Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.
All those souls who had gathered with David were distressed, in debt, and discontent. Of them, David had some mighty men and some real heroes. I think maybe even his brothers were among his subjects.
But though they had come to David instead of Saul, they were not all heroes. Some of them weren’t even good men, and many of them may not have been loyal. They had spoken of stoning him when they learned that Ziklag had been captured.
Here we discover that some were wicked men, and some were men of Belial.
Wicked men
Ill-natured and sour. Their discontentment had turned them cross.
Men of Belial
Belial is a name for the devil. Many commentaries wish to soften this and say that the term had come to mean those who were sour and angry. It would be like the Bible uses the two terms, wicked men, and men of Belial, synonymously and emphatically. I tend to think it’s better to leave it as it is. David had, in his group, some men who were ill-natured and sour. He also had some that were downright devils.
Matthew Henry writes of this passage. “Let not the best of men think it strange if they have those attending them that are very bad, and they cannot prevail to make them better. We may suppose that David had instructed his soldiers, and prayed with them, and yet there were many among them that were wicked men and men of Belial, often terrified with the apprehensions of death and yet wicked men still and men of Belial.”
Even so, every church has the ill-natured, the sour, and the devilish. We may pray, preach, and practice sound faith, but it will always be so. This isn’t pessimism. It is realism and meant to steel the man of God for his work.
Let us find our encouragement in Christ and not men.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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