Title: Loot Distribution/1 Samuel 30:18-25
Content "Loot Distribution"
There is a saying 'Where there are no tigers, the fox reigns'. This is not only true in the animal world, but also in the human world. After the Philistines left with David to invade Israel, the Amalekites invaded the empty Ziklag where David's followers were staying. They burned the city and took all their wives and children as captives. David's followers, grieved by this, even tried to stone him.
So David had Abiathar son of Abimelech the priest bring the ephod and inquired of the Lord God. When I asked if I would go crazy with the Amalekites if I pursued them, I told them to follow them. I received the answer, 'You will surely go crazy and find your way back.' So he left 200 tired men among the army to guard their belongings, and followed Amalek with only 400 men. On the way, he met an Egyptian, who had been an Amalekite slave. Then his master abandoned him just because he was ill. David had an abandoned servant as his guide and pursued the Amalekites.
To celebrate the joy of victory, they defeated the Amalekites who were at a feast from dawn to the evening of the next day, annihilating all but the 400 who escaped on camels, and recovered everything they had lost.
Now, in the process of distributing the stolen spoils, out of the 400 people who went with David, the 200 people who were not involved in this battle with the wicked and thugs were excluded, and a proposal was made to bonsai the spoils. They saw the victory of war as the pure result of their strength and effort.
But David's position was different. The victory of this war is the victory of Jehovah God. "David said, "My brethren, the LORD has protected us, and has delivered into our hands his army that has come against us, so you will not do likewise what he has given us" (verse 23). Because he is God, of course, that glory must be returned to God. The proof of giving glory to God of victory is that it is not only those who participate in the battle that distribute the spoils and have them, but also those who do not participate in the battle and share it with others is the way to glorify God. Those who participated in the battle and those who stayed here and kept our burdens all enjoy the joy of victory in general is the way to participate in the glory of Jehovah's warfare and to enjoy the joy together. David nailed these principles to Israel's ordinances and ordinances from now on.
From this point of view, it would be an evil in itself to claim that only those who participated in the battle had the glory of victory. It is not evil from a moral level, but it is evil that is manifested in the failure to understand God's mercy. These are people who are not interested in the works of God, but are only interested in their blood and sweat, and boast only of it. These people are not the real Israel. Rather, they are just enemies of God in Israel.
Like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew 20, the kingdom of heaven is the place where everyone who comes early or late can enjoy the Lord's grace equally, and this is the appearance of the church on earth. All of these were 'those who stood idle' before being called by their master. Even if they do work, they must not forget that they were the ones who stood and played. In other words, a person who is worthy of heaven when he realizes that he is a being blessed by his master and lives. Here, if you put up your own good looks, or if you ignore others while stating your status or your strengths, you are the same as those who have given up the qualifications to become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
However, among those in the parable, those who expressed their resentment and dissatisfaction with their master were the first to come. Their logic is as follows. By saying, 'These men who came later worked only one hour, they made them like us who endured toil and heat all day long.' They are forgetting that they are all non-comparable beings. All they should have is the gratitude of the Master's grace. This mindset is the image of heaven and the image of the church.
Therefore, it must not be forgotten that the church was created only as a result of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The work within the church is not to pray, evangelize, or preach the word, but to convey gratitude for being called and God's mercy. Therefore, all glory must go to the Lord who bore the cross. This is the church, the body of the Lord. Our concern is the Lord, not me. The church is a place where we need to remember the sacrifice of the Lord on the cross, rather than looking for our own interests or conveniences. The fulfillment of the law is to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. The attitude of the heart that says that I am dead and that only you, Lord, is enough is the church.
However, human beings always block the Lord's merits and try to put their own merits in them and take a step. Such a person will only be cut off from the church, which is the body of the Lord. If you want to do something that stands out, you try to tease it. This is the enemy of the cross who gives up the grace and mercy of the Lord. The church is a gathering of those who deny themselves like this every day and live their lives.