1 Samuel 30

21–25 When David was pursuing the Amalekites, two hundred of his men stopped partway because of exhaustion; they stayed behind with some of the supplies (verses 9–10,24). On the way back from the battle, David came to the place where the two hundred men had been waiting. But some evil men and troublemakers¹¹⁰ among David’s followers were opposed to sharing the plunder with those who hadn’t actually shared in the fighting (verse 22).

But David laid down a lasting principle: all of his men would share equally in the plunder, whether they had fought on the “front line” or not (verse 24). All were valuable members of the team. Those who stayed with the supplies had made an essential contribution to the overall effort; therefore, they too should be rewarded.

This principle is valid for all Christians today. Some are called to be on the “front line” of spiritual warfare; others are called to support those at the front. The “front-liners” couldn’t fight without the support of those in the rear. From this principle, the Apostle Paul drew the analogy of the church as a body, in which each member plays a different but important role (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–27). And God will reward each member not according to his or her role but rather according to his or her faithfulness in carrying out that role.

David also laid down a second principle: the goods that David’s men retrieved from the Amalekites were given by the Lord and were to be distributed according to His will (verse 23). It was the Lord who had given the victory; therefore no man had a greater right to the plunder than any other man.

This principle applies to us as well. All of our abilities, our gifts, our possessions—our “plunder”—are given to us by God; and we need to use and distribute these gifts and possessions as God sees fit. In fact, though God has “given” us all these good things, they really belong to Him; we are merely stewards of God’s gifts, and we must use them according to His will.

26–31 David sent some of the plunder to the elders of the tribe of Judah who were his friends; David had made many friends in Judah by attacking Judah’s enemies (1 Samuel 27:8). These friends would become his loyal supporters once he became king.