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442
The Beginning of the End
In this time of utmost desperation, David looked earnestly to
God for help. He “strengthened himself in the Lord,” recalling many
evidences of God’s favor. “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You”
(
Psalm 56:3
), was the language of his heart. Though he could not
see a way out of the difficulty, God would teach him what to do.
Sending for Abiathar the priest, “David inquired of the Lord,
saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?’” The
answer was, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without
fail recover all.”
David and his soldiers set out at once to catch their fleeing foe.
Their march was so rapid that two hundred of their number were too
exhausted to continue and had to stop and rest. But David pressed
forward with the remaining four hundred.
Advancing, they found an Egyptian slave, apparently about to
die of weariness and hunger. When he received food and drink he
revived. He had been left to die by the invading force. After David
promised that he would not be killed or delivered to his master, he
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agreed to lead the men to the camp of their enemies.
As they came near the encampment, they saw a scene of drunk-
enness and merrymaking. The victorious army 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.” David ordered an immediate attack. The
Amalekites were surprised and thrown into confusion. The battle
continued until nearly all the enemy were killed. “David recovered
all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two
wives. 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.”
If it had not been for the restraining power of God, the
Amalekites would have killed the people of Ziklag. They decided to
spare the captives, thinking to heighten the triumph by leading home
a large number of prisoners to sell as slaves. Thus, unknowingly,
they fulfilled God’s purpose, keeping the prisoners to be restored to
their husbands and fathers.