1 Samuel 30

1 Samuel 30 (Listen)

David’s Wives Are Captured

30:1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all¹ who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,² each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” 9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.”

David Defeats the Amalekites

16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. 18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,³ and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

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. 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.” 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. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD.” 27 It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir, 28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites, 30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.

(ESV)

1 Samuel 30 Commentary

In 1 Samuel 30, David and his men arrived in Ziklag to find it burned by the Amalekites, who had kidnapped everyone but killed no one (1 Samuel 30:1-2). Overwhelmed with grief, the men wept until they could weep no more (1 Samuel 30:3-4). David’s two wives were also among the captives (1 Samuel 30:5). The men spoke of stoning David, but he found strength in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6).

David consulted the Lord through Abiathar the priest and was told to pursue the raiders and that he would succeed (1 Samuel 30:7-8). He set out with 600 men, but 200 stayed behind at the Wadi Besor due to exhaustion (1 Samuel 30:9-10). Along the way, they found an abandoned Egyptian slave who had been part of the Amalekite raid. After reviving him, the man led David to the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:11-15).

David attacked and defeated them from twilight until evening the next day, and none escaped except 400 young men on camels (1 Samuel 30:16-17). David recovered everything, including his two wives and all the captives and plunder (1 Samuel 30:18-20).

When they returned to the 200 men who had stayed behind, some among David’s men didn’t want to share the plunder. But David insisted that all would share equally, establishing a law for Israel from that day forward (1 Samuel 30:21-25).

Finally, David sent portions of the plunder to the elders of Judah and to various towns where he and his men had previously roamed (1 Samuel 30:26-31).

Discouragement At Ziklag

While David and his men were away, the Amalekites raided and burned Ziklag. That’s the bad news. The worst news is that they also captured all the women and children. This attack was likely revenge for David’s earlier raids against them. When David’s men returned on the third day and saw the destruction, they were thoroughly devastated. These grizzled military men wept bitterly until they had no strength left. These weren’t just soldiers; they were fathers, husbands, and brothers, and they had just lost their homes, families, and hope. This level of loss was on a Job-like scale.

As it does many times, the sadness turned to anger. Suddenly, the man who had led them faithfully and confidently became the number one target of their frustration. Tragedy turned to mutiny. They blamed David. All of this sets the stage for a hidden gem of practical biblical truth.

“David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.”

1 Samuel 30:6 CSB

David Found Strength In The Lord

But David found strength in the Lord his God. What a verse! This is characteristic of so many situations we face in life. How many of us have been overwhelmed, shocked, or blindsided by some kind of tragic loss? How many of us have been falsely accused, turned on, and threatened by some of the people closest to us? David had both, but David also had God.

He thought about the sovereignty of God. He thought about the provision of God. He thought about His faithfulness to him time and time again. He thought about the fact that this event did not surprise God. He thought about the fact that God’s promises are true and that God loves David as a son. He thought about how God had chosen him to lead these men before him. He probably also remembered how God faithfully delivered him in his battle against the mighty Goliath. This problem is not too big for God!

“One reason for that strength lay in the fact that David had the freedom to communicate with the living God. David could not reach out to the Philistine army for help in pursuing the Amalekites, nor could he rely on the armies of Israel; yet he could—and did—reach up to Yahweh of Armies to request help.”

The New American Commentary

One reason for that strength for us today lies in the fact that we have God’s Word! Through Jesus, we can commune with God in prayer without an ephod or a priest. This gives us the ultimate hope – we have a Living God who hears us, who loves us, and who is faithful and trustworthy. In David’s case, right thinking leads to right doing. After being stirred up in the Lord, he goes straight to God.

“The author skillfully used vv. 6–8 to draw yet one more sharp distinction between David and Saul. During a time of great distress both men sought supernatural guidance for battle. Chronologically, they probably were seeking guidance on the very same day. However, one defied the Torah; the other utilized its gracious provision. Saul sought help from a medium and received the promise of death; David sought help through an Aaronic priest using the ephod and received the promise—later fulfilled—of life and blessing.”

The New American Commentary

Weak But Strong

The Lord strengthened David. But don’t miss this. He was made strong in his weakness. David wasn’t strengthened when everything was going well; he was strengthened when everything fell apart. His family was gone, his city was in ruins, his men were ready to turn on him… yet that’s precisely when he turned to the Lord and found the strength he needed. The reality for us is that sometimes we must walk into the valley to feel a more intimate and intense relationship with God.

Scripture says David put together a plan right then and there. He and his men went out to pursue the Amalekites in battle. Two paragraphs later, we read that David and his men caught up with the enemy and utterly destroyed them. In fact, Scripture specifically says, David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken.

David’s Leadership

David makes three decisions that validate his God-fearing leadership.

• Godly Leaders Turn to God First in Crisis: (1 Samuel 30:11-15): When everything fell apart, David didn’t react impulsively. Instead, he turned to God. He sought strength not from strategy, not from revenge, but from the Lord.
• Godly Leaders Show Compassion Even When Under Pressure (1 Samuel 30:11-15): Even while on an urgent mission to rescue their families, David paused to care for a dying foreigner. This act of compassion became the very means by which God led them to the Amalekite camp. Like the Good Samaritan (Luk 10:25-37), David refused to ignore suffering just because he had “more important things” to do.
• Godly Leaders Value the Whole Team (1 Samuel 30:24): When the spoils of war were being divided, some of David’s men wanted to exclude the ones who stayed behind, but David insisted on unity and equity. David saw everything gained in battle as a gift from God, not something earned by personal effort. The true blessings of battle were not the spoils, but protection from harm and victory over the enemy. Since every role contributed to success, everyone deserved to share in the reward.

Sometimes life throws us all kinds of curveballs, and it’s easy to get hung up on the negatives. It’s so easy to focus on the problems, throw our arms up in the air, and complain about life. David is a great example of what a Biblical response can do for us in our lives. We must remember that God does great work in lowly places. His strength and inspiration are just a few small steps away.