Moreover, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
To cast your care upon Me you must enter My rest. Faith is a rest. It is not agitated, fretting, and fearful, it is knowing that everything will work together for your good when you hand it over to Me and are willing to walk it through with Me. It is essentially what Jesus was telling Jairus when he received the news his daughter had just died, all Jesus told him was “Do not fear, only believe and her life will be saved.” And Jairus did just that and hoped against hope and so it happened.
The first step in casting your care on Me to let Me take care of it is to refuse to go into fear or panic. You must keep focused on the good ending rather than the dreaded outcome. And to do that you will have to get a Word from Me and it is always readily available to you if you just stay calm and ask Me for it knowing I will answer.
Let is look at a great deliverance that I worked for David simply because he refused to fear and consulted Me, got the Word which spoke to his problem and immediately obeyed, even though he was not sure where he was going. But he knew as he stepped out in faith on My Word, I would open the path that no one else had perceived. Like the Red Sea. If you will just keep going forward without fear, I can get you through to where you need to be for your Salvation. And the best way to show no fear is thankful praise for the result the minute you speak it.
Today we are going to Ziklag and all David went through that day. The worst day of his life turned into the best day of his life when he cast all his cares on Me. And I would love to do the same for you, that is, take care of your care and reward you.
Saul, the first king of Israel, gave in to the unclean spirits of pride, jealously, and hate, and decided to pursue and kill David and thus remove him as a contender for taking over his kingship. David ran and hid in caves and the like and was never harmed because I protected him. And through it all, he continually strengthen and encouraged himself and the desperate men that joined him to escape from being arrested for various reasons in their backgrounds, by composing and singing songs of praise, thanksgiving, and deliverance. And the men heard and joined with him.
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; the humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.They looked to LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. Psalm 34:1-7.
And finally, taking courage from their fearless leader, the men brought their families to join with David as well. And David had his own family as he married during that time and had children. He knew he needed somewhere more permanent for him and his men and their families to stay.
And of all peoples, he found favor in the sight of a Philistine leader and he gave David and his men a town to settle in and rule. The name of the town was Ziklag.
David and his men established residence there and thrived. There came a day when Israel was battling against the Philistines and the Philistine leader in whose eyes David had great favor wanted David and his mighty men to fight against Israel with the Philistines, but the other leaders refused in case David would turn against them in the battle and fight for Israel. Which he would have surely done. So they sent him and his men back to their town of Ziklag.
But David and the men were in for a big and very shocking surprise.
When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had ransacked Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they had taken the women and all who were in it, both small and great, captive and carried them off and went their way. 1 Samuel 30:1-2.
Just consider that turn of events for a moment. You are headed home expecting to find your loving family waiting for you to welcome you back and instead you find your home broken into, burned to the ground, and your family all kidnapped, your goods gone, and you have no idea where the attacking gang took them.
How did David and his mighty men respond when they came to the city and found it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters gone, taken captive by a fierce enemy? At first they gave into grief and fear so that David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. But then it took a turn for the worse for David, not only was his family and his goods gone, the men decided it was all David’s fault for not leaving some to guard the city and spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one blaming David because of his sons and his daughters.
So how did David respond? Did he rail at Me, his great good Shepherd for what had happened? Did he decide to run away and hide from the men and let all be lost? Did he think about suicide? Some people would, but not a man after My own heart. He did what you must do when everything looks like it went wrong and it seems impossible to fix it or recover what is lost. He turned his eyes off the enormity of the problem to look at his Almighty God, same as he did when he stepped out to fight Goliath, same as he did running from Saul, same as he did and would always do going into battle when attacked by the enemy. And he rejoiced in Me, his deliverer and lifter of his head.
But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6.
How did he do that? Same way he always did. He recalled all the times I had delivered him and given him victory, from the lion and the bear that attacked his father’s sheep that he took down single handed, to Goliath, to many battles, and more. Then he recalled all the wonders I had done in delivering his people from slavery in Egypt. He thought about the manna and the quail. He remembered the walls of Jericho falling at a shout! He remembered that Samuel anointed him as king. And he began to sing praise as he composed new songs of victory and confidence—Psalms 31 and 32.
And then he was ready to consult Me and get the Word for the moment. Just like Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah, his descendants learned from him. And he did it the way I had instructed Moses to do for decisions for the king in going to battle.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind. 1 Samuel 30:7-10.
When Saul killed the priests for receiving David and giving him the sword of Goliath not knowing David was fleeing from Saul, one priest among escaped, Abiathar, and he took the ephod upon which was bound the breastpiece of judgment and fled to David for safety. This was very significant because it was for the leader of the nation that the breastpiece was consulted for answers for military and other major decisions.
Today you have the Holy Spirit in you and My Son has released you from your sins by His blood and made you a kingdom, priests unto Me. And Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit with the oil of joy and the anointing of the High Priest flows from His head to His body, which each of you who believe and receive Him as Lord are. You do not need to consult the breastpiece for the Spirit sent answer. You have the Spirit Himself in your heart and can consult Me for every answer, strategy, and plan you need.
After receiving the answer to go and recover all, David did not hesitate and his men followed their fearless leader. But David had no idea where he was going. But when I said go, off he went, expecting guidance as he went along.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:3-4.
You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Psalm 32:7-8.
So off they went and they found a young man, an Egyptian, lying weak and sick by the wayside and brought him to David. David had compassion for the boy and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. And in this boy upon whom they stopped out of compassion and slowed up their pursuit of the enemy, I gave them the answer that was the next step for them to take to recover all.
David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago. We made a raid on the [g]Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 1 Samuel 30:13-14.
He suddenly had all David’s attention. David now had the guide he needed.
Then David said to him, “Will you bring 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 bring you down to this band.” 1 Samuel 30:15.
Do you see the principal here? I may not give you all the directions when I give you a Word in your need, but if you will begin with what I tell you, I will open the way as you take your steps of faith with Me to show you more and more until you recover all. Remember, when I called Abraham I just told him to leave where he was and follow Me to go to a place I would show him. And that was how the great Hebrew nation, the line from which the Messiah would take flesh, began. One man’s obedience to the first step of the plan.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18.
We have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
And the young Egyptian led David and his men right to the enemy camp, their secure hideaway turned out to be no hideaway from Me and I reveal secrets to those who honor and revere Me.
When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives. But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.” 1 Samuel 30:16-20.
They recovered not only what they lost, but what had been taken from the other towns the Amalekites had ransacked. I give you double when you cast your cares on Me and are willing to obey and follow Me. And not only double, but a hundredfold.
But David was a sower and a harvester of good things. He always honored Me from his wealth and never was seeking a bargain or to enlarge his own glory with what He took to give to Me. And he shared the spoils with other cities.
Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD, to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to go.” 1 Samuel 30:26-31.
But there is more. If you recall, the city of Ziklag had been ransacked and burnt with fire. Now David and his men and their families needed a new home. And I provided Daivd with beyond all he had imagined for that day.
He turned out that Saul and all his sons were killed in the battle with the Philistines that day and the result was a delegation came to David seeking him out to become their King, and so they took him to the beautiful city of Hebron and all his men as well. And after living at Hebron, when he became king of Israel and Judah he went on to build his palace in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion, the city of David and his stronghold.
ALL had worked together for David’s good when he handed it all over to the Me, better than he could have asked or imagined because he refused to fear or stay under the oppression of the devil and just followed the Word I gave him with praise, wonder, and thanksgiving at all I had done and was doing.
And where do you start? Refuse to fear or give in to grief but go forward as follows: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give constant thanks, such is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
I love you. Let Me shower you with blessings. Refuse to fear, tell it to get under your feet, by strengthening yourself in Me. Isn’t it time you started singing?