BIBLE STUDY LESSON 09
ZIKLAG DESTROYED
DAVID DEFEATS THE AMALEKITES
From 1 Samuel 30
“The march home to Ziklag took three days. When David and his men arrived home, they found that the Amalekites had invaded the area and burned Ziklag. Every woman and child had been captured alive and taken with them. As David and his followers surveyed the damage and realized what had happened to their wives and children, they wept until they could no longer find strength to weep. Among those who had been taken prisoner were David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel. Matters grew very tense as some of David’s men placed the blame on him and talked of stoning him. That was because they were so disturbed that their families had been captured. But David placed himself in God’s care and was strengthened by Him. ‘Bring me the ephod,’ David said to Abiathar the priest. When Abiathar brought the ephod, David asked the Lord what he should do. ‘Shall I go after the Amalekites?’ he asked. ‘Go after them and I will help you conquer them and free your families,’ the Lord answered. So David and his six hundred men rushed after the Amalekites. They paused to rest briefly at the Brook Besor, but two hundred of the men were so exhausted that they could not go on. David left them there to guard some of the equipment while he proceeded after the Amalekites with the other four hundred. Along the way some of the men found a young Egyptian lying in a field and brought him to David. He had had nothing to eat for three days and nights and was weak from hunger. They gave him a fig cake and two clusters of raisins to eat and some water to drink and soon his strength returned. ‘Who are your people?’ David asked him. ‘Where are you from?’ ‘I am an Egyptian and the slave of an Amalekite,’ the young man answered. ‘Three days ago I became sick, so my master left me here. We had raided the Cherethites, the coastal area of Judah and the land of Caleb and had burned Ziklag and were returning home.’ ‘Can you take me to the Amalekite camp?’ David asked. ‘Yes,’ the young man replied. ‘But swear by God’s name that you will not kill me or return me to my master. Then I will take you there.’
When the young man led David and his troops to the Amalekite camp, the Amalekites were lying here and there over a large field, eating and drinking, celebrating the enormous amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the Judeans. David attacked them and from twilight that day until evening the next day the slaughter continued. Every one of the Amalekites was killed, except four hundred young men who escaped on camels. David and his men recovered all the booty which the Amalekites had taken. He also rescued all the prisoners, including his two wives. Everything the Amalekites had taken was recovered, including all the families of the Israelites. David’s men gathered the flocks and herds they had retaken from the Amalekites and drove them ahead of the band of men heading home to Ziklag. ‘These are David’s personal reward,’ they said. When the caravan reached the Brook Besor, the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to travel came out to meet them. David immediately asked them how they were. But some of the men in David’s army argued, ‘Since these men did not go to battle with us, they may not share the booty with us. Let them take their own wives and children and go.’ ‘This is not the way to distribute what the Lord has given us,’ David replied. ‘It was the Lord who took care of us and helped us conquer the Amalekites. We will not hear this kind of talk. Those who stay with the baggage will share equally with those who go out to battle.’ So David made this a rule and it remained a rule for Israel from that time onward. When David returned to Ziklag, he shared part of the booty with the elders of some Israelite towns which had helped him and his men. Along with the booty he sent a note saying, ‘this is a gift for you, which we have captured from the Lord’s enemies.’ He sent these gifts to the elders of the following cities, where he and his men had lived at some time when they had been running away from Saul: Bethel, South Ramoth, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Rachal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites, the cities of the Kenites, Hormah, Chorashan, Athach and Hebron.
COMMENTARY
CAMELS
In many areas of the Middle East the camel is still the most reliable form of transportation. While wheeled vehicles spin their tires in the sand, the camel moves steadily toward its destination. Its thick, awkward body appears to be weakly supported by long, spindly legs. But despite its clumsy appearance, the camel is a sturdy pack animal, well-adapted to its desert environment. The single-humped dromedary (common to the Middle East) is capable of carrying a six-hundred-pound load up to thirty miles a day. Its Asian cousin, the double-humped Bactrian, can bear up to a thousand pounds. Weighed down under a heavy load, the camel’s progress is slow. Its average pace is little more than three miles an hour. Even a swift racing camel rarely tops the maximum speed of ten miles an hour. But speed is less important than stamina in desert travel. Although the camel is slow, it excels in tests of endurance. The fatty hump on its back serves as a storehouse of extra energy. When there is no pasture on which to graze, the camel draws upon this supply of fat. At the end of a long desert journey its reserve may be so used up that its hump becomes soft and flabby. A camel can go for long periods of time without water as well. Its body is specially adapted to conserve moisture in the dry desert heat. Unlike man, the camel loses little water by sweating. Although it is a warm blooded animal, it has the ability to change body temperature with the increasing heat of the day. The thick, fleecy hair on its back also serves as a protective covering to shield it from the sun. At the end of a week of travel, a thirsty camel may drink as much as twenty-eight gallons of water. The camel’s mating season coincides with the winter rains. The young are born a year later when the pasture is once again green and plentiful. Although the newborn learns to control its gangly legs within twenty-four hours, it does not reach its full growth for sixteen or seventeen years. This long adolescence is followed by a short maturity. The camel’s average lifespan is little more than twenty-five years.
TEST YOURSELF
1.) How long did it take David to get back to Ziklag?
A) Three days
B) Seven days
C) Five days
D) Six days
2.) Who attacked Ziklag while David and his men were gone?
A) The Syrians
B) The Philistines
C) The Amalekites
D) The Amorites
3.) Where did David and his men stop to rest?
A) The rock of Bulah
B) The Nile River
C) The Brook Besor
D) The Hill of Zareg
4.) Who led David to the Amalekite camp?
A) A young Egyptian boy
B) Hermes
C) Joab
D) Abigail
5.) What were the Amalekites doing when David and his men came upon them?
A) Celebrating
B) Sleeping
C) Plundering other villages
D) Sacrificing to their gods
6.) What remains the most reliable form of transportation in a large part of the Middle East?
A) Horse and carriage
B) Duck
C) Camel
D) Donkey
7.) What is a double humped camel called?
A) A Bactrian
B) A Macrophage
C) A Festril
D) A Huffalump
8.) What is stored in a camel’s hump?
A) Gizzard stones
B) Water
C) Milk
D) Energy
E) Fat
9.) What is the average life span of a camel?
A) Twenty-five years
B) Fifty years
C) Twenty-four hours
D) Five years |
