Whatever we’re called to do and able to do, we should keep doing as long as God permits.
David had spared Saul’s life twice because he was the Lord’s anointed king – he wouldn’t lift his hand against him. But David believed Saul would try to kill him again, so he took the drastic step of going to live among the Philistines, Israel’s sworn enemies. While David was there, he and his men continued to raid the territory of their enemies, but they never let anyone else know what they’d been doing. 1 Samuel 27:9, 11 David had to keep his 600 men ‘fighting fit’, so he raided and plundered the enemy camps, but secretly. Some of us may be called to do things that only the Lord knows about, but David and his men kept active as best they could. This may be a call to some of us to renew our service for the Lord today, don’t wait or waste more time. Serve where you can and while you can. God is faithful.
Saul could no longer hunt David and the Philistines gathered to attack Israel. Saul was in great fear and was no longer hearing from the Lord, ‘either by prophets or by dreams’ (two recognised ways of receiving guidance, don’t discount them). 1 Samuel 28:15 So Saul turned to the witch at Endor, even though he’d expelled mediums and spiritists from the land. She called up Samuel for Saul and he got the message that he and his sons would be with Samuel tomorrow. Saul’s hour had come, he was going to leave the scene of time and David hadn’t taken his life, though it had been put in his hands twice.
David was sent away by the Philistine leaders and so returned to his home base at Ziklag, to discover the Amalekites had raided them and taken their families and plundered their goods. David’s men were so angry they wanted to stone him, the price of leadership when things don’t go well! He sought the Lord and once again God told him to pursue them and he would be successful. David did it and two things happened. Two hundred of his men were too tired to go on and waited with the supplies at the Besor Ravine. The second was that they found an Egyptian slave, who’d been left for dead, whom they revived and he led them to the Amalekite raiders. God gave David the success he so desperately needed, unlike Saul. Despite the anger of some of his men against those who had stayed at the ravine, David insisted that God had given the victory and all would have an equal share. 1 Samuel 30:24, 25 It makes a big difference whether we claim the victory from our own hands, OR SEE IT AS THE HAND OF THE LORD!
David sent gifts of the plunder from the Amalekite army to many places, he didn’t keep it all for himself. David had a better attitude than many of those around him.
26 When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah,
It’s interesting that the first place David sent gifts to, Judah, was the first place he was crowned king. We’re going where we’re giving!
God bless and keep you today.