I Samuel 30:24
“And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.”
This is David's correction to some of his fighters. They had joined in the battle and on their return, they didn't want to share the spoil. It's interesting what the scripture calls these, "wicked and worthless men". That doesn't mean they didn't have influence. They were seeking to sway the crowd to not sharing.
David's stance differentiates him from Saul. In these matters Saul caved. David feared God more than people. This is a great lesson for us. The crowd often speaks and they are rarely right. We gain our values from the Bible. As we read it, the concepts marinate in our minds and hearts and the Lord uses it to guide us and bless us.
David is sticking up for the weak ones. The ones who stayed behind were still part of David's band. Apparently the pursuit was a rigorous one and at one point David saw that some were exhausted and couldn't keep up. David told them to stay back and rest. These were ridiculed by some that stayed with the fight. David stood up these.
These complainers were called wicked and worthless. What we learn from this is there are some in the church that are difficult. Some of the themes in Paul's letters were helping to settle disputes. We are to be loving and patient. Other times we need to be strong and defend the weak ones.
While this wasn't the case, some times there are benefits to leaving some behind. The battle lines may have shifted and these could have been needed. They would have been fresh troops. We need to be understanding if some can't keep up. We need to adjust to assist those having difficulty.
There is a message of sharing and staving off greed in today's passage. The complaining ones were being greedy. They were past the miracle of their loved ones being alive and getting all their stuff back. As well as being a part of God blessing and getting an awesome win. They were being petty and missing this context. We need to be grateful and share. This fights the greedy part in us that rises up.
Thank You for David and his courage to stick up for the weak ones. Help us to be the same.