Unguarded

In 1 Samuel 30, we read of a time when David and his men returned from doing battle with the Philistines. To their surprise, their camp had been raided by Amalekites and their wives, children and possessions taken and the camp was burnt. As a precursor to this incident, in chapter 27, David fled to the Philistines as a way to escape from Saul. “Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand” (1 Samuel 27:1). His strategy worked, because once Saul heard that he was in Gath, he stopped pursuing him.

David lived with his family along with six hundred men and their families who followed him. He and his men lived in Ziglag and would go out and raid other regions and take their goods. When the King of the Philistine asked David where he had raided, he would convince him that he had raided his own people in Isreal. What he did was to take out everyone among the regions that he raided, so that no one lived to inform the King. Eventually, the Philistines went to war against Saul and they refused to take David. They were afraid that he may turn against them and support Saul and his army.

David and his men went back to their camp in Ziglag and found that their families had been taken. He was distressed because the men were bitter and wanted to stone him. He sought God, strengthened himself and God told him to pursue the army to recover what they stole. They went after the army and recaptured their families and possessions along with the army’s possessions. Despite this victory, some of David’s men were so tired that they could not complete the mission with him. This created some division as the men who fought, did not want to share the spoils with them. “Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike” (1 Samuel 30:24).

This is a great story of restoration and recovery, as God helped David and his men to retake what they lost. We have to consider if the original losses could have been avoided, if the camp was not left unguarded? David and his men were busy raiding other territories, while they left their own territory unguarded. All the men went to war and left the women and children alone and unprotected. We can relate this to our homes and families. Many times we go out to do battle in ministry and in the marketplace. We cannot go to war and leave our homes unguarded. If we do, then the devil will take opportunity to come in and steal our possessions.

“lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:11).

A.P.-Y.

Published
February 24, 2023February 24, 2023