- Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,
- and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3. So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.
- Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
- And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.
- NOW DAVID WAS GREATLY DISTRESSED, for the people spoke of stoning him, BECAUSE THE SOUL OF ALL THE PEOPLE WAS GRIEVED, every man for his sons and his daughters. BUT DAVID STRENGTHENED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD."
1 Samuel 30:1-6 (NKJV)
• When the enemy, the devil who is the archenemy of the believers, attacks, it is not the time to be discouraged.
- If you allowed discouragement, there would be confusion and the matter would be complicated.
- The camp of David and his team was invaded by some marauders when they were not there.
WHEN they came back and saw what had happened, they started weeping. - As long as they kept weeping, there was no solution until David decided to inquire of the LORD whether they should pursue or not: "SO DAVID INQUIRED OF THE LORD, saying, “Shall I PURSUE this troop? Shall I OVERTAKE them?” And He answered him, "PURSUE, FOR YOU SHALL SURELY OVERTAKE THEM AND WITHOUT FAIL RECOVER ALL” (1 Samuel 30:8).
- Know that whatever the problem might be weeping will not bring any solution to the problem at hand.
- To recover whatever the enemy has stolen or taken, you have to pursue.
- You should not forget that you have to inquire from the LORD and receive direction on how to go by the pursuit.
• A leader should not allow discouragement to the point that he or she would be weeping with those who are under THEIR leadership.
- The people did expect David to proffer solution to the problem, not to be weeping.
THEY wanted him to tell them what next to do, when he did not take any step as per getting solution to their problems, they wanted to stone him because they were distraught—extremely upset and could not think clearly (1 Samuel 30:6).
• What did David do As the leader of the people:
(i) He encourage himself in the LORD (1 Samuel 30:6).
IF you suffered pains and you are distressed, it is not a sin If you do weep because humans are emotional beings.
- However, you do not have to continue in the weeping, you should encourage yourself in the LORD and inquire to know the way forward.
YOU do not continue bemoaning your condition and situation. - As a believer in Christ Jesus, you should know that God is not dead, He is alive and what has happened would be an opportunity for God to prove Himself strong in your Life and situation: "FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD RUN TO AND FROM THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH, TO SHOW HIMSELF STRONG ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHOSE HEART IS LOYAL TO HIM" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
- You encourage yourself in the LORD through the Word of God AND the prayer of enquiry.
(ii) David INQUIRED of the LORD (1 Samuel 30:8). - One of the reasons why David never Lost a battle whenever he went out to war was that, he never went to a battle without inquired from the LORD (1 Samuel 23:1-4; 2 Samuel 5:19-25).
Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
Then David inquired of the Lord once again. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
1 Samuel 23:2,4 (NKJV)So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.
And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
2 Samuel 5:19,23,24 (NKJV)
- In the presence of the LORD, David always received direction on how to approach every battle, God usually gave him different strategies and the approach to each battle (2 Samuel 5:19-25).
- In 1 Samuel 30:8 David inquired and asked for two things:
"Shall I pursue this troop?"
"Shall I overtake them?"
THE answer given to him by the LORD is: "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."
(iii) David and his team had compassion and showed kindness to a distressed and fainted person they Saw on their way: "Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; AND THEY GAVE HIM BREAD AND HE ATE, AND THEY LET HIM DRINK WATER" (1 Samuel 30:11).
READ: 1 Samuel 30:11-15 - If you are pursuing to recover whatever you have lost, do not neglect whoever you meet on your way that may need your help.
- Those whom you help on your way, in a bid to recover, might be the ones that God will use to take you to the place of recovery (1 Samuel 30:13-15).
- What you are looking for is somewhere, and someone knows where it is. Thus do not neglect or despise those who may need your help as you pursue to recover the losses.
- Endeavour to meet other people's needs that your own needs might be met.
- Joseph interpreted the dreams of others, Butler and Baker, thus his own dream of several years was interpreted as a result of what he did (Genesis chapters 40 and 41).
- Render the help to whomever God may burden your heart to help.
(iv) David and his team recovered all that the enemies had taken away, including their wives and children (1 Samuel 30:18,19). - In what has happened to you, that situation which you have found yourself, you do not need to sit down and be bemoaning your condition.
YOU would have to pursue that you may recover!
• To paraphrase the passage in the new testament language: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
- Satan is the archenemy of the believers. But Believers in Christ Jesus have been given victory over the devil and his cohorts, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, HE [Jesus] MADE A PUBLIC SPECTACLE OF THEM, TRIUMPHING OVER THEM IN IT" (Colossians 2:15).
- We are legally victorious over the battles of Life through Christ Jesus, albeit, we have to take it from legal to experimental: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:4).
- We appropriate the victory given to us in Christ Jesus through prayer of faith.
YOU drive home your victory by declaring the Word of God, resisting the devil, and telling him, the devil, to take his hands off on whatever belongs to you AND your Loved ones. - Since we believers in the New Testament do not wrestle against flesh and blood, and we do not war after the flesh (1 Corinthians 10:3,4); We have to prevail in prayer, overcome in the spiritual realm, in order to experience victory in the physical realm.
- Whatever happens in the physical realm must have been predetermined and established in the spiritual realm—for the spiritual realm controls the physical realm.
YOUR success in prayer determines your success in the physical Life—both in your secular work and Whatever may be yours in the physical realm. - As a believer, you take back whatever the enemy has stolen or hijacked, through prayer and the application of the Word of God in all you do in Life.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!