And David came to Ziklag, and he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
to those in Bethel, and to those in south Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,
David has just crushed the Amalekite raiders who burned Ziklag and seized the families of his men. Now he shares out the recovered plunder across southern Judah, and the first three towns raise a question: why these places, and why give so much away?
The Bethel here is probably not the well-known Bethel. It looks like a separate town in the south that shares the name:
This name appears in Joshua 12:16 (not the one in Joshua 12:9) and in 1 Samuel 30:27. It is probably a different place from the Bethel described before it, because of the names linked with it, and it lay farther south. It is probably the same as Bethul, or Bethuel.
Jattir, the third town, had a particular standing in Israel:
City in the highlands of Judah, allotted to the priests. Joshua 15:48; Joshua 21:14; 1 Samuel 30:27; 1 Chronicles 6:57.
Older translations call the second town, Ramoth of the Negeb, "south Ramoth."
The towns were not chosen at random. They were the places that had known David when he had nothing:
David had already given his companions back everything they had lost. He also sends some of the spoil he had gathered to his brothers in the land of Israel. The large number of cities remembered in this way shows how great his victory had been. He sends it to those who had seen his poverty for themselves. They had at least refused to join in against him, and so proved that they were for him.
The obvious use of plunder is to make yourself rich. David does the opposite, and the gift carries a message about who is with him:
David, upright and generous, found an opportunity in the difficulty that arose from the selfishness of his people. He could set up something that agreed with the will of God. Instead of seeking to enrich himself through his share of the spoil, he uses it to keep kind relations with the elders of his people, and to prove to them that Jehovah is still with him.
David remembers many, and he leaves some out. One writer reads a warning in that:
In his prosperity (verses 26-31) David forgets none of those who had helped him in the time of his adversity. He showers gifts on them. As far as I can see, the only ones left out were the Ziphites, who had no part in his generosity: those informers who had wanted to hand over the king of Israel. David's generosity gives all the faithful solid proof that the Lord is with him. It proves that it is good to accept him as master and to put oneself under his law. Unfaithfulness toward Christ, on the other hand, will one day bring its inevitable consequences, perhaps long afterward. And in contrast, a glass of water given to David in the wilderness is recorded in the book of Him who values all our deeds. He weighs them by how much they serve Christ, whether more or less.
David had been away from the Lord. The sharing out of the spoil shows that he is a restored man:
A dispute threatened among David's men. It would have turned out very differently if he had still been away from the Lord. But now he acts in the sweetness of grace. The great spoil is distributed among the different cities of Judah. We may well think here of the victory of our coming King, in which His people will share through His infinite grace.
The full dividing of the spoil is still ahead, though something of it can be tasted now:
Even now, if we have shared in His reproach in some small way, we are allowed a foretaste of such triumphs of our Lord, and allowed to enjoy the results of His victory. But the day for that full dividing of the spoil has not yet come. What a time it will be when the least loyalty to Him — even a cup of cold water given to one of His disciples — receives a recognition beyond the greatest expectation!
- Recovery — This giving is the fruit of a restored heart. The man who had drifted from the Lord now "acts in the sweetness of grace."
- Gift — David keeps nothing back for himself. The spoil becomes a present, used to hold his people together and to prove the Lord is with him.
- Reach — The gift travels wide: a southern Bethel, Ramoth of the Negeb, the priests' town of Jattir, and many more. Every place that stood by him in his poverty has a share.
- Memory — David forgets no friend from the hard years, and no cup of water given to him goes unrecorded. Only the informers who had tried to betray him get nothing.
- Foretaste — The scene points forward to a greater King. His people will share in a victory they did not win, and He will honour the smallest act of loyalty to Him far beyond expectation.
and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,
Verse 28 names three of the towns that shared in what David had just won back from the Amalekites who burned Ziklag. After a chapter of failure, chastening and recovery, why does the restored man start by giving his winnings away?
The length of the list says something about the size of the win. And the towns on it had a history with David:
The large number of cities he remembered in this way shows how great his victory had been. He sends the gifts to people who had seen his own poverty, and who had proved that they were for him — at least by refusing to take sides against him.
David had every claim on the goods he recovered. He did not use them to make himself rich:
David was upright and generous. The selfishness of his people created a difficulty, and in it he found an opportunity to set up something that agreed with the will of God. Instead of trying to make himself rich through his share of the spoil, he uses it to keep warm relations with the elders of his people, and to prove to them that Jehovah is still with him.
His giving flows from being right with the Lord again. Trouble had threatened among his men, and it could have gone another way:
The quarrel that threatened among David's men would have ended very differently if he had still been far from the Lord. But now he acts in the sweetness of grace. He shares the great spoil out among the different cities of Judah.
The gifts went out from a burnt town. Two things spoke at the same time:
The burnt ruins of Ziklag were witness to the chastening he had tasted so deeply and had needed. The presents he was sending out in every direction announced the repayment and the victory God had granted him. The contrast between the two witnesses is striking. One reported his own failure. The other spoke more widely and more plainly of the goodness and favour of the Lord.
The gifts went out to all the places David and his men had roamed. Then the news that changed everything reached him:
He had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and had sent presents of the spoil of the "enemies of the Lord" to all the places where he and his men used to roam. It was there, at Ziklag, that the great news reached him of the death of the man whose throne he was to fill.
David acted like a king before he knew Saul had fallen. A principle follows:
He was acting like a true king before he knew that he really was king, or that the man who had blocked his way to the throne had fallen on Mount Gilboa. It fits God's ways that we should have the spirit of our position by the time we are publicly given it. The condition shows the position.
One group is missing from the list, and the absence carries a warning:
In his prosperity (verses 26-31) David forgets none of those who had helped him in the time of his trouble. He showers them with gifts. Almost the only ones I see left out, with no share in his generosity, are the Ziphites: the informers who had wanted to hand over the king of Israel. David's generosity gives all the faithful solid proof that the Lord is with him, and that it is good to accept him as master and to put yourself under his authority. Being unfaithful to Christ will one day bring its certain consequences, even if long afterwards.
The sharing out of the spoil is a small picture of a larger one, still to come:
Even now we get a foretaste of such triumphs of our Lord. If we have shared in His reproach in any small way, we also enjoy the results of His victory. But the day for that full dividing of the spoil has not yet come. What a time it will be when the least loyalty to Him receives recognition beyond the greatest expectation — even when it was no more than a cup of cold water given to one of His disciples!
- Chastened. Ziklag's ruins recorded David's own failure. The gifts sent out from those ruins recorded the Lord's goodness.
- Restored. Because he is right with God again, he acts in the sweetness of grace. The quarrel that threatened among his men could have ended very differently.
- Given away. He keeps nothing back for himself. The spoil buys warm relations with the elders and proves the Lord is still with him.
- Reaching far. The long list of towns measures the size of the victory. Every town on it stood by him when he was poor. Only informers like the Ziphites are missing.
- Repaid. David repays in his prosperity what was given to him in the wilderness. One day even a cup of cold water given to one of Christ's own will win recognition beyond all expectation.
and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-ashan, and to those in Athach,
David has just recovered everything the Amalekites took from Ziklag, and he sends shares of the spoil to towns across southern Judah, among them Hormah, Bor-ashan and Athach. The list looks like dry geography, but each name has a history, and commentators read the gift as the mark of a man restored to God.
These are not random towns. One of them — Bor-ashan, which some translations spell Chor-ashan — appears in the old records as a place David knew from his years on the run.
A city in Judah where David used to take refuge, and to which he sent some of the spoil he had taken in war. 1 Sam. 30:30. It is mentioned along with cities south of Hebron.
Hormah carries a name earned in battle long before David was born.
The name means "utter destruction." Judah and Simeon gave it to Zephath, a town in the far south, when they conquered it.
David could have kept the recovered goods. What he does with them shows where his heart now sits.
David was upright and generous. The selfishness of his people caused trouble, and in that trouble he found a chance to set up what agreed with the will of God. He does not try to enrich himself with his share of the spoil. Instead, he uses it to keep warm relations with the elders of his people, and to prove to them that the Lord is still with him.
The bigger gain was not the goods David got back.
Grace had achieved not merely a great victory for David, but a greater victory in him.
The gift comes with a label. David does not call it his winnings; he names the source, and the contrast with Saul is stark.
Saul forfeits everything by disobedience and finally dies; David, on the other hand, prospers in the school of adversity and comes in, at the close of this book, holding both the position and the real power of God, by which he recovers everything from the enemy's hand. What is more, David sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "Behold, a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD."
The towns on this list had sheltered a fugitive. Now the fugitive is winning, and the memory works both ways.
In his prosperity (vv. 26-31) David forgets none of those who had helped him in the time of his adversity. He showers them with gifts. I can see hardly anyone excluded from his generosity except the Ziphites — the informers who had wanted to hand over the king of Israel. David's liberality gives all the faithful solid proof that the Lord is with him... And in contrast, a glass of water given to David in the wilderness goes down in the book of Him who values all our deeds. He weighs them by how useful they are to Christ, whether great or small.
One writer turns this sharing into questions for anyone who has come through a spiritual fight.
Do we realise that every victory over the flesh and its desires is a victory for the whole people of God? So is every defeat of our spiritual enemies, and we are to share the results with them. We have snatched precious things of Christ from the enemy's hand. Are we unwilling to pass them on to those who have not had enough energy to recover what is really their own?
The same writer adds a caution: generosity is not carelessness. Knowing what to give, and to whom, takes wisdom.
The scene points forward, and one writer names what it pictures.
David distributes the great spoil among the various cities of Judah. We may well think here of the victory of our coming King. His people will share in it through His boundless grace.
- Recovered. David gets back everything Amalek took. He names the spoil he sends to Hormah, Bor-ashan and Athach for what it is: plunder taken from the enemies of the LORD.
- Restored. He does not use the win to enrich himself. Commentators see the deeper victory as the one grace won inside David, not just for him.
- Remembered. Every place that sheltered him in his poverty is on the list. He leaves off only the informers who had tried to betray him.
- Shared. One man won the battle; towns that never marched get the spoil. That is the pattern: pass on to the whole people of God what we have won back from the enemy.
- Rewarded. God does not forget a glass of water given to a hunted man. He records it, and it points to a coming King whose people will share in His victory.
and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men went about.
David's list of gifts ends where his kingship would begin. He sends the recovered spoil back along the whole trail of his exile. Hebron is the last name on the list.
The closing phrase sweeps up every place he and his men had passed through while in hiding. One writer notes who was left off the list:
In his prosperity (vv. 26-31) David forgets none of those who had helped him in the time of his adversity. He overwhelms them with gifts. I see almost no one left out. Only the Ziphites had no share in his generosity: those informers who had wanted to hand over the king of Israel. David's generosity gives all the faithful solid proof that the Lord is with him. It shows that it is good to accept him as master and to live under his law. Unfaithfulness toward Christ, on the other hand, will one day bring its inevitable consequences — perhaps long afterward.
David had a rightful share of the plunder. He spent it on others instead:
The selfishness of his people created a difficulty. David, upright and generous, found in it an opportunity to set up what agreed with the will of God. He did not seek to enrich himself through his share of the spoil. He uses it instead to keep kind relations with the elders of his people, and to prove to them that the Lord is still with him.
Earlier in this chapter David was at his lowest. The goods were not the main thing recovered:
But further, the exceeding grace of God gave occasion to two things worth noting here. First, hateful selfishness broke out in those who had no appreciation of the Lord. The presence and activity of grace always bring out the evil of the heart where there is no faith. Second, the single-eyed devotedness of one who no longer sought his own things shone once more with undimmed brightness. David was truly and fully restored. Grace had achieved not merely a great victory for David, but a greater victory in him.
The length of the list is part of the story, and so are the people who received the gifts:
David had restored to his companions all that they had lost. He also sends some of the spoil he had gathered to his brothers in the land of Israel. The large number of cities remembered in this way shows how great his victory had been. He sends it to those who had seen his own poverty. By refusing to join against him, they had at least proved that they were for him... What a time it will be! Suppose our loyalty to Him has been only a cup of cold water given to one of His disciples. Even that will receive a recognition beyond the greatest expectation!
Behind David's sharing of the spoil, one writer sees a greater Conqueror:
But He was Conqueror for us, and so He comes out at once with the spoils of that day to lay them at our feet. He had been alone in the conflict, but would not be alone in the victory... It was an ancient statute of David that the man who stayed by the baggage should share with the man who went down to the battle. And it was a decree worthy of the grace of "the beloved." But a better one than David is here, One not only of royal but of divine grace.
The last town on David's list is the one God names next. The gifts went out while he was still at Ziklag:
Now that Saul was dead, the way lay open for him to take the throne. Though he had not left Ziklag, he at once acted royally, sending presents to the elders of Judah, to his friends... With the simplicity of a child, and in few words, he asked Him — "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him — Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron."
- Restored. This generosity comes from a man just brought back to God. Grace won a victory for David, and a greater victory in him.
- Given. He refused to enrich himself from the spoil. He used it to keep kind relations with the elders and to prove the Lord was still with him.
- Remembered. Every place of his exile received a share. The only ones missing are the men who had tried to hand him over.
- Shared. The Conqueror was alone in the battle, but He will not be alone in the victory. Even a cup of cold water given to one of His disciples will meet a recognition beyond expectation.
- Enthroned. Hebron closes the list, and Hebron is where God sends him next; the gifts of a rejected man come just before the crown.