Lesson 6
 God our Encourager (Romans 15:5)
 “Learn to Encourage and Strengthen Yourself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6)
Read 1 Samuel 30, 1 Chronicles 12:1-22 www.bible.com/bible/59/1sa.30.esv

When David and his men got back to Ziklag, they discovered they had been raided by an enemy. All their wives and children had been taken as prisoners. David and his men wept until they were exhausted; David’s men, bitter over the loss of their families, talked about stoning him. David had no friend like Jonathan to turn to for encouragement this time, but he encouraged and strengthened himself by trusting in the Lord.

David, grieving deeply and fearing for his life, prayed to God, asking if he should go after the raiders and if he could catch them. The Lord greatly encouraged David by answering yes, he should go after them, promising David they would catch them and rescue their families. David set out with six hundred men.

Some of the fighting men found an Egyptian man in the field who hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in three days, and was near death. They gave him food and water, and he revived. He told David he was a slave of the Amalekites. David asked him if he could take them to the raiders, and he said he would if they promised not to turn him back over to his master.

 The Egyptian slave led David and his men right to the raiders, who were scattered everywhere, recklessly stuffing themselves with the food and drink they had plundered. David and his men fought them from early morning until evening of the next day. David rescued everything that had been taken, including all family members. No one and nothing was missing – they recovered it all, as the Lord, David’s Strength and Encourager, had promised.

Apply God’s Word to your life:
*How does David set a good example for those under his authority?