BRAGADAYJAH 903

BRAGADAYJAH 903

Slaughter at Ziklag

Some three days after leaving Achish, David and his men arrived at Ziklag, the place he had left his wives, and found that the Amalekites had invaded the town, and burnt it to the ground taking the women and children captive. On seeing this, David and his men wept bitterly, and he was greatly distressed especially because of his abducted love ones; and the people that were left alive blamed David and wanted to stone him, because of their grief over the loss of their sons and daughters.  But David in his distress sought the Lord his God. He took the ephod that was in the possession of Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son and went before the Lord to enquire of Him whether he should pursue after the Amalekites and overtake them.  And the Lord told him surely to go after them and overtake them and recover all. So David departed with four hundred of his men, leaving two hundred behind because they were very faint.  And eventually David came to a field where he found an Egyptian in the field who was very faint; so they gave him bread and water, and also figs and raisins; for he was very weak because he had not eaten in three days and three nights. And David asked the young man who he was; and he said that he was an Egyptian servant of an Amalekite, and that he had been abandoned by his master three days before because he had fallen ill.