We
now returned to the 2oo men of David who were left behind at Besor. They
couldn’t go all the way with David to pursue the Amalekites because they were
too exhausted. They had traveled from Aphek after the Philistines commanders
sent them back. Immediately on reaching Ziklag and saw the devastation, like
the rest, they all wept until they felt their strength left them. Then shortly
David rallied them to go after the Amalekites. All the intensive traveling had
exhausted them. Midway in pursuing the Amalekites, they were too tired to go
on, so they were left at Besor. David and the rest of the 400 then went on
and pursued the raiders all the way, and destroyed them except for 400 who
escaped on their camels and donkeys. Everything of theirs was recovered. They
even took all the booty that the Amalekites had raided from the other lands.
In
1 Samuel 30:21-25, David and his 400 men, after rescuing their families and
recovering their goods, came back and met the 200 who were left behind at
Besor. It would not be stretching our imagination too far to think that they
would be anxiously awaiting news of the outcome. They must have heaved a sigh
of relief when they saw David and the band returning. The line in verse 21
that says “David approached the people and greeted them” speaks volumes about
this leader. The people meant the 400 plus the 200 who were left behind at
Besor. David honored all his men, everyone who came to join him. No wonder
he was so well respected.
Like
in all companies of people, there are bound to be troublemakers. So it was no
different in David’s band of men. These troublemakers refused to share the
spoils with the 200 who were left behind. In verse 22, they said to David “Because
they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we
have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may
lead them away and depart.” Those troublemakers were
described as wicked and worthless men. They were very self-centered and not
accustomed to unity. They didn’t have the corporate unity in view. They only
had an interest in themselves and it was placed above the interest of the
group.
But
David was a capable leader. He sought unity. So he responded saying, “You
must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has
given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came
against us. And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his
share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the
baggage; they shall share alike.” David was a magnanimous man. He even
called those wicked and worthless men, “my brothers.” He has shown himself to
be one who would make peace rather than further divide. He insisted that
those who stayed behind were also entitled to a share of the spoils. See how he
referred to them as given by the LORD. David had established a norm of how to
demonstrate equality in the community.
Here
are three lessons from David’s wise actions. Firstly, like our Lord Jesus, he
was not ashamed to identify with the seemingly unacceptable in order to reach
them. We should emulate this principle. We must not write people off just
because they do not share our sentiment. With God’s grace and wisdom, we can
seek to win them over for God. Secondly, David recognized that the spoils they had
gained were God-given. We need to recognize that everything we have in life
comes from God. They are not ours. They are God’s and we are stewards of His
resources. As such we must use them for His glory. Thirdly, David shows us that
as people of God we must not allow self-centredness to overtake our life. Being
self-centered makes us myopic and ungracious. We can choose to be
Kingdom people and live magnanimously for our God. There’s more than enough because
He is the supplier!
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