F s 1,2-. Philistines. Assembly. t -2. David's junction. s 3-10. Philistines. Objection. t 11. David's return.
960 B.C.
29)
1: Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. (= seed of God. This is where final battle in end time will take place)
2: And the princes of the Philistines (see Josh.13:3) passed on by hundreds, and by thousands (the troups were like flies, or locusts): but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.
3: Then said the princes of the Philistines, “What do these Hebrews do here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines (God's hand in His sparing David from fighting his brothers), “Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away (or departed) to me to this day?”
4: And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for why should he reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? (they are saying "this is a dangerous man")
5: Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, ‘Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?’ ”
6: Then Achish called David, and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord (Yehovah) lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of your coming to me unto this day: nevertheless you are not good in the eyes of the princes.
7: Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that you displease not the lords of the Philistines.”
8: And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? and what have you found in your servant so long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” (David is being a litle slippery here)
9: And Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are good in my sight, as a messanger of God (Elohim): notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’
10: Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with your master's servants (Sept. reads "you, and the servants of your lord". Probably the Manassites named in 1 Chron.12:19,20, who deserted to David) that are come with you (the Sept. adds "and depart to the place where I apponted you, and entertain no evil thought in your heart; for you are good in my sight"): and as soon as you all be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.”
11: So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. (Do you think David is getting away scot-free?)
E G 1-6-. Ziklag. Taken. H u -6-8. Yehovah's promise. Made. v 9,10. Division of forces. J 11-16. Colloquy with Egyptians. H u 17-20. Yehovah's promise. Kept. v 21-25. Junction of forces. G 26-31. Ziklag. Retaken.
30)
1: And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day (hard marching), that the Amalekites had invaded the Negeb (the hill-country south of Judah), and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it up with fire
(see 27:8);
2: And had taken the women captives, and all who were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. (took them as slaves. They were probably short-handed)
3: So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burning with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. (By rushing into things you can leave others open for attack. David pays a price for not asking for God's help. See 27:1)
4: Then David and the People that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5: And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite (Fig., by which Abigail is still called the wife of Nabal, though he is dead. Cp. 27:3; 2 Sam.3:3. Those ignorant of Figures of Speech would call this a "discrepancy").
6: And David was greatly distressed; for the People spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the People was embittered, every man for his sons and for his daughters:
but David strengthened himself in the Lord (Yehovah) his God (Elohim). (Finally!)
7: And David said to Abiathar the priest (he had the ephod, with David. Zadok, who was with Saul, had it not), Ahimelech's son, “I pray you, bring me to this place the ephod.” And Abiathar brought to that place the ephod to David.
8: And David inquired at the Lord (Yehovah), saying, “Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue: for you shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” (It makes all the difference in the world when you include our Father in your life)
9: So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10: But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11: And they found an Egyptian in the field (one out wandering), and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12: And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights (Fig. Idioma, by which part a part of a day is reckoned as a whole day. See 2 Sam.1:1,2, and cp. Est.4:16. Jonah 1:17. Matt.12:40. Shows how fast the enemy was moving).
13: And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? and from which place are you?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
14: We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites (probably a clan of the Philistines), and upon the border which belongs to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.” (Bad boys. He was part of the raiding party)
15: And David said to him, “Can you bring me down to this troop?” And he said, “Swear to me by God (Elohim), that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this company.” (this Egyptian was not happy with the Amalekites for leaving hi stranded)
16: And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the surrounding land, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. (They thought they had it made)
17: And David smote them from the morning even to the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men (couldn't catch them), which rode upon camels, and fled.
18: And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
19: 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. (We see God's hand in this. He can protect!)
20: And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove in triumph before those other spoils, and said, “This is David's spoil.”
21: And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the People that were with him: and when David came near to the People, he saluted them (Sept. reads "they inquired of his welfare").
22: Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, “Because they went not with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his sons, that they may lead them away, and depart.” (There will always be a few bad apples in a large group. Evil has a way of creeping in)
23: Then said David, “You all shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord (Yehovah) has given us, Who has preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. (It is God that gives us our victory)
24: For who will listen to you in this matter? but as his part is that goes down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarries by the stuff: they shall part alike. (David is maturing as a man of God)
25: And it was so (the 20th Seder begins here, and ends with 2 Sam.2:6. See notes on introduction) from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
26: And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, “Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord (Yehovah);” (All these places south of Hebron were protected by David, and these presents were a return for their support)
27: To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
28: And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29: And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites (= the sons of Cain. See v.22),
30: And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach,
31: And to them which were in Hebron (), and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to frequent (or visit. They were welcomed because of their justice and treating them right).
D K¹ 1 Sam.31:1-13. The battle. K² 2 Sam.1:1-27. Report of the battle.
K¹ w¹ 1-3. Israel. Defeat. x 4-6. Saul's death. w² 7. Israel. Flight. x 8-10. Saul. Indignities. w³ 11-13. Israel. Rescue of bodies.
31)
1: Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. (God was not with them. He had departed Saul.)
2: And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab (), and Malchi-shua, Saul's sons.
3: And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was in sore anguish of the archers.
4: Then said Saul to his armourbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and insult me.” But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. (One of the few cases of suiside in God's Word)
5: And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. (People loved him even though he had an evil spirit)
6: So Saul died(the end of king I. Cp. 1 Chron.10:13,14. Here, history from human standoint; In Chronicles, God's standpoint, and reasons for the history. See 1 Chron.10:13 and 2 Chron.22:2. If Saul was 30 years of age when anointed, he wold now be 70; and Jonathan 53 or 54.See 13:1), and his three sons, and his armourbearer, yes, and all his men, that same day together.
7: And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. (They didn't put up a fight, they ran)
8: And it came to pass on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
9: And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols (in their religious places), and among the people.
10: And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body (this is additional to 1 Chron.10:10; and "his head", there, is additional to 1 Sam.31:10. The two Books and accounts are independant, supplemetary, and complementary. See 2 Chron.22:2) to the wall of Beth-shan (it had remained Canaanite, and therefore friendly to Philistines [Judg.1:27]).
11: And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done about Saul;
12: All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. (One of the few mentions of cremation)
13: And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days (#7 = spiritual perfection. Brings about purification).