Rescuing The Hostages In The
Old Testament
1 Samuel 30
David’s Conflict with the Amalekites
1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the
third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and
Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,
2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from
small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and
went their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned
with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been
taken captive.
4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up
their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the
widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.
6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning
him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for
his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the
Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son,
“Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod
to David.
8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop?
Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and
without fail recover all.”
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and
came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred
stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook
Besor.
11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to
David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink
water.
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of
raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he
had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.
13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you
from?”
And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite;
and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.
14 We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in
the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of
Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
15 And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?”
So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor
deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to
this troop.”
16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out
over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all
the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the
Philistines and from the land of Judah.
17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the
next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men
who rode on camels and fled.
18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried
away, and David rescued his two wives.
19 And nothing of theirs was lacking,
either small or great,
sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them;
David recovered all.
20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven
before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
21 Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary that
they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the
Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people
who were with him. And when David came near the people, he greeted
them.
22 Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with
David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will
not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for
every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and
depart.”
23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the
Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand
the troop that came against us.
24 For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes
down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies;
they shall share alike.”
25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an
ordinance for Israel to this day.
26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the
elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you
from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord”—
27 to those who were in Bethel, those who were in Ramoth of the
South, those who were in Jattir,
28 those who were in Aroer, those who were in Siphmoth, those who
were in Eshtemoa,
29 those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of the
Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the Kenites,
30 those who were in Hormah, those who were in Chorashan, those who
were in Athach,
31 those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David
himself and his men were accustomed to rove.
This must be one of the deepest and darkest valleys in the life
of David.
He was pursued by King Saul. And the safest place to stay away
from Saul was to live among the Philistines, the enemies Saul
feared. David and his 600 men went to Achish, the king of Gath and
asked for his permission to let them settle in Ziklag, one of the
Philistine towns (1 Samuel 27).
For sixteen months, David and his men spent their time raiding
the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. They took for
themselves the sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels and clothing after
killing every person in the villages they attacked. "Where did you
make your raid today?" Achish would ask. And David would reply,
"Against the south of Judah and the people of Jerahmeel and the
Kenites."
No one was left alive to come to Gath to testify against David.
This happened again and again while he was living among the
Philistines. Achish believed David and thought that the people of
Israel must hate David bitterly by then, and that David would stay
there and serve him forever.
About that time the Philistines gathered their armies to wage
another war with Israel. Achish asked David and his men to go and
help them fight Israel. David agreed. And Achish made David his
personal bodyguard (1 Samuel 28).
Before the battle began, the Philistine commanders rejected David
and his men. They explained to Achish that David might turn against
them and fight for Israel instead. Upon that advice, David was asked
to return to Ziklag.
On the third day, David and his men arrived at Ziklag. The
Amalekites had raided southern Judah and Ziklag. They had attacked
Ziklag and burned it. They took the women and everyone in Ziklag as
hostages, both young and old. But they did not kill any of the
people. They only took them away.
When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found the town had been
burned. Their wives, sons and daughters had been taken as prisoners.
Then David and his army cried loudly until they were too weak to cry
anymore. David’s two wives had also been taken. They were Ahinoam of
Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal from Carmel.
The men in the army were threatening to kill David with stones.
This upset David very much. Each man was sad and angry because his
sons and daughters had been taken as prisoners.
But David encouraged himself in the Lord. It was there and then that
he requested the priest to bring him the ephod. David found strength
in the Lord his God. David said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me
the ephod.”
Bringing the ephod is putting on the garment of praise to worship
God. It is time to seek God again, face to face. Looking up, and not
anywhere else! Turning the focus off the tragic circumstances, and
beginning to focus on the Lord!
The ephod is a vest worn by the high priest, reaching to the
thighs, when he ministered at the altar (Exodus 28:4-14; 39:2-7).
Worn over a blue robe (Exodus 28:31-35), the ephod was made of fine
linen interwoven with pure gold, blue, purple and scarlet threads.
The ephod was fastened with a beautifully woven girdle (Exodus
28:27-28), and had shoulder straps set in two onyx stones, on which
were engraved the names of the twelve tribes. Over the chest of the
high priest was the breastplate, containing twelve stones engraved
with the tribal names of Israel. Rings was used to attach the
breastplate to the ephod. The Urim and Thummin were also joined to
the breastplate.
In the later years of the Levitical priesthood, ephods were worn
by associate priests as well as the high priest (1 Samuel 22:18)
whenever they ministered before the altar. But their ephods were
less elaborate, made of linen. Even the boy Samuel, dedicated to
serve in the Shiloh temple, wore a linen ephod (1 Samuel 2:18).
David from the tribe of Judah, although not an ordained priest or a
Levite, wore a linen ephod when he brought the ark to Jerusalem (2
Samuel 6:14; 1 Chronicles 15:27).
Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 8:1-6). The ephod is
symbolic of Him. The white linen speaks of His absolute
righteousness. Scarlet (the color of blood) symbolizes His atoning
work on the cross; purple, His royalty; gold, His divinity. Blue,
the color of the sky, signifies Christ's origin with God the Father
in heaven.
As David encouraged himself in the Lord, and worshipped Him during
those heartbreaking and depressing moments, the Lord gave him
strength.
Then David prayed to the Lord. He said, “Should I chase the
people who took our families? Will I catch them?”
The Lord answered, “Chase them. You will catch them. You will
succeed in saving your families.”
David and the 600 men with him came to the Besor Ravine. Some of the
men stayed there. David and 400 men kept up the chase. The other 200
men stayed behind because they were too tired and weak to cross the
ravine.
David’s men found an Egyptian in a field. They took him to David.
They gave the Egyptian some water to drink and some food to eat.
They gave him a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. He
felt better after eating. He had not eaten any food or drunk any
water for three days and nights.
David asked him, “Who is your master? Where do you come from?”
He answered, “I’m an Egyptian. I’m the slave of an Amalekite.
Three days ago, my master left me, because I became sick. We
attacked the southern area of the Kerethites. We attacked the land
of Judah and the southern area belonging to Caleb. We burned Ziklag,
as well."
David asked him, “Will you lead me to the people who took our
families?”
He answered, “Yes, if you will make a promise to me before God.
Promise that you won’t kill me or give me back to my master. Then I
will take you to them.”
So the Egyptian led David to the Amalekites. Yes, the Lord led
David and his men to this Egyptian who then led them to find where
the hostages were imprisoned. Amazingly, without any sophisticated
AI and modern technologies and devices, the Lord knew what to do,
and where to find the hostages.
It is important to note that this Egyptian was a slave of an
Amalekite. He was involved in attacking the land of Judah, and
burning Ziklag. But he was left behind, sick and wounded, not having
any food or drinks for three days and nights. David and his men
ministered healing to him, and fed him. He then led them to find the
hostages!
The Amalekites were lying
around on the ground, eating and drinking. They were celebrating
with the things they had taken from the land of the Philistines and
from Judah.
David fought them from sunset until evening the next day. None of
them escaped, except 400 young men who rode off on their camels.
David got his two wives back. He also got back everything the
Amalekites had taken. Nothing was missing. David brought back
everything: the young and old people, the sons and daughters, the
valuable things and everything the Amalekites had taken. All the
hostages were rescued!
David took all the sheep and cattle. His men
made these animals go in front. They said, “They are David’s prize.”
Then David came to the 200 men who had been too tired and weak to
follow him. He had made them stay at the Besor Ravine. They came out
to meet David and the army with him. When he came near, the men at
the ravine greeted David and his army.
But there were evil men and troublemakers in the group that followed
David. They said, “These 200 men didn’t go with us. So we won’t give
them any of the things we took. But each man may take his wife and
children and go.”
David answered, “No, my brothers. Don’t do that after what the
Lord has given us. He has given us the enemy who attacked us. Who
will listen to what you say? The share will be the same for the man
who stayed with the supplies as for the man who went into battle.
All will share alike.” David made this an order and rule for Israel.
This order and rule continues even today.
David arrived in Ziklag. Then he sent some of the things he had
taken from the Amalekites to his friends, the leaders of Judah. He
said, “Here is a present for you from the things we took from the
Lord’s enemies.”
David sent some things from the Amalekites to the leaders in
Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir, Aroer,
Siphmoth, Eshtemoa and Racal. He also sent some to the leaders of
the cities of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites, to Hormah, Bor
Ashan, Athach and Hebron. He sent some things to the people in all
the other places where he and his men had been.
How did David rescue his people who were taken as hostages? Not
by might nor power nor human wisdom, he
began to seek the Lord. He put on the ephod, and began to worship
God!
Through this strategic move of David, everyone and everything
lost were recovered and restored. On the top of these, David was
made the king of Judah after the death of King Saul. Seven and a half
years later, he became the king in Jerusalem over all Israel and
Judah.
Like Queen Esther, she put on her royal robes and entered the
inner court where the king was (Esther 5:1). She turned an
approaching disaster of the annihilation of all the Jews into a
blessing for all the Jews with their enemies destroyed!
1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, His own special people, that you may
proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the
people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained
mercy.
We are called to be a royal priesthood. We need to put on our
ephods. We need to proclaim the praises of Him who have called us out
of darkness into His marvelous light.
We need to come boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain
His mercy and find His grace in times of need.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
When times get tough and difficult, we need to put on our ephods,
enter into the Holy of Holies and worship God, standing still and
seeing the salvation of the Lord!
If interested, please view three songs of praise and worship:
Give Thanks To The LORD
He Is My Defence
Adonai Tzeva'ot (The Lord Of Hosts)
Written on:
20 October 2023