“He led them down, and there they were, spread out all over the ground, eating, drinking, and celebrating how much spoil they had taken from the territory of the P’lishtim and the territory of Y’hudah.”-1 Samuel 30:16
The Egyptian boy was true to his word.
He led David and his men smack dab to where the Amalekites had set up camp.
These heathen bastards were drunk out of their minds celebrating their raid on the Negev.
David strategically decided to wait until they fell asleep.
Then when dawn arrived, David and his men attacked like bats out of hell.
It was a total blood bath.
David’s men, enraged and out for vengeance, slaughtered the unprepared and half-asleep men as if they were sheep.
The battle continued until almost sunset.
The only Amalekites who survived were the young boys who were taking care of the camels.
We’re told that 400 of them escaped by riding away on the camels.
This shows us that the war party was HUGE – probably more than 1,000 people.
David and his men saved every woman, child, and all the goods and animals that had been stolen from them.
I can only imagine how ecstatic and relieved everyone must have felt that evening.
Besides getting back their own things, David’s men also took everything the Amalekites had stolen from other places.
Now here’s where I question David’s character.
David claimed all that booty for himself.
I’m not so sure if that was the right thing to do.
Remember when God ordered Saul to attack Amalek and destroy everything, including the cattle back in Chapter 15?
Well, that command wasn’t just for Saul.
It was meant for all Israelite leaders.
This is an area where I wanna take off my teacher hat and put on my student hat.
I wanna ask you guys…
Do you think it was wrong for David to claim the war booty for himself?
Since David asked God for guidance and was told to go after Amalek, this seems like a Holy War.
Don’t you think the Law of Herem would be in effect?
Wouldn’t the spoils of this war belong to God?
I’m not talking about the recovered property.
God would have been fine with the men taking back what had been stolen from them.
I’m talking about the stuff David’s men took that the Amalekites had taken from other places.
Was God cool with David claiming that stuff as his own?
Please let me know in the comments.
well since 400 young boys got away from all that david did and more or less allowed to live GOD must of allowed it and was ok with what david did.
Interesting. Makes sense.
It was not every battle that God gave the instruction that every war spoil must not be taken or destroyed. However, I do not believe that David should take all for himself but to be divided among his army.
Hi Sueni, Yes. We see that’s exactly what David did. He divided up the booty and even used it mend broken relationships with the leaders of his tribe Judah.