When David and his men return home they find Ziklag burned down and their women and children taken captive by the Amalekites. The men weep in despair and they want to stone David. “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God…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.’”
Therefore, David and four hundred men attack the Amalekites and recover all that was taken. When they return home, some wicked and worthless men who fought with David refuse to share the spoil with the two hundred weary men they left behind in Ziklag. David rebukes them for selfishly wanting to keep all the goods for themselves and says “‘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. 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.’ So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.” David is a man who can easily share with others because David knows that everything he has is a gift from the Lord. So David goes on to share not only with his men in Ziklag but also with the elders in Judah, his friends, who showed him and his men kindness while on the run.
We also learn that men from the tribe of Manasseh defected to help David against the band of raiders. “For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, like the army of God.” So the Lord took these men who had no hope in their earthly kingdom with Saul and formed them into a mighty army of God for His Kingdom.
Back at the battle scene with the Philistines, Saul and his three sons, including Jonathan, die during battle. “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” We read that Saul did inquire of the Lord but the Lord didn’t respond to Saul (1 Samuel 28:6). See, God knows the ones who are genuinely calling upon the name of the Lord and the ones who are not, like Saul. Therefore, the Lord didn’t respond and Saul once again took matters into his own hands for his own selfish reasons and consulted a medium.
After the battle, an Amalekite runs and tells David that he killed wounded Saul. Well we know this guy is lying because we read that Saul fell on his own sword so he wouldn’t fall into the hands of the Philistines. Therefore, instead of getting the reward the Amalekite was hoping for, David has him killed for killing the Lord’s anointed as he said he did. Then David deeply mourns the death of Saul and Jonathan.
We discover today that Jonathan has a five-year old son named Mephibosheth who became lame in his feet when his nurse dropped him while on the run after the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Mephibosheth is now in hiding but David will soon find him. Keep reading to discover the heart warming story of King David and Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth.
(1 Samuel 30:1-31, 1 Chronicles 12:20-22, 1 Samuel 31:1-13, 1 Chronicles 10:1-14, 1 Chronicles 9:40-44, 2 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 1:1-27)
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Chronological Bible in Layman's Terms 