Amalekites Burn Ziklag
Philistines and Israel prepared for battle. One problem that couldn't hide. David and his men were also there. They were on the Philistine side! Achish the Philistine king, believed that David would side with him, but his princes said king, have you lost your mind? This is David. He's one of them! We'll not go to war if David is here. Send him back. Don't you see what he'll do? How better to atone with his people than for David to side against you? Achish sent him away. Not a moment too soon. You'll never guess what David found. Other enemies invaded Philistia, and Ziklag was burned to the ground. David's family was gone and those of his men. All was burned or taken away. They cried and they cried 'till they had no more tears, and finally they stopped to pray. God answered their prayers. Said you'll overtake those who have burned and plundered your land. Not a soul will be lost of your children and wives. They set off in pursuit of the band. Six hundred men. They all came to a brook. Two hundred were too faint to cross. The other four hundred and David pursued. As God said, no family were lost. With four hundred men David destroyed the host and recovered all people and stuff, and all that belonged to the Amalekites. You would think that this was enough. But some of the men of six hundred, who crossed the brook and did fight, said those that remained behind by the stuff to the spoils now have no right. Then David said, no, my brothers. This victory's of God and not us. None of us have a right. It is God who did fight. We will share for God made it thus. And ever after in Israel a statute and law it became. If you guarded the stuff or fought in the war all men were treated the same. But David went further in fairness. His men got back more than they planned. They also spoiled Amalekite goods and some came from the Hebrew's land. So David gave gifts to his brethren in Judah and Bethel their cousin, and all of the places where David had lived. In fact it was more than a dozen.
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