Based on 1 Samuel 30:1-24 (New King James Version)
“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. 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. 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.’ 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. 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.’ 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.’ 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.’”
There are few times in this life that certain apparently bad things will happen that will not be our fault directly. I have to clarify because everything adverse and evil and painful that happens is because of the sin of man, whether it be through our actions directly or through other’s actions. And the greatest evil that sins bring cannot be seen in this world as many suppose, but rather, when a person dies in their sins. The greatest consequence for our sins is eternal death, when we have not done what is right before God, by repenting and converting from all sins, and making Jesus our Lord. That has the worse consequence. If a person dies without Jesus as their Lord, not even God can change that result. If a person dies without doing the will of the Father, there is no remedy before God’s eternal judgement.
Nonetheless, there are moments that we have not done something wrong against God, and very difficult and exhausting things might happen, and the Word of God defines this as trial or tribulation. And God teaches that, “…We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22b. No one likes going through trials and tribulations, but these happen like it happened to David and the people that were with him. We don’t see that anyone sinned directly, and so, we can catalogue this evil that happened as a trial (because God sometimes allows for our enemies to come upon us as punishment, because of abandoning Him and committing serious wrongs against God). In the end, nothing happens without God’s will being involved. God does not bring evil directly, but He does allow for them to happen, but everything with a purpose, and in this case (as in every case), to see what people will do.
What do we see in David and in the people? There was a moment of great sadness and pain. And of course, it was very justified for them to think the worst, because all they knew was that their loved ones were no longer there, and that quite possibly, they could have been killed after, or made into slaves, or their women raped, ultimately, any kind of horror that could go through a person’s head when they don’t know what is happening. And David was seeing even worse evils that could happen to him because of this problem. But David did not leave the Lord, but actually quite the contrary, he looked for Him. There were no reproaches made against God. David did not say, “Why did this happen to me?” But rather, David consulted the Lord, and the Word says that he strengthened in the Lord his God. God allows for these things to happen to see what we will do. It sounds cruel, but everything in God has a purpose, as it is written: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. David chose to love God despite the circumstances. And so, God used this apparent great and undeserved evil for good, and God brought about blessing from something bad not only for David, but also for the people. Trial and tribulation are very difficult, but they have their reward if a person chooses to love God, and consults God, and abides faithful to God. We may not see a supposed good here and now, but the greatest good is in eternity, as it is written: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12. The trial that will always be in effect in the follower of the Lord is to see if they will abandon their faith because of the circumstances. But only those that resist until the end will receive the crown of life, those that love God. We must love God in the good and the bad so we can receive the greatest blessing: eternal life. So then, will you choose to love God despite the circumstances, and look to do His will? Lord bless! John