David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.1
In ancient Israel, God had a fascinating way of informing his people when they were out of his will: he sent them into battle against the Amalekites.
Starting with Moses, the Amalekites became a spiritual litmus test for the nation.
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
In other words, when Moses lifted his hands up in prayer, seeking God and acknowledging that he was sovereign and the source of their success, Israel prevailed. But when, out of weakness, he lowered his hands and ceased praying, the Amalekites prevailed.
A second example of God using the Amalekites to prove when someone was acting out of their own wisdom and power was Saul. God commanded Saul to go and wipe out the Amalekites because of the way they treated Israel in the Exodus. But instead, we read:
Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastrn border of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.2
The result of Saul’s disobedience regarding the Amalekites? God rejected Saul from being king over Israel.
A third example of God using the Amalekites as a spiritual litmus test is David at Ziklag.
David was being pursued by Saul and reached a point of despair. He forgot that God had appointed him the next king of Israel and that he was therefore invincible. Instead, he assumed that unless he took things into his own hands, he would die at Saul’s hands. Up until this time, David had been seeking the Lord in prayer. But suddenly, he’s doing things on his own.
David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.3
And that brings us to Ziklag. David’s human plan was only natural. And for over a year, it worked perfectly – until Ziklag. Suddenly, God sent the Amalekites to raid David and his companions’ camp at Ziklag and take all their possessions, as well as their family members. This is why David’s men wanted to stone him. They knew immediately that their defeat by the Amalekites was proof that God was disciplining them.
David’s solution? He “found strength in the Lord his God.” How? By resorting once again to seeking the Lord in prayer, for in the very next verse we read:
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”4
The lesson for us as spiritual leaders of men’s ministries is simple: when it comes to doing God’s will, it’s so easy for us to slip into our own devices. Simply doing God’s will is not enough. We must do God’s will God’s way by seeking him continually in prayer and acknowledging that he is almighty and the source of our success. Not doing so will bring about disastrous consequences, both for ourselves and for those who serve with us.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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