Sharing

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

SHARING

1 Sam 30:21-31

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them. 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." 23 David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. 24 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." 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this. 26 When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, "Here is a present for you from the plunder of the LORD's enemies." 27 He sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; 28 to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa 29 and Racal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; 30 to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach 31 and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.

NIV

Sharing the plunder equally did not sit well with those who fought and gained all the plunder, but David would not have that selfishness among his men. Although the two hundred stayed behind to safeguard the supplies, they were entitled to the same share of the plunder. We wonder because of what the apostle Paul said in his letter to the Thessalonians, that if a man does not work, he should not eat, and why David shared the plunder with the men who did not fight.  Is this a controversy in the scriptures? It cannot be, for God Almighty is the author of all scripture; it is all God breathed. The two hundred may not have fought, but they were still part of the six hundred men who followed David, and staying and guarding the supplies could still be considered a form of work that would qualify them to share equally with the plunder. But then David also gave some away to the elders of Judah and the people in all those towns where David and his six hundred men roamed. Those people in those towns or cities must have aided David and his men, giving them food and supplies, as they came to each place. This lesson is all about sharing, giving, paying back, rather than being selfish. When we consider how much the Lord has given us, how much plunder of this world he has added onto us, it would be wise for us to share a portion back to him. This is the system of the tithe that we learn from the scriptures, such as Abraham giving a tenth to Melchizedek. However, according to what we see David did, should we be sharing our plunder with each other, our fellow warriors in Christ? In some sense, we do that with those who have been called into the mission field. We do give a portion of our plunder to some of them. Are we doing what the Lord would have us do, or are we doing what we think is best? We know David was a man after God’s own heart, that he was upright and generally cared about all his men and shared the plunder equally and made that a statute and an ordinance for Israel from that day to this. We just do not do that in our culture, as we have lived more by the system of “Each man for himself”. Of course, there are exceptions where wealthy people have given to various charities or causes that seem right and just. But the basic principle of our land is, if a man does not work, he does not eat. How have we become this kind of people? Then again, we do not raid other countries and capture plunder, although we have gone to war in other countries, but not to capture plunder. Nevertheless, maybe we should consider the idea of sharing with those who did not fight. Maybe we do in a sense, when we share our time and energy for the benefit of others. Maybe we are sharing equally when we do things together for the benefit of the kingdom of God. Maybe we are sharing together when we gather around the word of God and share our insights with each other. Maybe we are sharing our faith in worship. Maybe we are sharing when we equally encourage everyone, or when we equally share the gospel. Let us share the gospel equally.