Equality of Access to Facilities of Society

David proclaims basic civil rights principle by recognizing battle proceeds as an example of “what the Lord has given us” and guided us to actualize through combined effort of all. He declared that “all will share alike” irrespective of their roles or contributions. His ruling establishes the principle of equality of access to facilities of society as a fundamental human right. The principle follows from equality under the law, which Saul violated through discriminatory execution of judgment against Amalekites. God terminated Saul as king of Israel for the violation. These events establish civil rights as God’s mandate and any civil rights violation as a departure from Godliness.

 

 

 

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David proclaimed a basic principle of civil rights to diffuse a developing dispute among his followers regarding the sharing of battle proceeds. He had led his followers in a successful battle against Amalekites that raided his base in Ziklag: burned and plundered the base and took his and followers’ families captive. David pursued and caught up with the raiders, defeated them in a fierce battle, recovered all they had taken including the human captives, and took additional plunder.

When they returned to their base, some of the followers that joined in the battle claimed those that did not join were not entitled to share in the plunder. David rebuked them and explained the battle proceeds were an example of “what the Lord has given us” and must be shared by all irrespective of their roles or contributions [1 Samuel 30:24]: “The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.”

David’s ruling of all will share alike defines a basic principle of civil rights that has far-reaching applications in understanding relationships between individuals and society. To understand the applications, we discuss the expanded meaning of battles and battle proceeds in modern-day societies and the roles and contributions of individuals in such battles. Further, recognizing that the principle of all will share alike derives from the more general principle of equality under the law, we recall a previous study to understand that both principles describe God’s civil rights mandate for governing relationships between individuals and society.

Basis for All Will Share Alike

David explained the basis for his ruling is that God granted them victory against the Amalekites and through the combined effort of all: some fought in the battle directly while others contributed by taking care of other needs outside of the battle arena. All will share alike because all contributed in various ways to the victory God has given us. First, God granted the victory [1 Samuel 30:23]: “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.” Second, all contributed in various ways toward actualizing the victory: “The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle” [1 Samuel 30:24].

Therefore, benefits of the victory such as the flocks and herds they took as plunder and any subsequent derivative benefits represent “what the Lord has given us” and guided us to actualize through combined effort of all. All will share alike.

Battle Proceeds as Facilities of Society

Although the kind of battle that David and his men fought against the Amalekites involved physical fighting between two nations, his ruling that all are entitled to benefits of the victory is applicable to all battles that a nation may fight. A modern-day nation or society may fight several battles: such as battles against hunger, disease, poverty, illiteracy, under-development, and other manifestations of deficiency. Proceeds from such battles and their derivative benefits belong to all and constitute the facilities of society—products of society effort and resources, often packaged in terms of services and programs. The facilities of society belong to all.

Equality of Access to Facilities of Society

The facilities of society represent the benefits of victory in society battles. God grants the victories and guides individual contributions toward actualizing the victories. Some contribute at the front lines, where they are readily visible and associated with the battles. For example, the four hundred men that accompanied David against the Amalekites were readily associated with fighting in the battle. In contrast, several other contributors work in the background or behind the scene and are usually not noticeable enough to be associated with the direct battle. For example, David’s other two hundred men that “stayed with the supplies” did not fight in the battle directly but contributed by taking care of the supplies.

Because the direct and derivative benefits of modern-day battles are packaged as facilities of society held in common ownership for all by the society, the ruling by David translates into equality of access to facilities of society: for all, irrespective of the nature and magnitude of their contributions. Whether they contribute in the front line of battles, in the background, or appear to have no traceable contributions, “all will share alike” and are owed equality of access to the battle proceeds and derivatives.

Mandate of God

Equality of access to facilities of society derives from equality under the law. As we discuss in a previous bible study under Equality Under the Law—Saul Terminated as King, God terminated Saul as king of Israel for violating the principle of equality under the law because of discriminatory execution of judgment against Amalekites. Instead of destroying all as he was commanded, Saul spared the “good” for special treatment while selecting the “despised and worthless” for total destruction. God was not pleased and terminated his kingship.

Termination of Saul’s kingship for the violation conveys a message that equality under the law is God’s mandate governing relationships between individuals and society. David proclaimed the derived principle of equality of access to facilities of society, thus, expanding our understanding of basic civil rights as God’s mandate.

Therefore, any violation of civil rights represents a departure from Godliness. A departure from Godliness occurs when society makes laws that violate civil rights or fails to make laws that protect civil rights.

Summary of What We Learned

David proclaims basic civil rights principle by recognizing battle proceeds as an example of “what the Lord has given us” and guided us to actualize through combined effort of all. He declared that “all will share alike” irrespective of their roles or contributions. His ruling establishes the principle of equality of access to facilities of society as a fundamental human right. The principle follows from equality under the law, which Saul violated through discriminatory execution of judgment against Amalekites. God terminated Saul as king of Israel for the violation. These events establish civil rights as God’s mandate and any civil rights violation as a departure from Godliness.

More Information

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