1 Samuel 30:11

1 Samuel 30:11 says, And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;  While pursuing those who had burned Ziklag and taken the women and children captive, David’s men encountered an Egyptian in a field.  They brought him to David and gave him water since he was in bad shape.  At least David’s men had enough compassion to bring him to David.  There are people today who are abandoned by the world and in bad shape physically and spiritually that we need to have compassion on and bring to Christ.  Verse twelve adds, 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.  They then fed the Egyptian lad and his spirit returned to Him.  He had been without food or water for three days.  When we met people in need today, we need to feed them physically, but more importantly we need to point them to Jesus, the Living Bread and Water.  Verse thirteen continues, And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? 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.  When David asked the lad who he was, he said he was an Egyptian who had been a servant, or slave would probably be more accurate, to an Amalekite.  He said he had fallen sick three days ago and had been abandoned by his master.  When people are of no use or a burden to those who have been the ones to provide for hem, even if they had to work for their provisions, we will find that they are often abandoned, especially if they would become a burden.  We as Christians need to help them and not ignore or condemn them.  Verse fourteen concludes, We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.  The lad had been a part of the force that destroyed Ziklag.  David could have just seen him as part of the enemy force and killed him, but the lad didn't realize this.  We need to make certain that we do not judge all people to be enemies just because of where they are from or even what they may have been involved in.  This lad had no choice about being involved in the raid on Ziklag.  Verse fifteen states, And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.  David asked the lad if he could bring him to this company.  As we may imagine, the lad had some concerns and asked for some assurances from David.  He first asked that David not kill him, and he then asked that David not return him to his master.  Even if we are helping non Christians today, they may be wary of our help.  Verse sixteen adds, And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, 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.  When they reached the camp of the raiders, they were celebrating their great victory over Ziklag and the spoils that they had gotten.  Those who are not Christians often celebrate what they see as victories over Christians and have little fear of this victory ever being taken away.  Verse seventeen continues, And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.  David and his men killed the Amalekites from the morning of one day until evening the next day.  No one escaped, except for four hundred young men who fled on camels.  David only had four hundred men with him, but after destroying a much larger force an equal number of men escaped.  Of course, this time David had gone under the direction of God and thereby under His power.  If we are engaging the enemies of God today, they will often be a larger force, but if we are acting under the authority and leadership of God, we will always be victorious, though it might not be in this lifetime.  Of course, we are not sent out to destroy the lost but to reach them with the gospel instead.  Verse eighteen says, And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.  David and his men rescued everything that had been taken, including his two wives. We can be certain that anything we lose in the battle against evil today will one day be returned though not necessarily physically  but with an even greater reward.  We will be with God forever.  Verse nineteen adds, 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.  Everything was recovered because David had acted under God's direction.  If we are acting under God's direction.  Today, we will never lose anything spiritual as Christians, and the physical or material doesn't matter.  Verse twenty continues,  And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.  David took everything with him and said that it was his spoil.  We will find that he restored everything to his men that they had lost and didn't just keep it all for himself.  Matthew Henry says that David could have said this to point out how wrong the people had been when they sought to stone him.  When we have victory over the world today, we need to give God the glory and never attempt to claim that glory or rewards for ourselves.