From Ziklag the enemy had taken captives their wives and children and had stolen all their possessions.
(Dr. Stanley) “David had to experience Ziklag before he was prepared to be the king of Israel”. Jonathan was a good and loving friend but a bad counselor. He advised David (1 Samuel 20:22) to run and hide. (Be careful from whom you get counsel). In God’s strength, David had killed (1 Samuel 17:36,51) a lion, a bear and Goliath. He had no need to run and hide from anyone. But David started on a path of living by his wits, a path of lies, deception and manipulation in order to protect himself by his own strategies. Eternal facts will never accommodate themselves to errors in human thinking. He got his wife (1 Samuel 19:12-14) to lie for him. He should have (1 Samuel 19:18) stayed with Samuel. Because of his lies to Ahimelech, the priest, Saul had Doeg (1 Samuel 22:19-20) slaughter 85 priests and every one of their families in the city of Nob. Abiathar was the only son of the priest to escape. David had to carry the guilt for that horrible sacrilege. David went to Gath (1 Samuel 21:10) which had been the hometown of Goliath. He thought he was safe because those people had never seen him. But he had Goliath’s famous sword on his belt (1 Samuel 21:9) and the people would all recognize the sword of their hero and know that this was David who had killed him.
So, his next strategy was to pretend that (1 Samuel 21:13) he was insane and David’s gross behaviour was disgusting. David escaped (1 Samuel 22:1-3) to the cave of Adullam. Everyone who was in distress or in debt or discontented, about 400, men gathered to him and he became their leader. They certainly were not a fun group or cheerful companions. After one of their raids, (1 Samuel 30:1-3) David and his men returned home to Ziklag only to discover that the Amalekites had burned the town, taken captives their wives and children and stolen all their possessions.
They wept until they were too exhausted for any more tears (1 Samuel 30:4-6) and his bunch of deadbeats spoke of stoning David. This was the low point in David’s life. Have you been there? BUT – David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord. Finally, he had stopped running his own show and turned everything over to God. The Lord told David to pursue the Amalekites and that he would recover (1 Samuel 30:18-20) not only all that had been taken but also that he would take much spoil from the enemy. There is much we can learn from the life of David. Sometimes a disaster can wake us up and it becomes a doorway to a new and greater work of God in us and though us. Fire burns up useless chaff; fire also refines precious gold.
When David turned to the Lord, he not only recovered all that had been stolen, but he continued on the path to becoming a man after God’s own heart. I pray that all my actions will be the result of my choices being based on my adoration and worship of my God and that the Holy Spirit will rejoice in empowering those choices. When God the Father is glorified because Jesus is exalted and revealed, the Holy Spirit rejoices together with me.
We must take into consideration the reality of sin. Jesus was (Isaiah 53:3) a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Oswald Chambers) “We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect. Sin is red-handed mutiny against God”. We are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) only by right of the Atonement. If there was no sin there would be no grief, wars, famines, diseases, etc. all cause grief and all are the result of sin. Because we are all acquainted with sin, we are all acquainted with grief. The climax of sin was the betrayal, denial, desertion, abandon and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We need to determine that sin will be killed in us so that God’s life will rule in us. Sin is the explanation for sorrow and grief in life and the explanation as to why Jesus came. This realization should compel us to our priestly ministry, which is not judging but prayer. Prayer is the result of and a partner with worship. If I do not recognize WHO God is and therefore worship Him (1 Chronicles 16:29) in the beauty of His holiness, I could think that prayer is a waste of time. BUT – because I see His beauty, know with growing wonder His magnificence and Sovereign majesty and magnitude, I am compelled and longing to worship Him. It gives life-breath to increasing worshiping prayer, prayer of thanksgiving and praise, prayer of intercession and petition. We cannot really pray to God if we do not truly worship Him.
I think it was Dr. Stanley who said a few years ago, “It’s not so much that God’s Presence is everywhere but that everywhere is in God’s Presence”. His words give a clearer picture of the limitless scope of the marvelous magnitude of our all-glorious God. Do I want to learn more? I have been commanded to meditate (Joshua 1:5, Joshua 1:8) day and night on the Word of God so that I will have good spiritual success in all my ways. No enemies, such as distraction, discouragement, deception, will be able to stand before me as a conqueror, all the days of my life on Planet Earth. They will fall in defeat before me by the power of Jesus in my victorious Resurrection Life. It is always NOW with God so NOW is all I have. I must surrender my all to Him NOW and draw on His grace NOW.