When David reached the Brook of Besor in the ultra-dry Negev territory, two hundred out of the six hundred men he had set off with needed to stay behind by the brook because they were too exhausted to carry on. But David continued in pursuit with his remaining four hundred men. (1)

For many months, he had been effectively engaging in terrorist activities, putting whole communities of Geshurites, Girzites and Amalekites to the sword, just as has happened to so, so many people from time immemorial to our own day. In the process, he deliberately misled his sponsor and advocate, King Achish, by making out that he had been away raiding settlements amongst his own people in Judah.

But it was the Lord’s gracious intention to turn David back to his true God-given calling, even as many a terrorist in our own time has come to faith in Christ and become a blood-bought disciple of Yeshua. Newly strengthened, and with his habitual wisdom and kindness, he recognises the weariness of some of his men, worn out by the long days on the march back from Aphek, and wrung out by the loss of their families. Accordingly, he gives them leave to stay and rest by the brook. It is a thoughtful act, and in keeping with the courtesy we like to associate with David.

This left the rescue force considerably smaller than it would otherwise have been, of course, but as the Lord had promised Jonathan many years before, “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” (1 Sam. 14:6) As surely as the Lord quite deliberately whittled down the number of men Gideon had available to achieve his great victory over the Midianites, and as certainly as He enabled David to fell Goliath with a single stone, so this newly restored ‘outlaw-for-God’ was confident that Yahweh would not be defeated by his lack of manpower.

If David had shown thoughtfulness in responding to his men’s request to stay behind, still more was this the case when they came across an Egyptian slave who had been too weak to continue on his way with his Amalekite masters. Seeing that the man had been left to die without food or water, David waited until he was sufficiently revived before interrogating him.

It’s so important to remember that there is benefit in being ‘courteous and considerate in everything’ and towards everyone. (2) (1 Cor. 14:40 TM) For just as the Lord is ‘gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love,’ so is He honoured when we treat each other with kindness. Courtesy is, or at least should be, a key distinguishing mark of God’s people. The way in which we treat people who, humanly speaking, can be of no immediate benefit to us, is a sign and test of our humility and Christ-likeness. Forgive us, Lord, for so often failing in this!

And that is when David made the welcome discovery that the man was able to lead them to the Amalekite camp! (1 Sam. 30:11-12)

The Lord gives David wisdom as to timing
So, [the Egyptian] led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken both from the Philistines and from Ziklag. David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day and struck down every man, except for four hundred young men who fled on camels. (1 Sam. 30:16-17)

David may have been up against a superior force, but his military experience was more than sufficient to ensure that his attack on the Amalekites was successful – especially as they were exhausted from their feasting and drinking, and secure in their misplaced confidence that David and his men were miles away.

The Amalekites – whom Scripture often uses as a symbol of fallen humanity – had failed to guard either their hearts or their camp, but David kept his wits about him. Success tests the true state of our hearts even more than adversity, for whereas adversity can humble us to the point of helping us to recognise our need for the Lord’s help, success can easily puff us up and make us act as though we no longer had any direct need to talk with Him. The failure of the Amalekites to maintain their guard holds a warning for us all: is it not often the case that we leave ourselves vulnerable and susceptible to counterattack after celebrating a victory? It is as though we switch off our radars too soon!

So it was that David’s surprise attack ‘recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken.’ (1 Sam. 30: 19-20a) Weeping had lasted all night, but now mourning was turned to dancing and joy once more came their way! Revolt became companionship and, though he would have had no way of knowing it, David was on the cusp of that entirely new and glorious phase in his life, long prepared by the Lord, which would see him reigning first as king over Judah in Hebron, and then over a united Israel from Jerusalem. Greater still would be his part in God’s plans for the whole of humankind, as he took his place in the lineage of the Messiah.

But first there were more immediately pressing matters to attend to.

Wisdom from Heaven

The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favouritism and is always sincere. (Jas. 3:17)

For lack of setting a guard, the Amalekites lost all they had gained – but the devil, having lost one battle against David there, leapt to try to open another front. The attack came, as it so often does, through the greed, ambition, and meanness of certain people within his own ranks. By no means all of David’s men shared his heart for God, or his generosity of spirit towards others. At the very moment when the victorious company arrived back at the Brook of Besor to rendez-vous with the two hundred men they had left behind to guard their supplies, some of his ‘wicked and worthless men’ (as the chronicler describes them) rose up in protest: “These men didn’t come with us and bear the heat of the battle; let them have their wives and children back, by all means, but there’s no way we’re going to share sharing any of the plunder we seized with them!’” (1 Sam. 30:22)

‘Wicked and worthless men!’ What a way to choose to describe men who had just routed the raiders and achieved such a consummate success! But physical prowess, like success itself, does not automatically translate into kindliness. These elite of the elite in David’s ranks had not the slightest inclination to honour those had been unable to join them in their rescue mission.

Every one of us has our own unique physical, intellectual, and spiritual strengths and limitations. We differ widely and yet we are all made in the image of God and are worthy of the respect and dignity that this truth imparts. Paul, in fact, would one day insist that weaker members are actually worthy of special honour (1 Corinthians 12:23-24) – but that is not the way competitive people are wont to view matters.

No one is too small or too unimportant to be worthy of attention, care, and reward, just as the Lord takes all our restrictions into account. When we find ourselves thinking about someone, ‘They’re not clever enough . . . they’re too this . . . they’re too that . . ,’ are we speaking and discerning wisely, or merely judging according human reasoning? Or, more dangerous still, even siding with the Accuser of the brethren’s assessment? Pride can delude us, and cause us to speak dismissively of people who may have latent skills that only those with the eyes to recognise it will be able to develop, or who are actually held in high esteem in Heaven.(3)

But David, for all that he joined in the relief and rejoicing, did not let his own guard slip in this moment of victory. He was alert to the danger, spotted the enemy sneaking up on the blind side and had the wisdom to appeal diplomatically to those who had suggested this course of action.

“My brothers,” David warned, “You must not do this with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us. Is this the time to be stingy? The share of the one who went to battle must be the same as the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. Share and share alike.”

And so it has been from that day forward. David established this statute as an ordinance for Israel to this very day. (1 Sam. 30:23-25)

It has been suggested that it takes nine people to keep one solider on the front line of battle; it is no less so in the work of the army of God. Those who support the army by serving in the supporting roles also have an important part to play.

What would have happened if David had refused to allow the men who remained at the brook to share in the plunder? He would certainly have been showing a degree of favouritism which could lead to both resentment in the hearts of those who felt passed over, and pride on the part of those who considered themselves the elite.

Not only did David see off this challenge to his authority, he also made provision for the future: ‘“The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.” And so it has been from that day forward.’ What a wise move!

And there was more. This brilliant tactician and future administrator of a great empire was quick to think ahead as to how best to make the most of this victory to prepare for his own homecoming. He sent some of the plunder to his friends, to the elders of Judah, and to communities all over Judah, where he and his men had roamed during their years on the run, thereby warming their hearts in readiness for his imminent return.

These sixteen months had marked David’s lowest ebb in all his long years of wandering, but this final episode would to be the turning point that God had long foreseen, the point which marked the beginning of the end of his time in exile, and equipped him to be fit to rule and reign as king, first in Judah, and then over the united kingdom of Israel: a reign that would have the most profound consequences for the whole human race.

Through David’s godly wisdom and from His lineage, the Lord was continuing His ultimate work of redemption, weaving the threads of the Messianic line into the vast tapestry that would climax with the birth of the Saviour of the world in Bethlehem, which is known to millions as ‘royal David’s city.’

And this in turn anticipates the return in glory of Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, to the Mount of Olives, to the citadel of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), which David would shortly capture and make his capital. Who could ever have imagined such things as David and his men made their wearying three-day journey back to Ziklag?!

Like Elijah, David, may have been ‘only’ a man, just like us, but the more he strengthened himself in the Lord, the more the Lord established him as a wise, experienced, and discerning leader. To be sure, he made many and costly mistakes, but God can always pick us up one more time than we can fall – and what the enemy plans for evil, He can somehow find ways to turn around for good. Like a self-righting lifeboat, David recovered from his mistakes, and was promoted to positions of great power and influence, where he was able to do the mighty exploits God had in mind for him to do.

Thank You, Lord, that You are so courteous well as strategic in the way that you deal with us – and always willing and ready to rescue us when we cry out to You. You lead us as we turn to You. Even though some of us may feel dismayed at times at our weaknesses and riddled with struggles, You tell us not to fear because You are with us – and that is all we need.

May we like David be faithful to Your summons, and in Your mighty power enable Your purposes to prevail, for You strengthen and uphold us with Your righteous right hand. (Is. 41:10; Eph. 6:10)

(1) 1 Sam. 30:8-10. The name Besor is thought to mean ‘message’, or ‘tidings’ or ‘report of a military victory’, from which the word besorah developed – which is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word evangelion (gospel), from the words eu, ‘good’ and ángelos, ‘messenger’. Good news would be brought back to these men by the brook Besor of a great victory, just as the good tidings of deliverance from sin and satan would one day be proclaimed across the whole world.

(2) Dante Alighieri, greatest of all the many poets Italy has produced, used to speak of ‘The Lord of Courtesy.’ See also: Christ our example and Christian Courtesy

(3) For those of us who feel less gifted, whether in terms of physical strength or spiritual gifting, I find it comforting that even such great servants of God as Billy Graham and DL Moody were told that they would never amount to much, and that they would never be able to preach(!) Praise God that these men who would be so mightily used of God did not allow themselves to be permanently crushed by the weight of such judgements, but pressed on instead through the pain barrier to become mighty servants for Him.

At a very much lesser level, I remember a French teacher telling me that I would never be able to master that language. Hard work and inspiration turned things round to such an extent that within six months it had become my best subject, and proved the gateway for the Lord to accomplish almost all that He has subsequently developed in my entire pilgrimage.

Photo by Robert Murray on Unsplash