Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Samuel 30

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

What a remarkable providence! There was a blood-feud between Amalek and Israel since Israel sought to exterminate the Amalekites, and it is written, The Lord shall have war with Amalek for ever and ever; yet God restrains these tigers, and will not let the lions devour their prey.

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, And their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

They were tired and weary after a long march with Achish, and then another long march home. Oh! how they longed for their couches! How they desired to sit down and converse with their wives and their little ones! Tears did not seem a sufficient expression for their sorrow, and yet when a strong man weeps – a burly warrior like Joab, a rough, coarse man like Abishai, or a strong young man like Asahel – there must be deep grief. They wept until they had no more power to weep.

And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

He had not only his own personal sorrow, but that of all his people; and then, instead of comforting him, every friend had turned into a foe. His house was a heap of ashes; he might have said, "Ahinoam is not, and Abigail is not, and my children have you taken away; all these things are against me!" But he had more faith than Job, and so he encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire, and had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

They were roving bands of marauders, and no doubt preserved the women alive to sell them for slaves, the main object of those robbers being gain.

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

Weary with their marching, they had hoped to rest at home; but now that everything was gone, the strong men, who were not often moved to weeping, wept till they could weep no longer; the very sources of tears were dried up by the exceeding heat of their grief.