16-17 There were also men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah who joined David in his wilderness fortress. When David went out to meet them, this is what he said:
"If you have come in peace and to help me, you are most welcome to join this company; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies, innocent as I am, the God of our ancestors will see through you and bring judgment on you."
18 Just then Amasai chief of the Thirty, moved by God's Spirit, said,
We're on your side, O David,
We're committed, O son of Jesse;
All is well, yes, all is well with you,
And all's well with whoever helps you.
Yes, for your God has helped and does help you.
So David took them on and assigned them a place under the chiefs of the raiders.
19 Some from the tribe of Manasseh also defected to David when he started out with the Philistines to go to war against Saul. In the end, they didn't actually fight because the Philistine leaders, after talking it over, sent them home, saying, "We can't trust them with our lives—they'll betray us to their master Saul."
20-22 The men from Manasseh who defected to David at Ziklag were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, all leaders among the families of Manasseh. They helped David in his raids against the desert bandits; they were all stalwart fighters and good leaders among his raiders. Hardly a day went by without men showing up to help—it wasn't long before his band seemed as large as God's own army!
(The Message)
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1 comment:
I am struggling with this reading. I know that David is the "good guy" here, the annointed one and God's chosen, and then that makes Saul the "bad guy" (or does it?) I struggle with the defection of soldiers from Saul's army. Is this God's punishment of Saul? Is this how David triumphs? These men were bound by very serious ties to Saul (tribes/family, oaths, soveriegn). Is it a measure of the righteousness of David's cause that they abandon those ties, or did they see that Saul was wrong? How do we know when a cause we are bound to is not righteous (or no longer righteous)? Otherwise we are breaking our word if we abandon it. Any other perspectives?
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