Sharing the Spoils
It’s been a few weeks since we have been in our David series. We need to remember what has led up to this point. David has been running from Saul. He has been trusting the Lord, and the Lord has been delivering him time and time again. But reasoning within himself, and in fear, he fled to the Philistines and found safety among them, Israel’s enemies. They made a home for themselves there, at Ziklag, for over a year. They have gone out to fight alongside these men, but the men didn’t trust them like King Agag did, so they went home, back to Ziklag. But when they arrived, their darkest fears were realized. Everything they held dear was gone. Let’s read it for ourselves, and then we’ll walk through the rest of the chapter together.
The only place to find true strength amidst any distress is in the Lord. (1-6)
They thought they had lost everything. In verse 4 we see they “raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.” That is utter despair of soul. That is when you know nothing will ever be the same again. That is when you know you’ve made a big mistake and your decisions have cost you, and it’s cost you everything you once held dear.
Verse 6 says, “David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the people were bitter in soul, each one for his sons and daughters.” This distress was caused by David’s compromise and sin. It was his fault. And the people knew it. So a mutiny was at hand. They have to blame someone, right? That’s why they spoke of stoning him. So, David’s already distressed from losing everything and his wives. And now, everyone has turned on him and his life is at stake from his own people. Distress heaped upon distress.
Does your life ever feel that way? You just can’t catch a break. If the finances weren’t enough, this diagnoses now. If this relationship issue wasn’t enough, now the car won’t start. Or you can’t imagine losing another person. Distress heaped upon distress.
But I want you to notice something important here. Look at the rest of verse 6: “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” David found his strength in the Lord. God meets us even in the messes we’ve made for ourselves. Isn’t that incredible. But do you notice where his strength is not found? In himself. That’s what got them in this mess in the first place, when he relied on himself. He wasn’t relying on himself anymore. He was relying on God. Y’all, that’s our only hope. God is our only hope in life and in death.
Look at another word here in verse 6, “strengthened.”[1] How do you think he strengthened himself in the Lord? I’ve been really thinking through this. Meditating on this. This word can mean to encourage or to make strong. How does this practically look? Here’s how F.B. Meyer says David strengthened himself in the Lord, and I would have to agree:
“He encouraged himself.— He would go back on promises of forgiveness and succor [comfort], which had so often cheered him in similar straits. He would recall his songs in former nights as black as this, and therefore would have hope. He would remember that he had been brought through worse trials; and surely He who had helped him against Goliath and Saul would not fail him against the Amalekites. Besides, he had probably left his dear ones in the protection of the encamping angel; and though his faith might be tried, it could not be entirely disappointed. In this way he encouraged himself. All around was tumult and fear; but in God peace and rest brooded, as swans on a tranquil lake. His men might speak of stoning him; his heart be greatly distressed for wives and children; his life be in jeopardy: but God was a very present help. “Why art thou cast down, and disquieted, O my soul? Hope thou in God.”
In similar circumstances, let us have resort to similar sources of comfort; hide in God, and encourage ourselves in Him. It was in this spirit that John Knox, when about to face death, said to his wife, “Read to me where I first cast anchor.”[2]
If you read of the Reformer John Knox’s last words, as he was dying, those words he called out for his wife to read were John 17. And these are the words that strengthened him as he was dying, just as they were the words that first led him to the Lord:
John 17:1-3: 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
As Margaret continued to read that chapter and she finished, John Knox turned to her and said, “What a comfort that chapter is.”[3] Do you need comfort in life? Do you need strength? Do you need encouragement? In any distress you face, there is one place to turn. Strengthen yourself in the Lord. You know where you strengthen yourself in the Lord? You do so in God’s Word. God can always be found in His Word.
It is never too late to seek the Lord. (7-10)
I need to say this point like that for the sake of the text here. But I do need to state it also with a qualifier like this: It is never too late to seek the Lord…until it’s too late. While you’re still living, it’s not too late. You’re not too far gone even if you think you are. While you’re still living, you can turn to the Lord. We see that with David here. He thought he lost everything. Everyone was turning on him. But he wasn’t too far gone.
Right there in verse 7, we see David say something he should have said before he ever went to the Philistines in the first place: ‘David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Bring me the ephod.’” Though it doesn’t explicitly state it here, it is more than implied that David is using the Urim and Thummim that were in the vest pockets of the ephod.[4] These were stones that were used at various times to inquire of God’s will. The important thing here isn’t the means of inquiring. It’s the act itself. Look at verse 8. “And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” If David would have done this in the first place, they would have likely never been in Ziklag and never been in this situation. But it’s never too late to seek the Lord. And you know what? God graciously answers him. And it’s the same for you! You better believe God will answer you when you call out to Him! And He won’t answer by wagging His finger at you or chiding you. He will answer with a warm embrace, glad you’ve returned and are back where you were always meant to be.[5]
And what plays out next speaks to where all of us are at during different points in our lives when pursuing God. Verses 9 and 10 say,
“9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.”
You know, sometimes it’s hard to keep going. Following Jesus is exhausting. “When Christ calls a man,” as Bonhoeffer famously said, “He bids him come and die.”[6] Being a disciple of Jesus is costly. Sometimes your feet get too tired to keep going any further and you have to soak them in the brook Besor while the rest of your crew continues the fight ahead and you trusting the Lord for the victory. And I want to tell you something…That’s ok. When you are trusting God. When you are leaning on God. When you are having faith in God’s faithfulness…that’s ok. Because it is God who supplies the victory. And you can trust Him, even if you can’t keep going like you desire to.
And what we see happen following the brook Besor is God works in their favor miraculously. And it’s because they were following God’s direction.
God rescues and restores the repentant. (11-20)
Let’s read verses 11-17 here to see what God did for them. They acted as Good Samaritans toward this Egyptian slave, and God used his intel to lead them to the Amalekite camp.
Think about this Egyptian slave for a little bit. Why do you think they did this? Why do you think they treated him this way? Eugene Peterson says, “David knew something about being ill-used in the wilderness and then, in the midst of hardship, being treated generously. Psalm 36 bears all the marks of a wilderness experience , and it contains all the elements that came together for the Egyptian.”[7] He then says, “What David experienced from God, the Egyptian experienced from David.”[8]
Let’s read Psalm 36 and see for ourselves. When we read it, I want you to see three people in it. You should be able to see David in his wilderness trials. You should be able to see the Egyptian in the kindness they showed him. And you should be able to see yourself in how God has treated you.
How the psalm ends leads us to what we see in the rest of 1 Samuel 30. What we see here isn’t just the victory over their enemies. What we should see is the justice here. God is a God of justice. With God, wrongs will always be made right. David turns to the Lord, and his wrongs are made right. Do you remember what those wrongs are of David? He didn’t inquire of the Lord and went and hid out with the Philistines. They gave them Ziklag to make their home in, and they did for over a year. Now, the Amalekites have taken everything from them. But this time, David sought the Lord. He turned back to the Lord. That’s what repentance is. Now, God doesn’t always restore this way. There are always pain and consequences to sin. But God always rescues and restores the repentant. And that’s what we see from what comes after this victory.
In verses 18-20 we see that they don’t just defeat the Amalekites, but the word “all” is repeated. This is to “emphasize how complete the recovery is.”[9] It says,
“18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him…”
So many people think that when they fall into sin, there’s no way of escape. Or that their past is too stained for God to ever use them. Let David encourage you here. God can restore all and more. As Joel 2:25 says, God can “restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.” God is a God of restoration. He is a life-giving God.
The same abundance of life is given to all who believe in Christ, regardless of their past. (21-31)
Notice the last line of verse 20. It says, “This is David’s spoil.” All this restoration. That is David’s spoil. Spoil is treasure, basically, that you bring back from war. And David brings all of it back with him. When he gets back, verse 21 tells us, “Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David,” but in the next verse, the “wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.”
They didn’t have any part in the battle, so why should they share in the victory? That’s unfair, right? But look at what David said in verse 23. And listen closely, because this hits on a much deeper issue than just winning a battle. This gets to the core of the gospel. Eugene Peterson said, David’s “intervention is the climax to the story. David intervened at the Brook Besor, and his intervention is pure gospel.”[10] Verse 23: “But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.”
Do you notice what David realizes? They didn’t win the victory. The Lord did. They didn’t fight the battle. The Lord did. They didn’t gain the spoils. The Lord did. Everything they have is given from the Lord. They can do nothing on their own. David just saw that. Left to his own devices he only walks straight into destruction. It is only by the Lord’s power that salvation is attained. The Lord has given them this. Who was David to keep it from them?
Yall, it’s the same with us! Everything we have is a gift from God. The air in our lungs is a gift from God. The roof over our head is a gift from God. Our kids and our spouse and our job and our retirement fund and our savings account. It’s all a gift from God. You know what else is? Our forgiveness and our salvation and the grace upon grace we’ve been given. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17).
This story of David and the men at the brook Besor reminds me of the parable Jesus gave of workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16. Jesus told a parable of workers in a vineyard who all got paid the same even though they all worked different hours. Jesus is saying that’s what the kingdom of heaven is like. That’s what salvation is like. You don’t earn it. You can’t work for it. Salvation is a gift, not a wage to be earned. It doesn’t matter if you were saved at 7 years old and live your whole life for the glory of God or if you are 85 years old and just now realize the reality that Jesus really is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). All receive the same free gift of grace. All receive the free gift of salvation. All receive eternal life and abundant life and forgiveness and freedom.
And the sharing of the spoils doesn’t stop there with those who were too exhausted to follow David into battle. Look at what Verse 26 says: “When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.”
He was sharing in the abundance of what God had done for Him. And that’s exactly what God calls us to do as well. We aren’t to keep the gospel a secret.
We must share the spoils of the gospel.
Eugene Peterson says, “When we’re living this life right, this is what happens. We pass on the experience, pass on the God-experience to the people we meet. They experience a piece of what we’ve experienced in God.”[11]
The word gospel literally means “good news.” Good news must be shared. Think of the spoils that come with this “good new,” this gospel. Think of the treasure that comes with this victory. You get forgiveness of sins. You get eternal life. You get abundance of joy regardless of your circumstances. You get a calm to anxiety. Reassurance of God’s goodness, faithfulness, resting in the fact that He’s in control and you don’t have to be. You get a purpose to live for that is far greater than anything this dusty earth can give. You get hope that extends far beyond this life.
We must not be ashamed of the goodness of the gospel. Jesus is life-giving. He has won the victory. And He has won back all the enemy has taken.
And it doesn’t matter what your past is. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired and weary and soaking your feet in the brook Besor. You can turn to Him. Right now. Repent and believe. Jesus died for your sins on the cross. He rose victoriously from the grave. To give you victory. He offers you abundance of life and eternal life if you receive Him by grace through faith.[12] In Him and Him alone is the victory. David finally realized that. And He got to enjoy the spoils of that victory. I pray you do as well. Amidst whatever distress you are facing. Amidst your sin. In this life He has given you.
[1] https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2388.htm
[2] https://sermonindex.net/speakers/fb-meyer/david-encouraged-himself-in-the-lord-his-god
[3] https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/5-minutes-in-church-history-with-stephen-nichols/my-first-anchor
[4] https://www.preceptaustin.org/1-samuel-30-commentary; https://biblehub.com/q/Urim_and_Thummim_s_role_in_guidance.htm; https://www.gotquestions.org/urim-thummim.html
[6] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, rev. and unabridged ed. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1979), 99.
[7] Eugene H. Peterson, Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), 106-107.
[8] Peterson, 108.
[9] John L. Mackay, “1–2 Samuel,” in ESV Expository Commentary, vol. 3, 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 278.
[10] Peterson, 109.
[11] Peterson, 108.
