As we prepare for Christmas, it is a time of the year when we think about giving. Most become a bit more generous than any other time of the year. And as one reads about David, even though you can pick our number of flaws he had, this was one of those areas that David got right: He had a generous heart. He loved to give… David loved to share. And I believe it’s another factor which contributed to him being called a man after God’s own heart.
And I think he can be a model for us — a very important one — to help us get clarity as to, What a generous heart look like. This morning, I’d like to look just a little at how generous David was, again hoping that we can learn from his example so we too can become a man or woman after God’s own heart.
First of all, over and over we see that David was concerned about the needs of others. One way to know if you are becoming more generous is when you find yourself continually being moved by the needs of those around you.
In 1 Samuel 30 we find a classic example of David doing just that.
In that text we read about a small town that David established for himself and his band of followers and all their families.
One day while all the men were away going after the Philistines, a group of Amalekites came and burned their village down and hauled away all their wives, children, and possessions. READ 30:1-6 “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.
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.”
Can you just imagine how those men felt seeing their homes burnt and not knowing if their loved ones were alive or dead or being abused in some way? It says in verse 4 that “they wept till they could weep no more.” David’s men were so upset that they were ready to stone him. But in verse 6 we read that David found strength in the Lord. (Just as a side note, when trouble or disaster falls upon you, learn from David here and turn to the Lord who can help strengthen you as well)
So, David goes to God and seeks out His counsel: READ 30:7-8. ” 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.”
Rather than seeking the counsel of men David turns to the Lord concerning what to do and he is told to “go after the Amalekites.” And he was told he would rescue their families. (This is another less we can learn from David here)
So after 600 of them set out to reclaim what was lost about a third of the men said, “We can’t go another step…we don’t have it in us. We haven’t got the strength or the spirit. We’re done.” So David gives them permission to stay with the supplies there at the ravine.
Read 30:9-15 “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.”
In verse 11, we read that they find an Egyptian in the field. He was exhausted, thirsty, and starving… left there by his Amalekite master to die.
After David learns that he is a servant of one of the Amalekite leaders who had wiped out David’s village, instead of killing him, David gives him sanctuary, food and water until his strength returns. So, David asks him if he would lead him to the Amalekite army… and, of course, he was happy to do so! READ 30:16-20 “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. 20He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
We’re told, in verse 16, that once they got there, the Amalekite army was “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.” But then David and his men attack them out and reclaim their possessions as well as all the plunder these raiders took from other conquests.
Now that sounds like it could be the end of the story, but it’s not. We’ve still got those two hundred guys who stayed behind at the ravine. Imagine their response when they see David coming back with their wives and their children and their possessions. READ 30:21-31 “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. 22But 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 Lordhas 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, Athak31 and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.
To begin with we see that there were some selfish trouble makers in David’s ranks that did not want to share any of that extra plunder with the 200 that stayed behind, They 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.”
They did not think any of the 200 deserved any of the plunder taken.
Truth is, sometimes we are guilty of this. We see people in need, and wonder if they really deserve being helped with what we have because they haven’t worked for it like we did.
But, look at David response in verse 23. “David replied, ‘No, my brothers, don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us.’”
I love his generous attitude here. He tells them, “The share of the men who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as those who went down into the battle. All will share alike.”
What I want you to notice in this text is the connection between David’s desire to be generous and his gratitude to God.
It’s like David saying, ‘You’re thinking about this stuff all wrong. You know, we were all once a group of discontented, indebted fugitives. And now we have all this stuff. But we only have it because God was gracious and generous to us. So why not be gracious and generous to others?’
Here’s the point: When David had a financial choice to make, he began by considering how gracious and generous God had been to him, and then he asks himself, ‘How can I be like that? Who can I be gracious to?’
And I’ll tell you, anytime you are faced with an opportunity to give or help another, what you decide may come down to how much you appreciate how gracious & generous God has been to you. That may just determine how gracious & generous you will be to others.
Remember what David said in verse 23, “No, my brothers, don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us… He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us.”
That’s what a generous heart will do… it gives just like it has been given to. As a matter of fact a generous heart even looks for ways to give. The text goes on to say that after distributing some of the plunder to his men he went and also gave some of it to those in Judah and some other towns and villages. Most people don’t think like this. Most people are more concerned about what they can acquire and hoard, and they hang on to what they have with a tight grip not wanting to give anything away.
I believe it’s important to practice being thankful for what you have if you hope in-turn to be a generous person… We need to focus more on what you do have… not on what you don’t have… and then thank God for what He has provided and blessed us with.
Why is this so important? Because when you give, you set in motion a spiritual dynamic that can’t be held back. Good things start to happen.
– They happen to the one who receives the gift; they are blessed with the gift and the love behind the giving.
– And they happen in the heart of the one who gives. When we lovingly give we become like our Father God.
You can’t give without setting this kind of spiritual dynamic in motion. That’s why Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given unto you.” What’s important to God becomes important to us.
A generous heart will increasingly seek opportunities to give… and they do so without asking or expecting anything in return. This is just one example of many occasions we read of how generous David was.
Later after David became king, we read that he gave huge sums of his personal wealth to build the Temple, it inspires his people to do the same. David prays an amazing prayer which can be read in 1 Chronicles 29:10-17.
“10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, Lord,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.”
Too many today have the illusion that, ‘My stuff is my stuff!’
And that way of thinking doesn’t fade away easy. But like David we need to understand that nothing is really ours or mine. Everything we have comes from God.
– It was made by God; it belongs to God; it will eventually go back to God
– You may get to use it for a little while, and then it will be passed on to somebody else and they will get to use it for a while… but it’s not your stuff. You are just the steward of it for a while. A generous hearts require that we maintain that kind of perspective.
Over and over in this text, David gives willingly, the leaders give willingly, the people rejoice and they give willingly as well. And God loves that!
In 2 Corinthians 9:7, Paul reminds the church at Corinth (and us as well), “Give what you have freely, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” In other words; be generous!
See, the paradox is we’re afraid to give generously because we think that having more stuff is the secret to happiness. But let me ask you… have you ever met a really, really, happy, joyful, selfish greedy person? Probably not! I can’t help but think of Ebenezer Scrooge. It wasn’t until he learned to freely give that he experienced it’s joy as well as the love of others by doing so.
Back in the 1 Chron. 29 text one thing that characterizes that scene with David and his leaders and all the people? Joy! They Rejoiced! But to whatever degree they experienced joy that day… just imagine how much joy God must have felt.
The more you study the life of David the more you begin to see how generous and giving he was, and it all stemmed back to his relationship with God and how grateful and blessed he felt by Him.
I don’t believe you can ever hope to be a man or woman after God’s own heart if you are stingy and selfish. How we give more than what we give is not overlooked by God; He alone knows what is in your heart. (Remember the story of the widow’s mite? She only gave a penny or so but was commended by our Lord Jesus because of what was in her heart.)
So I would like to encourage you to always remember; God love a cheerful giver!
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