1
Samuel chapter 30 reminds us of how odd God’s ledger sheet looks.
Many of us grew up believing that at the end of our life, God will
tally up the good and the bad and we hoped we would have enough good
to tip the scales toward heaven. As we will see, God uses a
different scale. The chapter begins with David and his army
returning to Ziklag after being rejected by the Philistines. Tired
and unappreciated, the men were certainly looking forward to seeing
their families again. But we read; “Now
the Amalekites had raided… they found it destroyed by fire and
their wives and sons and daughters taken captive… They killed none
of them, but carried them off as they went on their way… so David
and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep“.
I’m sure David wondered why God allowed this to happen. We also
read, “David’s
two wives had been captured”
and “David
was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him“.
Talk about a bad day! David had no options. “But
David found strength in the Lord his God“.
When it seems there is nowhere else to turn, remember that God never
turns his back to you.
“David
inquired of the Lord”
and was given a promise, “You
will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue“.
David’s army must have been traveling at a tremendous pace. We
read that David and his men came to, “Besor
Ravine, where some stayed behind, for two hundred men were too
exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men
continued the pursuit“.
Next we read that they “found
an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David“.
After giving him food and drink, “he
was revived“.
We learn he was the slave of an Amalekite. “My
master abandoned me when I became ill“.
David asked if he could lead them to the raiding party. He answered,
“Swear
to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my
master, and I will take you down to them“.
Some of the coolest Christians are those that have been abused by
the enemy and cast aside, only to be revived by the compassion of a
disciple of Christ. When David found the enemy, predictably they
were “drinking
and reveling because of the great deal of plunder“.
As God promised, “David
fought them… until the evening… David recovered everything the
Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing“.
When God restores, He restores completely and then He adds
abundance!
Then
David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to
follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. We read
that, “troublemakers
among David’s followers”
believed these men did not earn any of the blessings. “Because
they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder
we recovered“.
But David understood that the victory belonged to God, “No,
my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He
has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against
us… The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the
same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share
alike.”
Here is a wonderful truth; with God, THERE IS NO PARTIAL CREDIT! In
Matthew 20:12-13, Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard owner that
hired men to work in his field to harvest. Some were hired early in
the morning, others at mid-day, and finally some hired at the end of
the day. All of them received a full day’s pay. Those that worked
all day complained, “These
last men
have worked only
one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and
the heat of the day“.
God has only one standard; perfection. Anything short of perfection
is sin. Praise God, He also provided a way for ALL to be restored
completely. If you are tired of trying to be good enough, Acts 16:31
explains, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved“.
Because of the work of Christ, your debt is paid in full. Enjoy
the abundance of God!