Living in the Image of God M04S06
David proclaimed a Civil Rights principle to forestall a dispute among his followers regarding the distribution of battle proceeds. His proclamation leads to the principle of Equality of Access to the facilities of society—that every person has a basic right of lawful participation in every aspect of living: right of lawful participation in commercial exchange of goods and services; non-commercial services provided by society; and the use of facilities such as roads, streets, parks, and others. Further, every person owes individual contributions toward the advancement and protection of these rights. Understand the principle and biblical basis to guide individual participation in society.
In this second of two bible study sessions on the individual responsibility regarding civil rights, we discuss the principle of Equality of Access to facilities of society, based on a proclamation by David regarding the distribution of battle proceeds among his followers. In the first study (Individual Responsibility Regarding Civil Rights: Equality Under the Law), we discussed the principle of Equality Under the Law based on the punishment of King Saul following his discriminatory execution of judgment against the Amalekites.
David proclaimed the principle to settle a developing dispute among his followers regarding the distribution of proceeds from a battle against Amalekite raiders. He and his men had captured great wealth from Amalekite raiders that came against his base at Ziklag in Philistine territory. He described the battle proceeds as “what the Lord has given us” [1 Samuel 30:23] and proclaimed that “all will share alike” [1 Samuel 30:24], irrespective of whether they stayed back to guard the base or joined in the pursuit and battle against the raiders.
His proclamation defines a guiding principle for interactions and relationships between individuals and society, regarding divided roles and the basic right of lawful participation in every aspect of living. We discuss the interactions among David and his men regarding their unscheduled battle against Amalekite raiders, potential dispute regarding the battle proceeds, and David’s ruling to forestall the dispute.
Amalekites Raid David’s Base at Ziklag
David’s battle and victory against the Amalekite raiders occurred during the period that he was living as a fugitive in Philistine territory, to keep beyond the reach of King Saul. He lived in the town of Ziklag, given to him as base by his Philistine host, King Achish of Gath [1 Samuel 27:5–6]: “Then David said to Achish, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?’ So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.” David lived there with followers of 600 men and their families.
Ziklag was overrun by Amalekite raiders when David and his men left the base to join Philistines in a battle against Israel. They were, however, rejected by the Philistine commanders. Therefore, they departed from the battlefield to return to Ziklag. On arriving at Ziklag, David and his men found their base raided and burnt. Their families and flock had been taken alive [1 Samuel 30:1–2]: “David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.”
Victory Against Amalekite Raiders
David and 400 of his men pursued the raiders but 200 stayed back [1 Samuel 30:9–10]: “David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.” A key aspect of this account is that David started the pursuit with 600 men. However, he later allowed 200 men to return to base while he continued the pursuit with 400. The 200 would take care of the base while the other 400 pursued the raiders. This separation of David’s men into two groups sets the stage for his proclamation regarding divided roles in society and access to the facilities of society.
David and his men caught up with the raiders and defeated them in a fierce battle that lasted for almost a whole day. They recovered their family and flock that had been taken captive by the raiders. Also, they took as plunder additional flock and herd that belonged to the raiders [1 Samuel 30:18–20]: “David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, ‘This is David’s plunder.’”
Potential Dispute Regarding Battle Proceeds
Some of the 400 that went to battle demanded that the 200 that stayed back should not share in the battle proceeds [1 Samuel 30:22]: “But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, ‘Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.’”
David disagreed. He described the battle proceeds as a gift from God that all will share without prejudice [1 Samuel 30:23–24]: “David replied, ‘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. Who will listen to what you say? 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.’”
That is, David declared a basic civil rights principle to forestall a potential dispute among his followers. He declared that those that went to the battle and those that stayed back to guard the base have equal right to share from the battle proceeds: “All will share alike” from “what the Lord has given us.”
Equality of Access to Facilities of Society
Equality of Access is based on recognizing common ownership of the facilities of society. David invoked the principle when he referred to battle proceeds as “what the Lord has given us.” Facilities of society are the products of society resources and effort. They belong to the society for the benefit of every person. The declaration “all will share alike” means that every person has a basic right of access to facilities of society, irrespective of any differences or classifications.
Equality of Access is within the scope of Equality Under the Law and describes the basic right of lawful participation in every aspect of living. Every person has a basic right of lawful participation: in commercial exchange of goods and services; non-commercial services provided by society; and the use of facilities such as roads, streets, parks, and others. These rights are not limited by any differences or classifications among the people. For example, any perception that a person engages in sinful living does not justify denial of their right of lawful participation in society.
Individual Responsibility
Although the protection of Civil Rights is a collective responsibility of society, every person is individually responsible to contribute toward the collective responsibility. Every person is responsible to understand the principle and biblical basis, understand potential applications of the principle in civil interactions and relationships, and use the understanding to guide individual participation in society.
Summary of What We Learned
David proclaimed a Civil Rights principle to forestall a dispute among his followers regarding the distribution of battle proceeds. His proclamation leads to the principle of Equality of Access to the facilities of society, that every person has a basic right of lawful participation in every aspect of living: right of lawful participation in commercial exchange of goods and services; non-commercial services provided by society; and the use of facilities such as roads, streets, parks, and others.
Further, every person owes individual contributions toward the advancement and protection of these rights. Understand the principle and biblical basis to guide individual participation in society.