“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.”
~ 1 Samuel 30:23
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you share the toys that you have or do you hide your toys so that only you can play with them? Do you know who owns everything on planet Earth? Do you know who impresses on guys, gals and kids to do what they do? Do you know who insures that everything happens the way that everything happens? Have you ever met God? Do you talk with God? What does God look like to you? Has God ever specifically told you to do something? God cannot be visibly seen on planet Earth. God’s presence on planet Earth is the Holy Spirit. God does not talk with you like your dad and/or ma talks with you. God talks with His specially elected guys, gals and kids in a variety of ways. God talks with kids – like you, through their dads and/or mas. God talks with His specially elected guys, gals and kids through the Bible, through His magnificent and beautiful creation and through catastrophic events that take place on planet Earth. Even though God the Holy Spirit is always talking with His specially elected guys, gals and kids, God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids – because of the interference of what it takes to live life daily on planet Earth, rarely if ever hear in an audible way the voice of God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit knows the individualized plan that God the Father designed for and imprinted in each one of His specially elected guys, gals and kids. God the Holy Spirit is serving God the Father as God the Father continuously unrolls His life plan that He designed for each one of His specially elected guys, gals and kids. Your grandpaa is sure that you would think that you would really be happy if God’s life plans for your lives did not have anything devastating ever happening in them. Your grandpaa is sure that you would think that you would really be happy if God’s life plans for your lives were filled with lots of good things – like having lots of really nice things, having lots of money, having lots of guys, gals and kids think that you are a couple of really special kids, having . . . do you think that God knows how to make a mistake? Ask your ma and/or dad if they think that God can make a mistake.
David is a well-known real life Bible character. David lived for a time in Ziglag. David was the leader for a time of a ragtag band of 600 disreputable mercenaries. God’s live plan for David was to have David one day be king over the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids. God’s life plan for David – before having David positioned as king over the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids, was to have David experience life sufferings. God would have David make the Israelite people group’s first king – Saul, jealous of him. Saul would do everything that he could to kill David. The Philistine people group was Saul’s number one enemy people group. David decided one day to join the Philistine people group’s army to help them fight against Saul and his army. After David and his band of mercenaries traveled three days to join the Philistine people group’s army, the Philistine people group’s army leaders told David that they did not want him and his mercenaries fighting with them against Saul and his army. When David and his band of mercenaries got back to their homes in Ziglag, they found that marauders from the Amalekite people group had attacked Ziglag, burned Ziglag and carried away all the gals and kids who were living in Ziglag. Because they were so mad at David for convincing them to leave their homes and families to join the Philistine people group’s army to fight Saul and his army, David’s guys wanted to stone him to death. 1 Samuel 30 recounts how disconsolate David and his guys felt when they got back to Ziglag after . . . they cried and cried. David went to Abiathar – the resident priest, to ask him for the ephod. David used the ephod to ask God what God wanted him to do. God told David to take his band of mercenaries and go after the Amalekite people group’s invaders – that they would be able to rescue all the gals and kids who had been captured by the Amalekite people group’s raiders.
David did what God told him to do – which was to chase after the Amalekite people group’s marauders. When David and his band of 600 mercenaries got to Besor Ravine, 200 of the mercenaries claimed to be too tired to cross the ravine. David and the remaining mercenaries went on – catching up with the Amalekite people group’s invaders. The Amalekite people group’s raiders – who did not escape on their camels, were killed. David and the guys with him were able to rescue all the captured gals and kids. The Amalekite people group’s marauders had been amassing loot from the towns that they had attacked and captured. David’s 400 faithful mercenaries wanted to claim all the loot for themselves. On their way back to Ziglag, David and the 400 mercenaries who were with him met up with the 200 mercenaries who . . . the mercenaries who had gone on with David to fight the Amalekite people group’s raiders did not want to share any of the confiscated loot with the 200 mercenaries who had stopped at Besor Ravine. Because all 600 mercenaries had been with him during other very problematic fights, David wanted the loot to be shared equally among all the guys. David did not take any of the credit for defeating the Amalekite people group’s marauders and for rescuing all the gals and kids who the Amalekite people group’s invaders captured. Verse 23 says “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.” Do you thank God for everything that He has given you? Do you thank God that He has given you things that you can share with other kids? Your grandpaa hopes that you will never forget that God has given every guy, gal and kid everything that they have and that He created – before He created planet Earth, a tailored life plan for every single guy, gal and kid who lived, is living and will live on planet Earth.
1 Samuel 30 (242)