1 Samuel 30:16–22

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. 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. So 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. Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

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. 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.”

David’s mission to recover his family is perfectly successful. Everyone is safe and sound, plus there is spoil above and beyond the livestock lost when the Amalekites raided Ziklag. David christens all that “David’s spoil.”

But a curious rift develops, and it’s not over David calling all the extra spoil, “David’s spoil.” It’s over what to do with the recovered spoil—the stuff that was theirs before.

The 400 men who accompanied David on his raid resent the 200 who were too exhausted to make the trip. They say, “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.”

What’s wrong with that? Why are they referred to as wicked and worthless men? Sure, David should call them out for their immature attitude, but “worthless”?

They think the victory was theirs and not the LORD’s. They fail to recognize the “amazing luck” of the abandoned Egyptian servant as anything special. They also think they’re “better” than the 200 whose strength failed.

Being that clueless makes one worthless to the service of the LORD.

This is a more complicated, and important, point than it seems at first glance. Unintended consequences are everywhere. The forces of evil play 3D chess in ways we know nothing about. That’s why David was right to seek the LORD’s will before embarking on the “obvious” path of chasing the Amalekites down.

The unknowns are just too great.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday ones are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to the DEEP click here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.