David's Family Taken Captive By The Amalekites Series

"Thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable." -1st Corinthians 15:57-58

Long ago in David’s life when he was young he faced down Goliath in battle and defeated him. Only by God’s grace. God gave him the victory.

Yet all these years later something has gone wrong. Because David and his 600 men have ended up fighting in the army of the people David fought that day. But by God’s grace, the Philistine army generals didn’t want David with them, they were worried he would betray them.

Goliath was a philistine. And David, in his running from Saul, had ended up in philistine territory. He almost fought for them. But God prevented it.

His men have been camped out at Ziklag for quite a while now. So they go back from the front lines of the war, after being turned away, and they arrive back at Ziklag.

Let’s see what happened next. 1st Samuel 30:1-3: “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, 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. When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.”

When they arrive back at home base, they find it destroyed. It’s burning rubble. There is smoke in the area. Fires burning. The city is devastated. It was attacked by the Amalekites, another nearby empire. In fact the Amalekites were an empire that Moses and Joshua had to deal with during their time in the wilderness.

Then it says, verses 4-5, “So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.”

The men are shocked to the core. They look over the ruins, wander the ruins in grief and sorrow. They begin crying, as their families have been taken. Even David’s wives are both gone.

Point number one today, when bad things happen it’s OK to mourn and weep and cry. That is a natural response to sorrow.

Ever heard the phrase, “Real men don’t cry?” Well, that’s false according to 1st Samuel 30. David and his mighty men wept and cried with sorrow. It’s OK to cry and weep and mourn a loss.

But soon the sorrow and tears turn into anger. David’s men want someone to blame.

Then it says, “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

Two things I want you to notice here, first, the men were bitter in spirit because of what they’d lost. Sometimes we as Christians can become bitter in spirit as well. But recognize that we need to find strength in our God when we become bitter.

Recently I had noticed I had become somewhat bitter in my heart. And I had to go to God in prayer and say God please change my heart, renew my heart, soften my heart because I’ve become a bit hardened. And God answered my prayer and softened my heart. Praise the Lord!

Second point, block bitterness if you can, in faith, but if it sneaks in, ask God to renew your heart.

Thirdly, David found strength in the Lord his God. He found encouragement with God. David you could say, was off course here, he was among the philistines, and now things are going downhill fast. He should’ve been in Ziklag, but he wasn’t. He was off helping the philistines. But, David turned back to God here.

So David meets with the pastor. It says in verse 7-8, “Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

David consults with God and God speaks through the priest to him, and instructs him to take his men to rescue their families who had been taken prisoner.

And when God commands us to do something, he always makes a way. In the natural it seems impossible, how could they know where the Amalekites went? But God works it out.

It says in verses 9-15, “David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.