In dwelling upon the history before us, it is well for us to remember what we ourselves are, lest we be found pointing out the lapses of others in a spirit of self-complacency. The history is that of men “of like passions with us,” for man is the same in every age. But we also learn that God is the same, and we see the wonderful revelations of His character in the deeply-interesting sketches with which the Old Testament history abounds.
Few characters exhibit more variety of experience than David; he truly knew the depths and heights which mark the course of the man of faith. But God’s grace is magnified by man’s ruin, and the more keenly the ruin is felt, the more highly the grace is valued. Thus it was with David. He felt his sins, groaned under them, confessed them and judged them, in the presence of God. There is a great difference between a man ignorant of his sins while walking in self-complacency, and one deeply conscious of his sins, yet happy in the full forgiveness of them. This introduces us to the circumstances connected with David in Ziklag — circumstances which fully manifest human infirmity and divine grace and mercy.
David’s Faith Falters
“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines” (1 Sam. 27:1). This was David’s second visit to the land of the Philistines. How completely must he have lost the sense of God’s sufficiency when he could say, “There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines!” He had allowed circumstances to come between his soul and God. When we slip off the narrow path of faith, we are liable to run into the wildest extremes. Nothing short of grace divine can enable us to pursue a course of steady devotedness. If left to ourselves, there is no extreme of evil that we may not run into.
In following David in his further sojourn in the land of the Philistines, we only find fresh cause of humiliation. He obtains the grant of Ziklag, where he sojourns for sixteen months, during which period, though free from all fear of Saul, he was at a distance from God. It would have been much happier for David to have remained in a position which left him exposed to Saul, while enjoying the protection of the God of Israel, than to seek safety from the king of Gath. David, however, accepted Ziklag, and he now acts the part of a positive deceiver. He wages war on the Geshurites and Gezrites, and tells a lie about it, lest he should again lose his self-chosen place of protection. So far does he proceed in his unhappy course, that when Achish proposes to him to act as ally to the Philistines, his answer is, “Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head for ever” (1 Sam. 28:2). Here, then, we have a strange anomaly — the anointed king of Israel about to be made keeper of the head of a Philistine, and about to draw the sword against the armies of the living God. It is difficult for us to determine where all this would have ended, had David been left to the full results of his false position. But God was graciously watching His poor wanderer, and had rich and manifold mercies in store for him, as well as some humbling lessons and painful exercises of soul.
Ziklag Falls
The Lord would not allow David to appear in the field against Israel. He sent him back, in order that He might deal with him in secret about his course. “And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; and had taken the women captives that were therein. They slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way” (1 Sam. 30:1-2). David is here made to feel the bitter result of his having gone to Achish for help in the day of his need. “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep ... . And David was greatly distressed, for the people spake of stoning him” (1 Sam. 30:4, 6). In all this God was dealing with His dear child, not to crush him, but to bring him to a right sense of the course he had been pursuing amongst the Philistines. He was cast off by those on whose protection he had thrown himself; his place of refuge was burned; his wives and property were gone; and lastly, his companions, those who had followed him in all his wanderings, were threatening to stone him.
Encouraged in the Lord
Thus was David sunk to the very lowest ebb; all creature streams were dried up. But David was a man of faith after all; he knew the Lord, and His “boundless stores of grace.” This was his joy and comfort in this exceedingly dark moment of his career. He had never before been so tested — had never met such an overwhelming array of circumstances before. Yet God was sufficient, and David knew this. Hence we read, “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” God is above all, beyond all, beneath all; the heart that apprehends Him is lifted above all the trials and difficulties of the way. For us, there is no condition in which the Christian can find himself in which he may not count upon God. Whatever be the burden, the trial, the sorrow, or the need, God is more than equal to all, and it is the province of faith to use Him. May we know the true blessedness of this!
Blessed be our God, “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:2828And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)). The Lord makes the very failure of His children to yield them blessing, inasmuch as it leads them to seek more prayerful vigilance of spirit, and a closer walk with Him. Humbling as David’s Ziklag experience must have been to him, we may be sure he would not have been without it. It taught him more of the deep reality of God’s grace and faithfulness; it enabled him to see, that when brought down to the very bottom of human things, he could find God there in all the fullness of His grace. This was a valuable lesson, and it will be our place to learn from it also.
Recovery
The result of David’s faith was that he was able to recover all. “And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all” (1 Sam. 30:19). More than this, David was able to take a great deal of spoil, so that he had much more than he had before. So it is with us; the result of going through God’s government in the right spirit always gives us far more than we had before, for we have learned more of His grace.
But David was also fully restored in his soul. When formerly he had been ready to go out with Achish, king of the Philistines, against Israel, he now sends part of the spoil to the men of Judah — to “all the places where David and his men were wont to haunt” (1 Sam. 30:31). This is the effect of the enjoyment of God’s grace; we are led to show that same grace to others. We are delivered from the world and its fickle protection, and ready to show the character of Christ toward our brethren.
Adapted from
C. H. Mackintosh