The Shift in David's Leadership

INTRO

In yesterday’s study (1 Samuel 28), Saul had a medium call Samuel back from the dead, and Samuel had to take on the role of giving Saul the bad news that he and his sons would die the next day. Saul then knew the kingdom was being taken away from him and turned over to David. Meanwhile, David was put into a dilemma by being in the Philistine lands and being expected to fight with them against Israel, the nation he had been called to lead. In chapter 29, the Philistine commanders began to question what David and his men were doing as a part of their army. These commanders wanted David and his men to be dismissed so they wouldn’t change sides and become adversaries during the battle (vv. 1–5). When King Achish heeded his commanders’ warning and dismissed David and his men to return home, David asked what he had done to not be trusted (vv. 6–8). Achish said he knew David was like an angel of God, but he and his men would have to leave (vv. 9–11). This is where we begin in 1 Samuel 30.

TEACHING

1 Samuel 30:1–4: As David and his men arrived back in Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had burned the city and kidnapped everyone left within it (vv. 1–2). When David and his men found that all of their family members had been kidnapped, they wept until they had no more tears (vv. 3–4). David and his men had to have been upset at being dismissed by the Philistines before they found their city in ruins. Their loss was overwhelming to the point of having no strength left to continue to weep. This is a reminder that grief can take it out of us physically.

1 Samuel 30:5–6: Even though David’s wives had been taken too, his troops talked of stoning him because their sons and daughters were gone (vv. 5–6a). David was in greater distress over the turning of his troops. Although the troops had no strength to grieve, their bitterness had given them the strength to want to stone David. “But David found strength in the LORD his God” (v. 6b).

1 Samuel 30:7–8: In this moment, David turned to the Lord and shifted the future for his men and his kingdom. David asked Abiathar the priest to bring him the ephod. David put on the ephod, literally clothing himself in prayer and worship. David used it to ask God what he should do about those who had raided Ziklag. God told him to pursue the raiders and rescue the people (vv. 7–8). God has created us for victory’s sake, but the enemy can use things like bitterness to strengthen us for the wrong thing. David sought out the Lord, rather than the pain in his heart.

David, the anointed one, stepped in to stop the weeping and the bitterness by restoring the people back to their families. Although David was upset because his wives had been taken, David pursued the Lord, who sent him to overtake the raiders and rescue and restore the families.

Where in this passage can we see the Anointed One, Jesus? The Jews wept in bitterness for the long years of captivity they’d experienced—the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Romans—and they looked for someone to rescue and restore them. Jesus stepped into that scene and also wept as He tried to overtake, rescue, and restore all that had been taken from His Father. Jesus looks upon the church as His bride and He weeps over her too. The Jews had become

hopeless during the long captivity. Hopelessness can crush people—their hopes, dreams, and ability to move on. Consider Jesus, at the Mount of Olives, sweating drops of blood, asking the Father, “Do I take this on? Is there another way?” Yet in that moment, Jesus is actually pursuing God.

1 Samuel 30:9–15: David left with his 600 men, but 200 men were too exhausted from all the emotions to go on and were left at the brook Besor (vv. 9–10). Remember the reason Saul lost his throne was because he disobeyed God

and did not destroy the Amalekites. David was now dealing with this group who should not have been there. As they marched, they found an Egyptian who had not eaten in three days and was left for dead in a field. David’s army fed the Egyptian, who was revived from the food (vv. 11–12). David found out that the Egyptian was a servant of an Amalekite who had been with them when they burned Ziklag (vv. 13–14). David asked the young man to lead them to the Amalekites, and he agreed if they promised not to kill him (v. 15).

1 Samuel 30:16–19: The young man took them to the Amalekites who were celebrating with drinking and dancing because of all the spoils they had taken from the lands of Philistia and Judah. David slaughtered them from “twilight until the evening of the next day” and killed all but 400 men on camels who were able to flee (vv. 16–17).

The phrase, “from twilight until the evening of the next day,” brings attention back to Christ:

From twilight—the last supper and Judas’s betrayal of Jesus

Until—the stations of the Cross

The evening of the next day—His death on the Cross.

David, the anointed, recovered ALL and rescued ALL his family, which is a foreshadowing of Christ (v. 18). Verse 19 says, “But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back.” This is a reminder of the finished work at the Cross. Nothing was left behind in the authority of the enemy (v. 20). Jesus restored everything, and even robbed the grave.

1 Samuel 30:21–31: When they returned, the 200 men at Besor came out to meet David and the people with them. David approached them and greeted them (v. 21). The wicked and worthless men among the 400 didn’t want the 200 men who had been left behind to receive any of the recovered spoils except for their wives and children (v. 22). Notice the wicked, who were so filled with bitterness and anger that they could only act out of selfishness, were the first to speak up and give their opinion. David responded that the victory had come from the Lord, not from the actions of the men, so all would share alike (vv. 23–24). David also recognized that those who had stayed behind had fulfilled a mission—they had protected the army’s supplies. Where did David get this understanding? From strengthening himself in the Lord. This was a critical moment in David’s leadership—he saw the heart of God and led the people from his victory in prayer, not in war. Jesus taught on this concept in His parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16). Verse 25 states that this philosophy of all receiving the same share became a statute and an ordinance for Israel. David was beginning to move Israel into the kind of nation who showed the heart of God in how they treated others (v. 25). Then David began to share the spoils with the elders of Judah and the other tribes in Israel (vv. 26–31).

CLOSING

At the same time David fought his battle in chapter 30, Saul and his sons were captured in battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:3–4). Saul was severely wounded by arrows and asked his armor bearer to kill him with a sword. The armor bearer refused, so Saul fell on his own sword, killing himself. When we look at chapters 30—31, we can’t help but notice the parallels between these chapters and Jesus’ journey. On the day the enemy crucified Jesus, He fell on His sword too.

Jesus is the Anointed One. He pursued, recaptured, and restored everything lost to mankind in the Garden of Eden. What Jesus did is a free gift. Everyone has benefited from Jesus going to the Cross. David sought the Lord instead of letting the pain motivate him. David's victory in this situation catapulted him in his anointing. Everyone benefits when we walk in our calling.