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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [First Samuel, Chapter XXX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T S A M U E L</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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When David was dismissed from the army of the Philistines he did not go
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over to the camp of Israel, but, being expelled by Saul, observed an
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exact neutrality, and silently retired to his own city Ziklag, leaving
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the armies ready to engage. Now here we are told,
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I. What a melancholy posture he found the city in, all laid waste by
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the Amalekites, and what distress it occasioned him and his men,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. What course he took to recover what he had lost. He enquired of
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God, and took out a commission from him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:7,8">ver. 7, 8</A>),
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pursued the enemy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:9,10">ver. 9, 10</A>),
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gained intelligence from a straggler
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:11-15">ver. 11-15</A>),
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attacked and routed the plunderers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:16,17">ver. 16, 17</A>),
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and recovered all that they had carried off,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:18-20">ver. 18-20</A>.
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III. What method he observed in the distribution of the spoil,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:21-31">ver. 21-31</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ziklag Burnt.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1055.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to
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Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the
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south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
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2 And had taken the women captives, that <I>were</I> therein: they
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slew not any, either great or small, but carried <I>them</I> away, and
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went on their way.
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3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, <I>it was</I>
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burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their
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daughters, were taken captives.
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4 Then David and the people that <I>were</I> with him lifted up
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their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
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5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the
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Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
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6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of
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stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
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every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David
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encouraged himself in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> his God.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have,
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I. The descent which the Amalekites made upon Ziklag in David's
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absence, and the desolations they made there. They surprised the city
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when it was left unguarded, plundered it, burnt it, and carried all the
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women and children captives,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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They intended, by this to revenge the like havoc that David had lately
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made of them and their country,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:8"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 8</A>.
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He that had made so many enemies ought not to have left his own
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concerns so naked and defenceless. Those that make bold with others
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must expect that others will make as bold with them and provide
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accordingly. Now observe in this,
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1. The cruelty of Saul's pity (as it proved) in sparing the Amalekites;
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if he had utterly destroyed them, as he ought to have done, these would
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not have been in being to do this mischief.
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2. How David was corrected for being so forward to go with the
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Philistines against Israel. God showed him that he had better have
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staid at home and looked after his own business. When we go abroad in
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the way of our duty we may comfortably hope that God will take care of
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our families in our absence, but not otherwise.
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3. How wonderfully God inclined the hearts of these Amalekites to carry
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the women and children away captives, and not to kill them. When David
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invaded them he put all to the sword
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:9"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 9</A>),
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and no reason can be given why they did not retaliate upon this city,
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but that God restrained them; for he has all hearts in his hands, and
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says to the fury of the most cruel men, <I>Hitherto thou shalt come,
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and no further.</I> Whether they spared them to lead them in triumph,
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or to sell them, or to use them for slaves, God's hand must be
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acknowledged, who designed to make use of the Amalekites for the
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correction, not for the destruction, of the house of David.</P>
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<P>
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II. The confusion and consternation that David and his men were in when
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they found their houses in ashes and their wives and children gone into
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captivity. Three days' march they had from the camp of the Philistines
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to Ziklag, and now that they came thither weary, but hoping to find
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rest in their houses and joy in their families, behold a black and
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dismal scene was presented to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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which made them all weep (David himself not excepted), though they were
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men of war, <I>till they had no more power to weep,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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The mention of David's wives, <I>Ahinoam and Abigail,</I> and their
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being carried captive, intimates that this circumstance went nearer his
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heart than any thing else. Note, It is no disparagement to the boldest
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and bravest spirits to lament the calamities of relations and friends.
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Observe,
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1. This trouble came upon them when they were absent. It was the
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ancient policy of Amalek to take Israel at an advantage.
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2. It met them at their return, and, for aught that appears, their own
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eyes gave them the first intelligence of it. Note, When we go abroad
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we cannot foresee what evil tidings may meet us when we come home
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again. The going out may be very cheerful, and yet the coming in be
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very doleful. <I>Boast not thyself</I> therefore <I>of to-morrow,</I>
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nor of to-night either, <I>for thou knowest not what a day,</I> or a
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piece of a day, <I>may bring forth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:1">Prov. xxvii. 1</A>.
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If, when we come off a journey, we find our <I>tabernacles in
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peace,</I> and not laid waste as David here found his, let the Lord be
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praised for it.</P>
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<P>
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III. The mutiny and murmuring of David's men against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>David was greatly distressed,</I> for, in the midst of all his
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losses, his own people spoke of stoning him,
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1. Because they looked upon him as the occasion of their calamities, by
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the provocation he had given the Amalekites, and his indiscretion in
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leaving Ziklag without a garrison in it. Thus apt are we, when we are
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in trouble, to fly into a rage against those who are in any way the
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occasion of our trouble, while we overlook the divine providence, and
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have not that regard to the operations of God's hand in it which would
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silence our passions, and make us patient.
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2. Because now they began to despair of that preferment which they had
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promised themselves in following David. They hoped ere this to have
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been all princes; and now to find themselves all beggars was such a
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disappointment to them as made them grow outrageous, and threaten the
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life of him on whom, under God, they had the greatest dependence. What
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absurdities will not ungoverned passions plunge men into? This was a
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sore trial to the man after God's own heart, and could not but go very
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near him. Saul had driven him from his country, the Philistines had
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driven him from their camp, the Amalekites had plundered his city, his
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wives were taken prisoners, and now, to complete his woe, his own
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familiar friends, in whom he trusted, whom he had sheltered, and who
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did eat of his bread, instead of sympathizing with him and offering him
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any relief, <I>lifted up the heel against him</I> and threatened to
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stone him. Great faith must expect such severe exercises. But it is
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observable that David was reduced to this extremity just before his
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accession to the throne. At this very time, perhaps, the stroke was
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struck which opened the door to his advancement. Things are sometimes
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at the worst with the church and people of God just before they begin
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to mend.</P>
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<P>
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IV. David's pious dependence upon the divine providence and grace in
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this distress: <I>But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.</I>
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His men fretted at their loss. <I>The soul of the people was
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bitter,</I> so the word is. Their own discontent and impatience added
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<I>wormwood and gall</I> to the affliction and misery, and made their
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case doubly grievous. But
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1. David bore it better, though he had more reason than any of them to
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lament it; they gave liberty to their passions, but he set his graces
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on work, and by encouraging himself in God, while they dispirited each
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other, he kept his spirit calm and sedate. Or,
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2. There may be a reference to the threatening words his men gave out
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against him. They <I>spoke of stoning him;</I> but he, not offering to
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avenge the affront, nor terrified by their menaces, <I>encouraged
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himself in the Lord his God,</I> believed, and considered with
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application to his present case, the power and providence of God, his
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justice and goodness, the method he commonly takes of bringing low and
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then raising up, his care of his people that serve him and trust in
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him, and the particular promises he had made to him of bringing him
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safely to the throne; with these considerations he supported himself,
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not doubting but the present trouble would end well. Note, Those that
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have taken the Lord for their God may take encouragement from their
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relation to him in the worst of times. It is the duty and interest of
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all good people, whatever happens, to encourage themselves in God as
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their Lord and their God, assuring themselves that he can and will
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bring light out of darkness, peace out of trouble, and good out of
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evil, to all that love him and are <I>the called according to his
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purpose,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:28">Rom. viii. 28</A>.
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It was David's practice, and he had the comfort of it, <I>What time I
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am afraid I will trust in thee.</I> When he was at his wits' end he was
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not at his faith's end.</P>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa30_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David Recovers the Spoil.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1055.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I
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pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought
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thither the ephod to David.
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8 And David enquired at the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying, Shall I pursue after
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this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue:
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for thou shalt surely overtake <I>them,</I> and without fail recover
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<I>all.</I>
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9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that <I>were</I> with
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him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left
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behind stayed.
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10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred
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abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the
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brook Besor.
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11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to
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David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him
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drink water;
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12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two
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clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again
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to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk <I>any</I> water, three
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days and three nights.
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13 And David said unto him, To whom <I>belongest</I> thou? and
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whence <I>art</I> thou? And he said, I <I>am</I> a young man of Egypt,
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servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three
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days agone I fell sick.
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14 We made an invasion <I>upon</I> the south of the Cherethites, and
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upon <I>the coast</I> which <I>belongeth</I> to Judah, and upon the south
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of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
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15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this
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company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt
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neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and
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I will bring thee down to this company.
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16 And when he had brought him down, behold, <I>they were</I> spread
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abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing,
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because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the
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land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
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17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening
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of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four
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hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
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18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried
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away: and David rescued his two wives.
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19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor
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great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any <I>thing</I>
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that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
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20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, <I>which</I> they
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drave before those <I>other</I> cattle, and said, This <I>is</I> David's
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spoil.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Solomon observes that <I>the righteous is delivered out of trouble</I>
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and <I>the wicked cometh in his stead,</I> that <I>the just falleth
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seven times a-day and riseth again;</I> so it was with David. Many were
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his troubles, but <I>the Lord delivered him out of them all,</I> and
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particularly out of this of which we have here an account.</P>
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<P>
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I. He enquired of the Lord both concerning his duty--<I>Shall I pursue
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after this troop?</I> and concerning the event--<I>Shall I overtake
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them?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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It was a great advantage to David that he had the high priest with him
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and the breast-plate of judgment, which, as a public person, he might
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consult in all his affairs,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+27:21">Num. xxvii. 21</A>.
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We cannot think that he left Abiathar and the ephod at Ziklag, for then
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he and it would have been carried away by the Amalekites, unless we may
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suppose them hidden by a special providence, that they might be ready
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for David to consult at his return. If we conclude that David had his
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priest and ephod with him in the camp of the Philistines, it was
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certainly a great neglect in him that he did not enquire of the Lord by
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them concerning his engagement to Achish. Perhaps he was ashamed to own
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his religion so far among the uncircumcised; but now he begins to
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apprehend that this trouble is brought upon him to correct him for that
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oversight, and therefore the first thing he does is to call for the
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ephod. It is well if we get this good by our afflictions, to be
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reminded by them of neglected duties, and particularly to be quickened
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by them to enquire of the Lord. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+15:13">1 Chron. xv. 13</A>.
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David had no room to doubt but that his war against these Amalekites
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was just, and he had an inclination strong enough to set upon them when
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it was for the recovery of that which was dearest to him in this world;
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and yet he would not go about it without asking counsel of God, thereby
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owning his dependence upon God and submission to him. If we thus, in
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all our ways, acknowledge God, we may expect that he will direct our
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steps, as he did David's here, answering him above what he asked, with
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an assurance that he should recover all.</P>
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<P>
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II. He went himself in person, and took with him all the force he had,
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in pursuit of the Amalekites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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|
|
|
See how quickly, how easily, how effectually the mutiny among the
|
|
soldiers was quelled by his patience and faith. When they <I>spoke of
|
|
stoning him</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
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 <I>encouraged himself in the Lord his God,</I> 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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+12:9,10">2 Cor. xii. 9, 10</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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. <I>God
|
|
chooses the foolish things of the world,</I> with them <I>to confound
|
|
the wise.</I> 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. <I>The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.</I> 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 <I>eating and drinking,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
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 <I>bread and
|
|
water</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
but with <I>figs and raisins,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though the Israelites were in haste, and had no great plenty for
|
|
themselves, yet they would not <I>forbear to deliver one that was drawn
|
|
unto death,</I> nor say, <I>Behold, we knew it not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+24:11,12">Prov. xxiv. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>We made an invasion,</I> &c. The countries which David had
|
|
pretended to Achish to have made an incursion upon
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:10"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 10</A>)
|
|
|
|
they really had invaded and laid waste. What was then false now proved
|
|
too true.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Whither they had gone,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
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: <I>Swear unto me by God,</I>
|
|
not by the gods of Egypt or Amalek, but by the one supreme God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. David, being directed to the place where they lay, securely
|
|
celebrating their triumphs, fell upon them, and, as he used to pray,
|
|
<I>saw his desire upon his enemies.</I>
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
All thoughts of war were laid aside, nor were they in any haste to
|
|
house their prey, but <I>spread themselves abroad on the earth</I> in
|
|
the most careless manner that could be, and there they were found
|
|
<I>eating, and drinking, and dancing,</I> 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, <I>Peace and
|
|
safety,</I> and <I>put the evil day far from them.</I> Nor does any
|
|
thing give our spiritual enemies more advantage against us than
|
|
sensuality and the indulgence of the flesh. <I>Eating, and drinking,
|
|
and dancing,</I> 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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>David rescued his two wives;</I> 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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+14:16">Gen. xiv. 16</A>,
|
|
|
|
and David here), that he <I>took the prey from the mighty, and led
|
|
captivity captive.</I> But this was not all.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They took all that belonged to the Amalekites besides
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Flocks and herds,</I> 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, "<I>This is David's
|
|
spoil.</I> 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.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa30_31"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David's Division of the Spoil.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1055.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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 <I>were</I> with him: and when David came near
|
|
to the people, he saluted them.
|
|
22 Then answered all the wicked men and <I>men</I> of Belial, of
|
|
those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with
|
|
us, we will not give them <I>ought</I> of the spoil that we have
|
|
recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they
|
|
may lead <I>them</I> away, and depart.
|
|
23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that
|
|
which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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 <I>is</I> that goeth down to the battle, so <I>shall</I> his part <I>be</I>
|
|
that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.
|
|
25 And it was <I>so</I> 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, <I>even</I> to his friends, saying, Behold a present
|
|
for you of the spoil of the enemies of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>;
|
|
27 To <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Bethel, and to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I>
|
|
in south Ramoth, and to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Jattir,
|
|
28 And to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Aroer, and to <I>them</I> which
|
|
<I>were</I> in Siphmoth, and to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Eshtemoa,
|
|
29 And to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Rachal, and to <I>them</I> which
|
|
<I>were</I> in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to <I>them</I> which
|
|
<I>were</I> in the cities of the Kenites,
|
|
30 And to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Hormah, and to <I>them</I> which
|
|
<I>were</I> in Chorashan, and to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Athach,
|
|
31 And to <I>them</I> which <I>were</I> in Hebron, and to all the places
|
|
where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here an account of the distribution of the spoil which as taken
|
|
from the Amalekites. When the Amalekites had carried away a rich booty
|
|
from the land of Judah and the Philistines they spent it in sensuality,
|
|
in eating, and drinking, and making merry with it; but David disposed
|
|
of the spoil taken after another manner, as one that knew that justice
|
|
and charity must govern us in the use we make of whatever we have in
|
|
this world. What God gives us he designs we should do good with, not
|
|
serve our lusts with. In the distribution of the spoil,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. David was just and kind to those who abode by the stuff. They came
|
|
forth to meet the conquerors, and to congratulate them on this success,
|
|
though they could not contribute to it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>);
|
|
|
|
for we should rejoice in a good work done, though Providence had laid
|
|
us aside and rendered us incapable of lending a hand to it. David
|
|
received their address very kindly, and was so far from upbraiding them
|
|
with their weakness that he showed himself solicitous concerning them.
|
|
He saluted them; <I>he asked them of peace</I> (so the word is),
|
|
enquired how they did, because he had left them faint and not well; or
|
|
wished them peace, bade them be of good cheer, they should lose nothing
|
|
by staying behind; for of this they seemed afraid, as perhaps David saw
|
|
by their countenances.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. There were those that opposed their coming in to share in the spoil;
|
|
some of David's soldiers, probably the same that spoke of stoning him,
|
|
spoke now of defrauding their brethren; they are called wicked men and
|
|
<I>men of Belial,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let not the best of men think it strange if they have those attending
|
|
them that are very bad and they cannot prevail to make them better. We
|
|
may suppose that David had instructed his soldiers, and prayed with
|
|
them, and yet there were many among them that were wicked men and men
|
|
of Belial, often terrified with the apprehensions of death and yet
|
|
wicked men still and men of Belial. These made a motion that the 200
|
|
men who abode by the stuff should only have their wives and children
|
|
given them, but none of their goods. Well might they be called
|
|
<I>wicked men;</I> for this bespeaks them,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Very covetous themselves and greedy of gain; for hereby the more
|
|
would fall to their share. Awhile ago they would gladly have given half
|
|
their own to recover the other half, yet now that they have all their
|
|
own they are not content unless they can have their brethren's too; so
|
|
soon do men forget their low estate. All seek their own, and too often
|
|
more than their own.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Very barbarous to their brethren; for, to give them their wives
|
|
and children, and not their estates, was to give them the mouths
|
|
without the meat. What joy could they have of their families if they
|
|
had nothing to maintain them with? Was this to do as they would be done
|
|
by? Those are men of Belial indeed who delight in putting hardships
|
|
upon their brethren, and care not who is starved, so they may be fed to
|
|
the full.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. David would by no means admit this, but ordered that those who
|
|
tarried behind should come in for an equal share in the spoils with
|
|
those that went to the battle,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
This he did,
|
|
|
|
(1.) In gratitude to God. The spoil we have is that which God has given
|
|
us; we have it from him, and therefore must use it under his direction
|
|
as good stewards. Let this check us when we are tempted to misapply
|
|
that which God has entrusted us with of this world's goods. "Nay, I
|
|
must not do so with that which God has given me, not serve Satan and a
|
|
base lust with those things which are not only the creatures of his
|
|
power, but the gifts of his bounty. God has recompensed us by
|
|
<I>delivering the company that came against us into our hand,</I> let
|
|
not us then wrong our brethren. God has been kind to us in preserving
|
|
us and giving us victory, let not us be unkind to them." God's mercy to
|
|
us should make us merciful to one another.
|
|
|
|
(2.) In justice to them. It was true they tarried behind; but,
|
|
|
|
[1.] It was not for want of good-will to the cause or to their
|
|
brethren, but because they had not strength to keep up with them. It
|
|
was not their fault, but their infelicity; and therefore they ought not
|
|
to suffer for it.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Though they tarried behind now, they had formerly engaged many
|
|
times in battle and done their part as well as the best of their
|
|
brethren, and their former services must be considered now that there
|
|
was something to enjoy.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Even now they did good service, for they abode by the stuff, to
|
|
guard that which somebody must take care of, else that might have
|
|
fallen into the hands of some other enemy. Every post of service is not
|
|
alike a post of honour, yet those that are in any way serviceable to
|
|
the common interest, though in a meaner station, ought to share in the
|
|
common advantages, as in the natural body every member has its use and
|
|
therefore has its share of the nourishment. <I>First,</I> Thus David
|
|
overruled the wicked men, and men of Belial, with reason, but with a
|
|
great deal of mildness; for the force of reason is sufficient, without
|
|
the force of passion. He calls them <I>his brethren,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Superiors often lose their authority by haughtiness, but seldom by
|
|
courtesy and condescension. <I>Secondly,</I> Thus he settled the matter
|
|
for the time to come, made it a statute of his kingdom (a statute of
|
|
distributions, <I>primo Davidis--in the first year of David's
|
|
reign</I>), an ordinance of war
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
that <I>as his part is that goes down to the battle,</I> and hazards
|
|
his life in the high places of the field, so shall his be that guards
|
|
the carriages. Abraham returned the spoils of Sodom to the right
|
|
owners, and quitted his title to them <I>jure belli--derived from the
|
|
laws of war.</I> If we help others to recover their right, we must not
|
|
think that this alienates the property and makes it ours. God appointed
|
|
that the spoil of Midian should be divided between the soldiers and the
|
|
whole congregation,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+31:27">Num. xxxi. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
The case here was somewhat different, but governed by the same general
|
|
rule--that we are members one of another. The disciples, at first,
|
|
<I>had all things common,</I> and we should still be <I>ready to
|
|
distribute, willing to communicate,</I>
|
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:18">1 Tim. vi. 18</A>.
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When <I>kings of armies did flee apace, she that tarried at home did
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divide the spoil,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:12">Ps. lxviii. 12</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. David was generous and kind to all his friends. When he had given
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every one his own with interest there was a considerable overplus,
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which David, as general, had the disposal of; probably the spoil of the
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tents of the Amalekites consisted much in plate and jewels
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+8:24,26">Judg. viii. 24, 26</A>),
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and these, because he thought they would but make his own soldiers
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proud and effeminate, he thought fit to make presents of to his
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friends, even the <I>elders of Judah,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
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Several places are here named to which he sent of these presents, all
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of them in or near the tribe of Judah. The first place named is Bethel,
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which signifies <I>the house of God;</I> that place shall be first
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served for its name's sake; or perhaps it means not the city so called,
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but the place where the ark was, which was therefore <I>the house of
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God.</I> Thither David sent the first and best, to those that attended
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there, for his sake who is the first and best. <I>Hebron</I> is named
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last
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>),
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probably because thither he sent the residuum, which was the largest
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share, having an eye upon that place as fittest for his head-quarters,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+2:1">2 Sam. ii. 1</A>.
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In David's sending these presents observe,
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1. His generosity. He aimed not to enrich himself, but to serve his
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country; and therefore God afterwards enriched him, and set him to rule
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the country he had served. It becomes gracious souls to be generous.
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<I>There is that scatters, and yet increases.</I>
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2. His gratitude. He sent presents to <I>all the places where he and
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his men were wont to haunt</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>),
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that is, to all that he had received kindness from, that had sheltered
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him and sent him intelligence or provisions. Note, Honesty, as well as
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honour, obliges us to requite the favours that have been done us, or at
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least to make a real acknowledgment of them as far as is in the power
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of our hand.
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3. His piety. He calls his present <I>a blessing;</I> for no present we
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give to our friends will be a comfort to them but as it is made so by
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the blessing of God: it intimates that his prayers for them accompanied
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his present. He also sent it out of <I>the spoil of the enemies of the
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Lord</I> (so he calls them, not <I>his</I> enemies), that they might
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rejoice in the victory for the Lord's sake, and might join with him in
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thanksgivings for it.
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4. His policy. He sent these presents among his countrymen to engage
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them to be ready to appear for him upon his accession to the throne,
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which he now saw at hand. <I>A man's gift maketh room for him.</I> He
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was fit to be a king who thus showed the bounty and liberality of a
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king. Munificence recommends a man more than magnificence. The
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Ziphites had none of his presents, nor the men of Keilah; and thus he
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showed that, though he was such a saint as not to revenge affronts, yet
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he was not such a fool as not to take notice of them.</P>
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