David’s Wives Are Captured

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

1 Samuel 30:21-25

30:21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them.
30:22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.”
30:23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.
30:25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

This passage delves into a popular passage that many missionaries use to speak of believers not moving on into foreign fields, staying behind on the home front and not continuing on in global evangelism. I have heard a few messages on this topic, but I don’t recall being taught of the extent of exhaustion these soldiers may have experienced.

Let’s try to understand the setting.

We have two groups being referred to in this passage. Our topic group are those “lazy good for nothings” that stayed behind at the brook, with the second group, those “wicked and worthless fellows” claiming they should not receive any of the spoils from the victory.

Those Lazy Good for Nothings

The text states that those soldiers of David that were exhausted stayed at the Brook Besor. After the battle to retrieve the wives, children and livestock, the army reunited with these exhausted remaining at the Brook Besor. Given that this battle took a full day per 1 Samuel 30:17, and that some additional travel to the battlefield was required, we can assume those at the Brook Besor may have had two days of recuperation available.

1 Samuel 30:17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day,

In my mind, I imagined these soldiers laying by the beach, with umbrella’s shading them from the harsh sun, being attended to by beach waiters bringing them drinks and snacks. Now this is surely ludicrous, for I am implying that they claimed exhaustion to avoid responsibility. I think I may be thinking like that other group, those wicked and worthless fellows.

Now before we come down hard on these “lazy good for nothings” as the wicked and worthless fellows in verse 22 seem to do, let us consider these soldier’s claim.

The army had been in Philistia, prepping for war with Israel, when they were told to stand down. David led them back to their base, back to Ziklag where they found it burnt and smoldering. Could some of these “lazy good for nothings” have been impacted by the raid on Ziklag? Might they have lost family and possessions? Even the wicked and worthless admit these “lazy good for nothings” had lost wives and children.

Let me ask of these “lazy good for nothings”, regarding their past fighting with David. Had this “excuse” been used before? Was there a portion of David’s men that typically tired earlier than the rest? If so, why were they still with David and his men?

But the biggest indicator that something non-typical was occurring in this story is the strangeness of soldiers not seeking revenge for this kidnapping and destruction of their homes. When was the last time a man, a soldier at that, would not seek to rescue his family. These “lazy good for nothings” had lost family and possessions, and because they wanted a nap, they stayed behind? That does not ring right.

Those wicked and worthless fellows

I also came away from many messages, thinking those who rescued the wives were the heroes, spotless in their allegiance to God and David.  They gave what was required to take down the Amalekites, and proved victorious.

And for many in that group, they fought bravely, successfully and experienced the salvation of God.  But those few vocal soldiers coming back from the battle, they tried to take advantage of a situation.  They spoke out against those exhausted soldiers – I refuse to call them “lazy good for nothings” after considering the situation – those wicked and worthless fellows tried to split the group and get more of the spoils. 

Wicked and worthless?  These are winning soldiers, who have suffered the long march, fought for David, and returned with the victory.  Is it fair to call them wicked and worthless?  For those few that were vocal, I think it is very fair to consider them wicked and worthless.

Consider

First off, they sought to create an “us vs them”.  How many armies can be successful divided against itself?  This effort was divisive and against the will of God.

Secondly, they sought their brothers livestock.  This would definitely leave a lasting social and economic impact between this fledgling group of Israeli’s who were to become the greatest army in the region under God.  There would be a group within the army that would be left destitute of all livestock.  Thankfully the wicked and worthless were going to provide the women and children back to their husbands/fathers.  Mighty kind of them!

Thirdly, this request/demand exposes a dark side in some of David’s men, a dark side that seems to be ruled by greed, and not God.  Now I am not so naive to think these men were praying three times a day as David may have, but the greed of these vocal soldiers comes into clear view in this passage.

Those vocal soldiers are aptly described as wicked and worthless, and David sees through this logic, for it did have a sense of logic upon it, and instructed his army in a manner that would continue to solidify their team/group dynamic.

In all of this story, When I heard the preaching based on this story as an appeal to go forth into the very ends of the earth, it rocked my world. It appealed to my wicked and worthless side, for the implication was that to be a missionary, a foreign missionary at that, was to be able to acquire others possessions since they didn’t work the harvest fields. I realize somewhat better now that the only reason to enter into service for the Master is strictly and only out of a love for Him.

Self interest and a desire to acquire booty, though it be “spiritual”, is not a holy motivation, could not maintain a faithful service and would only cause heartache and pain in the end. My wife and I sought to enter the mission field at one point, and was refused the honor to serve. When I read this passage, I think the roadblocks we faced may have been placed in front of us due to my impure motivation to serve Him.

In this vein of thought, I often hear Jeremiah’s advise to Baruch in the 45th chapter of Jeremiah, where he admonishes

Jeremiah 45:5 ….do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not….

Jeremiah and Baruch were undergoing massive upheaval in their lives and this admonition to Baruch involved many issues not directly related to my life, but the admonition is sound.

Seeking the spoils, whether those spoils be possessions that rightly belong to your brother in arms, as these wicked and worthless fellows were seeking, or the desire for self elevation as Baruch may have been desiring, is never the proper way to behave in the Body of Christ.

May we find peace in our desires to serve the Risen Lord, whether in prosperity or poverty, whether in fame or obscurity.

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