1 Samuel 30:1

1 Samuel 30:1 says, 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;  Three days later, when David and his men got back to Ziklag, it had been burned to the ground by the Amalekites in his absence.  Our enemies today will take advantage of every opportunity to harm us when they see the opportunity.  We must stay alert to the best of our ability at all times, led by the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, 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.  Not only had the Amalekites burned the city to the ground, they. Had taken the women and children captive.  David had made enemies of the Amalekites and had left his city without proper defenses when he had gone to join the Philistines in their battle against Israel, his own people.  If we join the battle against God's people, who are are own people as Christians today, we will leave our families without proper defenses against those that would destroy them.  Still, as Matthew Henry points out, if Saul had done as he should have and had destroyed all the Amalekites, this wouldn't have been a problem.  We cannot allow certain sins to remain in our life as followers of Christ, but we must work to destroy them all.  Verse three continues, So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive.  When David and his men returned to the city, they saw what had happened.  The city was buried to the ground and their women and children had been taken captive.  If we stray away from God, we may find our families have also become captives of sin.  If we are not faithful to God, we should not expect them to be.  Verse four states, Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. David and those with him cried until they could cry no more.  If we have strayed away from God, and I don't believe God would have ever approved of David fighting for the Philistines, when we see the devastation that it can cause, then we should cry until we can cry no more, but we first need to ask for God's forgiveness and guidance.  Verse five  adds, And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.  David’s two wives were among those taken captive.  Though I don't think we can defend David having two wives, we can expect that he would have put their safety above his loyalty to the Philistines.  Even if we are guilty of some other sin, as Christians we must put the safety of our family first under God's guidance.  Verse six continues, And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.  David was distressed, and the people were ready to stone him,blaming him for what had happened.  They may have been willing to follow David into battle, but when things went wrong they were also ready to stone him.  Some people may be willing to stand with us in our fight against evil in the world today until it costs them something personally and then they may turn against us.  David then did what he should have been doing all along and that was to turn to God for guidance and encouragement, and we should do the same today.  Verse seven says, And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.  David asked Abiathar the priest to bring him the ephod which contained the urim and thummin used to seek God's guidance.  We as Christians today just have to turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance.  Verse eight adds, And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.  This time, unlike when he left to join the Philistines, David asked God if he should pursue the Amalekites, and God answered that not only should he pursue them, but He gave David assurance that he would recover everything.  When we return to God after straying away, spiritually we will, recover everything important, which is being in fellowship with God.  Verse nine continues, 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.  David and his six hundred men caught up to the rear forces at the brook Besor. Verse ten concludes, 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.  David went on with just four hundred men, since two hundred were too weak to go on.  If not physically, then at least spiritually, we may find that some who have been with us n the fight against evil become to weak to carry on.  We should not allow this to keep us from continuing the fight under the guidance and power of God.