Focus Chapters:
- 1 Samuel 30
- 1 Chronicles 12:20-22
- 1 Samuel 31
- 1 Chronicles 10
- 1 Chronicles 9:40-44
- 2 Samuel 4:4
- 2 Samuel 1
Standout Verse(s):
1 Samuel 30:1-4, 6-8 NLT
Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more.
David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
Observation (s):
- The Amalekites attacked Ziklag when David was away.
Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.
- At first the men wept in unity at the captivity of their loved ones. Soon, bitterness consumed them and they turned on David.
When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more.
David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him.
- Despite all that was happening around him and the threat to his life, David focused on seeking God for directions.
But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
Application:
In the Matrix trilogy, during the war when the machines attacked and the sentinels breached Zion’s walls, all instructions were sought from and given by one man, Jason Locke, the commander of Zion’s defense forces. In the heat of the battle, even the Council of Elders heeded his instructions.
David showed that God is his commander of defense forces. Despite his grief over the captivity of his wives and his men’s families and his men turning on him, he does not lose sight of who commands his defenses. He doesn’t allow worry, fear, grief or bitterness to overcome him. Instead, David chooses to draw strength from God and seeks Him. God gives him a simple answer to his request for directions: “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
Do not be overwhelmed by sneaky attacks from your enemies. Don’t be consumed with bitterness and grief over your losses. Don’t worry about the reaction of your men. When God is the commander of your defense forces, you have one strategy that never fails. You learn to consult God throughout the battle.
