撒母耳記上30:1-31

 

30:1 第三日，大衛和跟隨他的人到了洗革拉。亞瑪力人已經侵奪南地，攻破洗革拉，用火焚燒，
30:2 擄了城內的婦女和其中的大小人口，卻沒有殺一個，都帶著走了。
30:3 大衛和跟隨他的人到了那城，不料，城已燒毀，他們的妻子兒女都被擄去了。
30:4 大衛和跟隨他的人就放聲大哭，直哭得沒有氣力。
30:5 大衛的兩個妻─耶斯列人亞希暖和作過拿八妻的迦密人亞比該，也被擄去了。
30:6 大衛甚是焦急，因眾人為自己的兒女苦惱，說：「要用石頭打死他。」大衛卻倚靠耶和華─他的上帝，心裡堅固。
30:7 大衛對亞希米勒的兒子祭司亞比亞他說：「請你將以弗得拿過來。」亞比亞他就將以弗得拿到大衛面前。
30:8 大衛求問耶和華說：「我追趕敵軍，追得上追不上呢？」耶和華說：「你可以追，必追得上，都救得回來。」
30:9 於是，大衛和跟隨他的六百人來到比梭溪；有不能前去的就留在那裡。
30:10 大衛卻帶著四百人往前追趕，有二百人疲乏，不能過比梭溪，所以留在那裡。
30:11 這四百人在田野遇見一個埃及人，就帶他到大衛面前，給他餅吃，給他水喝，
30:12 又給他一塊無花果餅，兩個葡萄餅。他吃了，就精神復原；因為他三日三夜沒有吃餅，沒有喝水。
30:13 大衛問他說：「你是屬誰的？你是哪裡的人？」他回答說：「我是埃及的少年人，是亞瑪力人的奴僕；因我三日前患病，我主人就把我撇棄了。
30:14 我們侵奪了基利提的南方和屬猶大的地，並迦勒地的南方，又用火燒了洗革拉。」
30:15 大衛問他說：「你肯領我們到敵軍那裡不肯？」他回答說：「你要向我指著上帝起誓，不殺我，也不將我交在我主人手裡，我就領你下到敵軍那裡。」
30:16 那人領大衛下去，見他們散在地上，吃喝跳舞，因為從非利士地和猶大地所擄來的財物甚多。
30:17 大衛從黎明直到次日晚上，擊殺他們，除了四百騎駱駝的少年人之外，沒有一個逃脫的。
30:18 亞瑪力人所擄去的財物，大衛全都奪回，並救回他的兩個妻來。
30:19 凡亞瑪力人所擄去的，無論大小、兒女、財物，大衛都奪回來，沒有失落一個。
30:20 大衛所奪來的牛群羊群，跟隨他的人趕在原有的群畜前邊，說：「這是大衛的掠物。」
30:21 大衛到了那疲乏不能跟隨、留在比梭溪的二百人那裡。他們出來迎接大衛並跟隨的人。大衛前來問他們安。
30:22 跟隨大衛人中的惡人和匪類說：「這些人既然沒有和我們同去，我們所奪的財物就不分給他們，只將他們各人的妻子兒女給他們，使他們帶去就是了。」
30:23 大衛說：「弟兄們，耶和華所賜給我們的，不可不分給他們；因為他保佑我們，將那攻擊我們的敵軍交在我們手裡。
30:24 這事誰肯依從你們呢？上陣的得多少，看守器具的也得多少；應當大家平分。」
30:25 大衛定此為以色列的律例典章，從那日直到今日。
30:26 大衛到了洗革拉，從掠物中取些送給他朋友猶大的長老，說：「這是從耶和華仇敵那裡奪來的，送你們為禮物。」
30:27 他送禮物給住伯特利的，南地拉末的，雅提珥的；
30:28 住亞羅珥的，息末的，以實提莫的；
30:29 住拉哈勒的，耶拉篾各城的，基尼各城的；
30:30 住何珥瑪的，歌拉珊的，亞撻的；
30:31 住希伯崙的，並大衛和跟隨他的人素來所到之處的人。

 

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, ² and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

³ When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵ David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ 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.

⁷ Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, ⁸ and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

⁹ David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. ¹⁰ Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— ¹² part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

¹³ David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”

He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. ¹⁴ We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”

¹⁵ David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”

He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”

¹⁶ He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. ¹⁷ David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. ¹⁸ David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰ He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. ²² But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

²³ David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” ²⁵ David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

²⁶ When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”

²⁷ David sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; ²⁸ to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa ²⁹ and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; ³⁰ to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak ³¹ and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.

 

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    雖然遇到亞瑪力人的攻擊，使得跟隨大衛的這一群的妻子兒女都被擄去，甚至大家著急到要用石頭打死他。大衛卻倚靠耶和華─他的上帝，心裡堅固，不隨著他們慌亂！

 

    跟隨大衛這一群人是烏合之眾，照理來說是非常難治理的！但是上帝給大衛有智慧來治理，正如經文所說：「大衛定此為以色列的律例典章，從那日直到今日。」

 

    因此一位領袖不要害怕自己所帶領的人素質不夠好，而是自己有沒有一套好的管理辦法！這是每一個做治理或管理事務的人，所要思考的。同樣，教會不是一盤散沙，也要有治理，教會的行政也是教會維持一個重要因素，事牧者或長執不能不注意的，畢竟教會也是人的組織，有組織就要有管理！所以，教會一定要有管理的！