1 Samuel 30:21 - Meaning and Application

Here we have an account of how David divided the spoil taken from the Amalekites. The Amalekites had once taken rich plunder from Judah and the Philistines, and they wasted it in pleasure, eating, drinking, and celebrating. David used the spoil in a very different way, as a man who knew that justice and kindness must guide how we use what we have in this world. What God gives us is meant to be used for good, not for feeding our own desires.

David was fair and kind to the men who stayed with the baggage. They came out to meet the victors and to share in their joy, even though they had not been able to join the fight (1 Samuel 30:21). We should rejoice when a good work is done, even if God has kept us from taking part in it. David welcomed them warmly. He did not reproach them for being weak, but took care to ask after their peace and welfare, since he had left them worn out and tired.

Some of David’s men opposed letting them share in the spoil. These were likely the same men who had wanted to stone David earlier, and now they tried to cheat their own brothers. Scripture calls them wicked men and men of Belial, that is, lawless and worthless men (1 Samuel 30:22). Even among good company, there may be bad men who cannot be fully changed. These men wanted the 200 who stayed behind to receive only their wives and children, but none of the goods.

That was a wicked and greedy proposal. It was greedy because it would have given the fighters more for themselves. They had just been eager to risk everything to recover what they had lost, yet now that all had been restored, they still wanted more, even their brothers’ share. People often forget how needy they once were. It was also cruel, because giving them wives and children without support would be like giving them mouths without food. What good is a family if there is nothing to provide for them?

David would not allow that. He ordered that the men who stayed behind should share equally with those who went into battle, both in this victory and in the spoil (1 Samuel 30:23-24). He did this first out of gratitude to God. The spoil belonged to God’s gift, and they were only stewards, that is, managers of what God had entrusted to them. Since God had delivered their enemies into their hand, they must not wrong their brothers. God’s kindness to us should make us kind to one another.

He also did it out of justice to those who had stayed behind. They had not remained out of laziness or disloyalty, but because they were too weak to keep up. That was not their fault. Also, they had taken part in many battles before, so their earlier service should count now that there was something to receive. Even then, they were still serving, since they guarded the supplies. Every service is not equally honored, but those who help the common cause in any way should share in the common benefit.

David settled the matter gently, but firmly. He called the others his brothers, and he overruled them by reason rather than anger. He also made this a rule for Israel in the future, a law for the division of spoil, so that those who stayed with the supplies should share with those who went down to battle (1 Samuel 30:25). Abraham once returned the spoils of Sodom to their rightful owners, giving up any claim to them from the laws of war. Likewise, if we help others recover what belongs to them, we should not then claim it as our own. God had also ordered that the spoil of Midian be divided between the soldiers and the whole congregation (Numbers 31:27). The situation here was different, but the same general rule applied, we are members of one another.

David was also generous to all his friends. After everyone had received his rightful share, there was still a large surplus. As commander, David could dispose of it, and he likely saw that the Amalekites’ goods, probably including silver, gold, and jewels, might make his own men proud or soft. So he chose to send gifts to his friends, especially the elders of Judah (1 Samuel 30:26). Several places are named where he sent these gifts, all within or near Judah. The first is Bethel, which means “house of God.” It seems fitting that the place of God should be served first, whether this means the town itself or the place where the ark was kept. David sent the first and best there, to those who attended it, for the sake of him who is first and best.

Hebron is named last, probably because David sent the largest share there. He likely had that city in view as the best place for his future base of operations (1 Samuel 30:31, 2 Samuel 2:1).

In David’s sending these gifts, we can see several things. First, we see his generosity. He was not trying to make himself rich, but to serve his country, and God later made him rich and set him over the people he had helped. It is fitting for gracious hearts to be generous. There is one who scatters, and yet grows more.

Second, we see his gratitude. He sent gifts to all the places where he and his men had usually stayed (1 Samuel 30:31), meaning all the people who had shown them kindness, sheltered them, or sent them news or supplies. Honesty, as well as honor, calls us to repay kindness when we can, or at least to sincerely recognize it as far as our means allow.

Third, we see his devotion to God. He calls his gift a blessing, because no gift we give to friends will truly help them unless God blesses it. This also suggests that his prayers for them went with his gift. He sent it from the plunder taken from the enemies of the Lord, as he calls them, not his own enemies, so that they might share in the joy of the victory for God’s sake and join him in thanksgiving.

Fourth, we see his wisdom. He sent these gifts to his countrymen to prepare them to stand with him when he came to the throne, which he now believed was near. A man’s gift makes room for him. He showed himself fit to be a king by giving with the generosity and openhandedness of a king. Generous giving wins respect more than outward splendor. The Ziphites and the men of Keilah received none of these gifts, and David showed by this that, while he was too godly to get revenge for insults, he was not so foolish as to ignore them.