Living in the Image of God M06S03
David introduced the phrase what the Lord has given us to settle a developing dispute among his followers regarding the distribution of battle proceeds. His ruling conveys a message of the communal purpose of God’s blessing and individual responsibility to honor the communal purpose. Through his declaration that all will share alike, he proclaims the right of individual access to communal property, irrespective of contribution. Further, by giving gifts to others from the portion of the battle proceeds he controlled, he proclaims the individual responsibility to recognize and honor the communal purpose of individual blessing.
In this bible study, we discuss David’s interactions with his followers and others regarding the distribution of battle proceeds: to understand his message regarding the communal purpose of every blessing from God and the responsibility of every individual to recognize and honor the communal purpose. The events occurred as a response to his base being raided and plundered. A group of Amalekites had burnt David’s base at Ziklag and captured livestock and people (women and children). David and his followers were at the Philistine battlefield trying to enlist as foreign fighters with the Philistine army in a battle against Israel. They were rejected by the Philistine army. Thereafter, they returned to their base and found the base destroyed by the Amalekites.
David pursued the raiders with four hundred of his followers while the other two hundred chose to stay back at the base. They caught up with the raiders, defeated them in a fierce battle that lasted over twenty-four hours, recovered their livestock and people, and took large additional livestock as plunder. When they returned to Ziklag, some troublemakers among the four hundred grumbled that the other two hundred will not share in the plunder (1 Samuel 30:22). David responded that the plunder is what the Lord has given us and the share of the man who stayed at the base is to be the same as that of him who went to the battle—all will share alike (1 Samuel 30:22–24). After the equitable sharing, he gave gifts from the portions he controlled to several people that were not part of his base (1 Samuel 30:26–31).
Through his declaration of all will share alike from what the Lord has given us, David conveys a message that every person is entitled to receive relief from the facilities of society (i.e., things of communal ownership), irrespective of their contribution. Also, by giving gifts to others from the portion of the plunder he controlled, he conveys a message of generosity by the owner of any blessing of God (what the Lord has given us). As we discussed previously (M06S02), the owner has full authority to determine when, where, and how to provide relief to others from the blessing he or she controls (what the Lord has given us). So, David chose to send gifts from the plunder to his friends and other acquaintance in different places outside his base.
David’s Base at Ziklag Raided by Amalekites
David and his followers had gone from their base at Ziklag (inside Philistine territory) to seek to fight in a Philistine lineup against Isreal. However, the Philistine commanders rejected them and asked them to leave the battlefield. They returned to Ziklag after a three-day trek and found their base raided and burnt and their livestock and people (women and children) taken: “When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive” [1 Samuel 30:3].
David Pursued the Raiders
David consulted with God and decided to pursue the raiders. He and all his six hundred men started the pursuit but two hundred became too tired to proceed. The two hundred returned to base. David led the other four hundred men in pursuit of the raiders: “Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit” [1 Samuel 30:10].
David Defeated the Raiders and Took Great Plunder
David and his men caught up with the raiders and defeated them in a fierce battle that lasted approximately twenty-four hours: “David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled” [1 Samuel 30:17]. They recovered everything that the raiders took from Ziklag including women and children. Additionally, they took a large herd of livestock as plunder [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.’”
Ruling Regarding Distribution of Battle Proceeds
When the men returned to Ziklag, some of the men that went to battle sought to exclude those that did not go to battle from sharing 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 rejected their proposed discrimination. He described the plunder as what the Lord has given us and explained that every person deserved a share irrespective of their contribution [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.’”
David Sends Plunder Gifts to Others
Additionally, David sent some of the plunder he controlled to others as gift [1 Samuel 30:26-31]: “When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, ‘Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.’ David sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.”
Using What the Lord Has Given Us
David’s ruling and subsequent actions regarding the battle proceeds provide a message of the communal purpose of what the Lord has given us and the individual responsibility to honor the purpose. Through the events, David describes two categories of what the Lord has given us. One category is a direct blessing to the community, represented by the battle proceeds. The other category is a blessing to an individual, represented by the battle proceeds that David controlled as an individual: that is, his individual blessing from the battle proceeds.
Direct Blessing for Community
A blessing that a community owns in common, such as the battle proceeds that David and his followers won, comes with communal ownership and purpose by God mandate. Communal ownership places the blessing among the facilities of society and implies equality of access by members of the community. Facilities of society are the products of society resources and effort. They belong to the society for the benefit of every person. David’s declaration that 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 Blessing
A blessing for an individual comes with full ownership by the person; full authority to determine when, where, and how to use the blessing (as we discuss in more detail under Distribution of Resources to Points of Need); and individual responsibility to recognize and honor the communal purpose. By giving gifts to others from the portion of the plunder he controlled, David conveyed a message of generosity that illustrates honoring the communal purpose of an individual blessing.
Summary of What We Learned
David introduced the phrase what the Lord has given us to settle a developing dispute among his followers regarding the distribution of battle proceeds. His ruling conveys a message of the communal purpose of God’s blessing and individual responsibility to honor the communal purpose.
Through his declaration that all will share alike, he proclaims the right of individual access to communal property, irrespective of contribution. Further, by giving gifts to others from the portion of the battle proceeds he controlled, he proclaims the individual responsibility to recognize and honor the communal purpose of individual blessing.