fbpx

1 Samuel 30

1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2 and had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. 8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. 20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.

Dividing the Spoil

21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. 22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. 25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; 27 to them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28 and to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, 29 and to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 and to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31 and to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

Verse of the Day


And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:7

Bible Verses for Anxiety

The symptoms of anxiety are pretty clear: sweaty palms, a racing heart, spinning thoughts, and a pit in your stomach. When anxiety strikes, it can make you feel helpless and alone. Thankfully, there are many Bible verses for anxiety that can help you in those stressful moments.
Read More

Spiritual Warfare Prayers

Some Christians are scared of spiritual warfare. But there is no need to be afraid because God has promised to protect and provide for us. So, we can say spiritual warfare prayers with the full assurance that God will help us no matter what we’re up against.
Read More

Prayer of Forgiveness

One of my favorite board games growing up was “Sorry!” For some reason, I really enjoyed knocking someone’s piece off the board and saying, “Sorry!” with a big smile on my face. Unfortunately, in real life, saying sorry and extending forgiveness isn’t as easy (or fun).
Read More

Glory Be Prayer

Many Christians have memorized the Glory Be Prayer. It is a beautiful prayer with an ancient history that packs a powerful message. If you memorized it as a child, it’s time to rediscover it as an adult. 
Read More

Biblically Accurate God

Did you know that the word “God” appears over 4,000 times in the Bible? Clearly, there is a lot to learn about Him! But don’t get overwhelmed by the details and debates because understanding a biblically accurate God doesn’t need to be difficult.
Read More

Prayer for My Son

When parenting is really hard, sometimes the only prayer I can muster is, “Help!” I’m thankful God hears those desperate pleas. Then there are other times that I want to pray for my son more intentionally but am not sure what to say.
Read More

Psalm 35 – A Prayer of Vindication, Justice, and Love

It can be difficult to pray when you’re angry, sad, or worried. Sometimes the deepest, strongest emotions are the hardest to express. Thankfully, Psalm 35 shows us how to work through our pain with God.
Read More

Why Does God Allow Suffering

Faith seems pretty simple when we’re singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” But, it can be hard to stay faithful during the more challenging moments of life. We’re left wondering: Why does God allow suffering?
Read More

Battle Ready Prayer

My thoughts swam restless laps in my brain, crashing into my emotions and running into rocks of fear and doubt. I was lost and scared– even my vision was blurry. Where are you, God?
Read More

God Gives His Toughest Battles to his Strongest Soldiers

There’s a popular saying that God gives His toughest battles to His strongest soldiers. This is like a rallying cry that encourages us to keep fighting through difficult times. But, is this statement true?
Read More