hearki,n unto you in this matter 1 Literally, Ver. 28.-Aroer, a dilforent place from "this word," this proposal of yours. David that on the eastern side of the Jordan mon- then enacts that those left to guard the bag- tioned in Josh. xii. 2, is probably th~ rnin gage are to share in the booty equally with 'Ar'arah, twclv~ miles cast of lleer-shebn. 1he combatants. Patrick in his commentary Siphmoth. Some village in the Negeb, but 'l n0tes a similar rule enacted by Puhlius unknown. Eshtemoa (Josh. xv. 60) the ~cipio after the capture of New Carthage present village Scmu'ah, south of Hebr~n. (l'ol~·bius, x., XY. 5). Ver. 29. -Re.chill. Rather Racal, unknown. Yer. 25.-That he made it. I. e. David. The supposition that it may be Carmel is HaYing been thus enacted bv him and untenable. The Jerahmeelites; see on eh. prnctiscd during his life, no ki11g hencefor- xxvii. 10, as also for the Kenites. w:ml ,rnuld Ycnture to change it. In the Ver. 30. - Horme.h. Anciently called "·ar "ith the Midianites Moses had ordere,l Zcphath. For the reason of the change of that half the spoil should belong to the name see Judges i. 17. Chor-e.she.n. More combat.ants and half to the congregation who correctly Cor-ashan, the same place as Ashan remained in the camp (Numb. xxxi. 27). (Josh. xv. 42), a Simeonite town (1 Chron. TI1is enactment of David was in the same iv. 32) assigne,l to the priests (ibid, vi. 59). spirit. Atha.eh, never mentioned elsewhere, may be DA YID PROPITIATES HIS FRIENDS BY a false reading for Ethe1· (Josh. xix. 7). SHARING WITH THEM HIS BOOTY (vcrs. 26 Ver. 31.-Hebron, destined soon to be- -31). Ver. 26.-The elders of Judah. The come David's cllp!tal (2 Sam. ii. 1), lay spoil taken from the Amalekites and assigned about fourteen miles south of Jerusalem. to Da,id must have been very large, as it For an account of it see Conder, 'Tent Work,' 1rns worth distributincr so widely. He did ii. 79, sqq. In comparing the list of David's not, however, send to a'.11 the elders of Judah, heroes (1 Chron. xi. 26-47) with this cata- but to such only as were his friends. A logue of friendly towns, it will be found that present. Hebrew, "a blessing" (see on eh. several of them came from them, and had XXV. 27). probably shared his exile at Ziklag. Such Ver. 27.-Bethel cannot be the famous were Ira and Gareb, Ithrites from J attir, -city of that name, but is probably the Bethul Shama and ,Jehiel from Aroer; perhaps also of Josh. xix. 4, where it is mentioned as Zabdi the Shiphmite (1 Chron. xxvii. 27) lying near Hormah and Ziklag. South Re.- came from Siphmoth. We find David in this -moth. Hebrew, "Ramoth-Negeb," called narrative acting justly as a soldier, generously Ramath-Negeb in Josh. xix. 8. Like Bethul, to those who had been kind to him in his it was a Simeonite village. Jattir belonged wanderings, and forming friendships which he to Judah (Josh. xv. 48), and ,vas one of the retained and cherished long afterwards, when cities assigned to tho priests (ibid. xxi. 14). from being a fugitive he had become I\ king.
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-10.-Tlte spiritual uses of calamity. The facts are-1. David, on re- turning to Ziklag with his men, discovers that the Amalekites had smitten it and <:arried off the families as ce.ptives. 2. In their deep distress David and his men weep bitterly. 3. On a mutiny arising amon~ his men, threa~~ning his life, David betakes himself to God for comfort and guidance. 4. lnqumng of God through tlie high priest, he receives assurance of success in. pursuing· the A1;11alekites, and. therefore, leaving the faint at Bes or, he presses on with the rest of lus force. The, sojourn of David in the country of the Philistines had thus far been conducive to: his safety, and events had seemed to justify the step taken when, from fear of being tilai.n by Saul, he without positive Divine direction left his native land. It is true the ambiguous position into which he had brought himself exposed him for a while to a danger of being treachero?s to _his prot~ctor or hostile t_o his countrymen, but this peril had at last been prov1dentially obviated by the opemng of a door of escape. It must 1 therefore, have been intensely mortifying, and, as the event proved, irnpresa- ively in structive, to learn, just when the joy of escape was e.t its height, that his self-chosen course had issued in a terrible disaster. A great calamity had come, but religiously it proved a bl~ssing, which fact may b~ generalised by ~aying· that calami- ties brought on by tlie mistakes of good men have important religious uses. I. THE AVOIDANCE OF ONE CALAMITY by the adoption @f our own policy of distrust of God's care IS NO GUARANTEE FOR. FREEDOM FROM ANOTHER. David, without good reason distrusting the care of God, thought he should one day perish by the hand of '81ml (eh. :uvii. 1), and therefore, taking his own course, sought safety under ~be en. XXX. 1-31.J THE FlHST BOOK OJ!' SAMUEL. 551