Why Did David Divide the Spoils of Battle with Men Who Did Not Fight?
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1 Samuel 30:21-25 describes how David returned from battle to a group of 200 men who had stayed behind, exhausted, at the Brook of Besor. In spite of protests from those who fought alongside him, David distributed the wealth the army had gained with all. He even made this the new standard: all would benefit, not only the warriors. The exhausted soldiers, fearing rebuke and rejection, were instead treated with love and respect.
Why would David do such a thing, and is there any kind of New Testament parallel we can draw from this passage?
Context for 1 Samuel 30:21-25
Saul had persecuted David to the point that he fled for his life, even living among the Philistines who did not trust him to fight for them. He asked King Achish for asylum and was given the city of Ziklag for himself and his 600 men, plus their families. The Amalekites came and burned the city while the men were away fighting, taking with them all of the women and children. 1 Samuel 30:21-25 recounts how David and his men pursued and defeated the Amalekites, retrieving their families plus the spoils of war.
In 2024, archaeologists claimed to have found the remains of Ziklag in Southern Israel near Gaza. While the finds are disputed, many artefacts have been unearthed, reminding us that David and the Philistines were real people. Domestic pottery and other items help us to picture families living normal lives before they were snatched away by the enemy.
When David pursued the Amalekite army, he took 600 men (1 Samuel 30:9). Of those, 200 stayed behind at the Brook of Besor, which modern maps indicate was probably a 7-8 hour march from Ziklag, between Beersheba and Gaza. They were too exhausted to cross the Brook and continue fighting at this point, but sought strength in the Lord.
“And David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?’ He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue’” (1 Samuel 30:6, 8).
David and his men fought successfully and brought their loved ones home along with the riches they took from their enemies. On the way, they encountered the 200 men that had stayed behind and shared the spoils with them.
David’s Statute Regarding the Spoils of War
“Dividing the plunder was a significant aspect of warfare and conquest, reflecting both the practical necessities of ancient life and the theological principles that governed the Israelites' conduct.” David would have been familiar with the traditional practice from Numbers 31:27 which instructs soldiers as to how they should divide the rewards reaped via warfare. As a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), he would have also understood that dividing the spoils reflected “God’s justice and provision,” not merely temporal necessity. God wanted unity among his people.
Numbers 31:28-30 discusses instructions for giving a portion of these riches to the priests, demonstrating that God is ultimately responsible for victory (1 Samuel 30:23). Sharing with the weak was as much an act of humility as of mercy, but also recognized that, as Charles Spurgeon puts it, guarding the “stuff” is a risky job in times of warfare.
This was not the view of those “corrupt and worthless men” among David’s soldiers (v. 22). They believed the exhausted soldiers deserved nothing. But David simultaneously rebuked these men while redeeming the exhausted soldiers at the Brook by creating a new statute. As verse 24 states, "The share of the one who goes into battle shall be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share alike."
As Charles Spurgeon preached, “faint ones occur even in the army of our king.” They might have once been heroic fighters, who now realized they were more of a liability on the field than a benefit, owing to age or infirmity. “There were hands that hung down, and feeble knees that needed to be confirmed.” Or, they perhaps became exhausted due to worry about their wives and children, or the confusion of returning to a city still smoking from fire, devoid of life. Combined with fear, confusion might have left them incapacitated.
David’s new statute suggests that these men would not have shared in the spoils otherwise. Yet the necessity of fighting in order to earn wages (the plunder was their pay) was no incentive. Their exhaustion was legitimate. David saw this, perhaps recognized that they would be no good in battle, and demonstrated both grace and good sense.
The Heart of an Ordinary Christian
Spurgeon spoke tenderly about the soldiers who remained at the Brook of Besor. They represent Christians “whose faith is real, and whose love is burning; and yet, for all that, just now their strength is weakened in the way, and they are so depressed in spirit, that they are obliged to stop behind with the baggage.”
Confusion can weaken us; it can come as a result of our own sin or someone else’s. David, says Spurgeon, got mixed up with the enemy. He was not supposed to be fighting against Israel with the Philistines, whose champion – Goliath – David had killed by the power of God years earlier.
“I find that half-an-hour’s perplexity takes more out of a man than a month’s labour,” writes Spurgeon. They were caught up in a strange and grave situation in which their loved ones were at risk. They might also have grieved what they thought was the death of their wives and children, not daring to hope that their families would still be alive. Yet, if they had stayed with Saul, David and his men would have been looking over their shoulders continually. They were caught in the middle of a private war as much as a military one.
Now these men were expected to cross a fast-flowing brook. Fatigue can come upon any believer who faces a raging torrent of fear, pressure, temptation, pain, confusion, or perhaps a combination of all of these. Imagine one who has spent many years on the mission field or at the pulpit, trying to share the gospel but being knocked back; leading or attending Bible Study, where some participants remain largely unfruitful and are still drinking milk instead of eating solid food (1 Corinthians 3:2). You study and worship with individuals who, after a decade, seem to not know Jesus any better than they did from the start.
How does one address these issues redemptively and humbly? And how does the ordinary Christian – which is every Christian – respond to aggregate pressures? Always with mercy, grace, and patience? Everyone has a breaking point. We all get weary in the normal course of life. There are “a great many Christians of that sort — good, staying men who can keep on under ordinary pressure, doing daily duty well, and resisting ordinary temptations bravely; but at a push they fare badly.” Maybe they managed to fight yesterday, but they are on their knees today.
Every Christian is an ordinary Christian in this sense – that is, a human being with human failings. What sets us apart is that we have a Savior and King whose love for us is not based on output. Our works do not save us or earn us Jesus’ love. Nor do we have the right to determine the worth of another human being based on how they perform.
One scholar wrote that “the brook serves as a reminder that in times of weariness, God provides rest and renewal” and “encourages perseverance and trust in God's provision, even when circumstances seem overwhelming.” He provides it knowing we will need it. God expects our weakness and is kind towards us.
The Implications for Christian Life
The name “Besor” means “glad news; incarnation.” In the figurative sense, then, this brook represents Christ himself, the Living Water. Here are some ways in which David’s actions at this crossing point relate to the life of a Christian:
1. We will experience times of terrible dryness and exhaustion while sharing the gospel with those who have been taken captive by the world and who are far from Jesus. This is spiritual warfare in which, instead of swords, prayer is our best and first weapon.
2. While fighting to stay on our feet, we need a faithful community to help us stay strong in the Lord and to continue praying and proclaiming the name of Jesus when we are dry. We will all, probably, end up guarding the baggage at some point in our lives, no matter how bold we are. Even the Christian who seems like an action hero of bold preaching can be inwardly, secretly dry. It is far better to admit exhaustion so that God, through the Church Body, can restore us.
3. Sometimes we are the 200, and sometimes we are the 400. We will need to fortify the weak when it is our turn to rise up and move forward, so they can rest for a while. At other times, we rely on the Church to lift us up when we feel overcome.
4. All believers are part of the battle in some capacity. There is something active even in staying behind. Some send money to missionaries in the field, or gather to pray, some provide homes for missionaries on furlough, volunteer at fundraisers, and spread the gospel in the staffroom.
On the other hand, says Spurgeon, some are truly stuck. “Many are too faint for needful controversy. [...] They cannot bear to differ from their fellows; and they hold their tongues rather than contend for the truth.” Deep discussion overwhelms them. Yet, these have been saved by grace, and one does not know how far this person has come since first submitting to Christ. “Their names were in their Captain’s Register as much as the names of the strong.” We want to lead them forward, encourage them towards boldness by our own example of faith and perseverance in the power of the Holy Spirit. While we must not condemn, Charles Spurgeon hoped that all Christians would long to know as much as possible about Christ. “We should eat strong meat, and leave milk to the little ones.”
A Place of Waiting
The Brook of Besor represents our waiting. Christians have faith in our king based on the evidence of what he has already done, just as the 200 knew God favored David and expected him to be victorious. Some belong in the waiting place because we need a rest just now, but all Christians await the return of our king. Sometimes we wonder what he will say when he sees us: will he rebuke us?
1 Samuel 30 encourages us with a different picture: not only will we rejoice, but Jesus will “salute the stay-at-homes.” Jesus, at the right hand of God, advocates for the weary ones, constantly interceding for his people (Romans 8:34). Perhaps remembering God’s grace restores strength to the weary.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/benjaminec
