(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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1 Samuel 30:21–31, “And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach, And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.”
Some men had joined David’s group because they wanted to enrich themselves with the plunder that David’s raiding parties took. They had fought in that battle and they wanted to keep all the plunder for themselves rather than share with the men who had stayed behind. It is obvious from this history that David and his men had left some of their materiel behind when they had launched the last battle against the Amalekites so the men who were left behind acted as guards to that the baggage would be safe. However, David ordered that the men who had stayed behind should also receive their fair share of the plunder. Those men may well have taken a greater share of the burden in the earlier journey up to Jezreel and so were more tired than the other who went to the battle. When David returned he sent presents to the leaders of all the local Judean towns nearby. He was Judean himself and also understood that these men could easily betray him to his enemies if they wished. We know that people from other towns, like the Ziphites, had betrayed David. David knew nothing of the major battle taking place between Israel and the Philistines. The Lord had effectively removed him from the scene for this entire period. No one would ever be able to say that David had anything to do with the battle or that David had ever fought against Saul at any time. David remained true to his promise that he would not put his hand out to harm the Lord’s anointed.
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