May the mumbling commence!
Where do we go with our grief and distress? Do we bottle them up inside of us, until we explode in anger and retribution? Let’s look at the ending of 1 Samuel and the beginning of 2 Samuel to find clues from the life of David, the man after God’s own heart.
In 1 Samuel 30, David, who had been successfully shamming the Philistines, had been continuing the sham as he followed them into battle with Israel. The other Philistine commanders did not trust David, so they forced King Achish to send him back home (1 Sam 29). When David and his men returned to Ziklag, the city King Achish gave to them, they found it plundered and burned.
Following through on their sham with King Achish had caused them to leave the city of Ziklag relatively unprotected. They mourned and wept for their lost spouses and lost children. David was not untouched either both his wives were missing. And David was deeply distressed. His leadership had a part in this tragedy, and his men realized it. They were talking about stoning David. What did David do in his distress? Read from 1 Samuel 30:6b-8 –
But David found strength in the Lord his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?"
"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."
After inquiring of the Lord, David and took four of his six-hundred men (200 were too tired to come). They overcame the Amalekites and recovered all the plunder, including plunder from Judah. David’s men drove the flocks and herds before David, announcing as they went that this was David’s plunder. When they reached the other 200 men who had stayed behind because of their exhaustion, they thought they were being kind by giving those who had stayed behind their wives and children and sending them away. These men did not put their lives at risk to recover the plunder. This grieved David, so David spoke these words and followed through with these actions (as recorded in 1 Samuel 30:23b-30) –
"No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike."
David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, "Here is a present for you from the plunder of the Lord's enemies." He sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa and Racal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.
David divided the plunder by returning the plunder to the places and the people that it came from.
Then, David and his men returned to Ziklag, where they began to pick up the pieces. Once again the return to Ziklag brought ill tidings. Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in battle and Israel was defeated by the Philistines. The man who brought the news probably thought he would be rewarded. He must have been distressed and confused when David and his men wept for Saul and Jonathan. Why would someone weep for those who sought their lives? The man was paid by his death.
But David’s grief would quickly turn to celebration, right? Now he could ascend to the throne that the Lord had given him. Wrong. David, in his sadness, wrote a lament honoring both Saul and Jonathan, which is recorded at the end of 2 Samuel 1. May you and I grieve half as well for the fall of our enemies.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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