authentic (Haydock) and canonical. (Worthington) --- Ven. Bede takes occasion to observe, from the Books of Kings (or as the Septuagint read, "of kingdoms;" Haydock) being placed after that of Judges, that the everlasting kingdom of Christ will succeed the general judgment. The translation of the priesthood and of the regal dignity, recorded in these books, denote also that Christ would united both in his own person; as the two wives of Eleana intimated, that both Jews and Gentiles would acknowledge the same Lord. (St. Jerome; St. Augustine; &c.) --- The transactions of Heli, Samuel and Saul, and the persecutions which David sustained from the latter, form the subject of the first book, (Haydock) during the space of 100 years. All the four books carry down the sacred history near 600 years, from the year of the world 2849 till the transmigration of Juda, in the year 3420. (Calmet) (Usher)

Gill: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 SAMUEL

This book, in the Hebrew copies, is commonly called Samuel, or the Book of Samuel; in the Syriac version, the Book of Samuel the Prophet; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Samuel the Prophet, which is the First Book of the Kings; and the Septuagint version, the Book of the Kingdom: it has the name of Samuel, because it contains an history of his life and times; and the Jews say ^a it was written by him; and as it may well enough be thought to be, to the end of the twenty fourth chapter; and the rest might be written by Nathan and Gad, as may he gathered from 1Ch 29:29 as also the following book that bears his name; and both may be called the Books of Kings, because they give an account of the rise of the kings in Israel, and of the two first of them; though some think they were written by Jeremiah, as Abarbinel; and others ascribe them to Ezra: however, there is no doubt to be made of it that this book was written by divine inspiration, when we consider the series of its history, its connection and harmony with other parts of Scripture; the several things borrowed from it, or alluded to in the book of Psalms, particularly what is observed in Psa 113:7, seems to be taken out of 1Sa 2:8, and the sanction which the Lord gives to it, by referring to a fact in it, whereby he stopped the mouths of the Scribes and Pharisees cavilling at his disciples, Mat 12:3, compared with 1Sa 21:3, yea, even, as Huetius ^b observes, some Heathen writers have by their testimonies confirmed some passages in these books, which they seem to have been acquainted with, as Nicolaus of Damascus ^c, and Eupolemus ^d; it contains an history of the government of Eli, and of the birth of Samuel, and his education under him; of the succession of Samuel in it, and the resignation of it to Saul, when he was chosen king; of his administration of his office, and of things done in the time of it, both before and after his rejection, and of the persecution of David by Saul, and is concluded with his death.

Gill: 1 Samuel 30 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 30

This chapter relates the condition Ziklag was in when David and his men came to it, the city burnt, and their families carried captive by the Amalekites, which occasioned not only a general lamentation, but mutiny and murmuring in David's men, 1Sa 30:1; the inquiry David made of the Lord what he should do, who is bid to pursue the enemy; and being directed by a lad where they were, fell upon them, and routed them, and brought back the captives with a great spoil, 1Sa 30:7; the distribution of the spoil, both to those that went with him, and to those who through faintness were left behind, 1Sa 30:21; and the presents of it he sent to several places in the tribe of Judah, who had been kind to him when he dwelt among them, 1Sa 30:26.