September 20, 2021
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Reading along with us in 1 Samuel? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Samuel 30 (NIV)
David Destroys the Amalekites
1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive............Continue Reading
So easy to be overtaken with grief in the devastating situation David and his men return to! The reaction of the men to lash out at David is not surprising but David instead seeks God and asks Him to guide their next steps. Rather than letting fear, anger, or grief lead them David trusted in God to lead and the end result was wonderful. So many times when we are disappointed, scared, or heart broken we take the wheel and forget to seek God and this is a great example of how we should respond.
David certainly was blessed with wisdom
Samuel 30
David’s men looking to kill David. Being full of sadness and anger. Instead of looking for a way to rescue their families. But David found strength in the Lord. !!!! David found the right solution to every circumstance. Love the way God uses the abandoned slave to lead David snd his army to the enemy and victory. David shares all the plunder of goods equally. Is anyone more valuable than another. We all have our gifts. The toe is as important as the head!!
1 Samuel 30
David continues to show good leadership here. He identifies with the despair of his men and shares in it, and when their sadness turns to anger directed at him, he is strengthened in his relationship with God. How important it is to have God with us when people let us down. But he also follows up the grief with a plan. First consulting God to ascertain His will and then taking advantage of the slave found to find out where the pillagers had gone. David is then gracious to allow those who are too tired to cross the river to not go into battle. And then after success that God grants them, he gives them an equal share. But I like most the connection he makes. It is God who was gracious to give us the victory so who are we to keep our plunder for those who stayed in the camp and secured it. And lastly David shows good leadership to bless those who had helped him out in the past, sending part of the plunder around Israel to whomever had aided him as he avoided running into Saul.
1 Samuel 30
David returns to find that the women and children and possessions have all be taken.
This made me think of how we respond when faced with great sorrow. David grieves with the people.
“Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.”
He finds emotional strength in the Lord. “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
Then he consults the Lord as to whether the course of action he wants to take is of God, will it be successful? “So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
We can see how we should NOT handle grief as well by laying blame on others for our loss, or by being selfish or not considering others’ contribution in our success.