"Have they burned Ziklag yet?"

By John Yocum

The Lord asked me this question one morning.  Have they burned Ziklag yet?

David's lowest point came when they burned Ziklag. He'd finally fled Israel and defected to the Philistines, the ones of whom he had "slain his tens of thousands." Living under the watchful eye of his mortal enemies, he was promoted to become Achish's personal bodyguard. What a humiliation: to be the bodyguard of your sworn enemy!

But it got worse. When the Philistines went to battle, Achish decided to take him along as a sort of "secret weapon." Hey, he could kill Philistines pretty efficiently, right? Why couldn't he do the same to Israelites?

But Achish didn't get very far; David made the other commanders too nervous. So, reluctantly, Achish sent him home.

Exiled to the land of his enemies and then humiliated in front of them, he and his men trudged back the long dusty path to Ziklag, their home away from home.

They were expecting to find some rest and relief with their families, but when they crested the last ridge, they discovered to their horror that it had been looted and burned to the ground. "Their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive" (I Sam. 30:3) - dragged off into a horrible slavery. 

The scripture goes on to say that David and his mighty men "wept until there was no strength in them to weep." (vs. 4) Then, pushed past their breaking point, his own men "spoke of stoning him" to death. (vs. 6)

Exiled, humiliated, bereft of his entire family and all that he owned, on the verge of being executed by his own trusted warriors, Scripture says, "David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." (vs. 6) At the lowest point of his entire life, having nothing else left, he went to the only Source he had.

Somehow through it all, David had built a relationship with God such that he KNEW that God would not abandon him, regardless of how bad things got. In the crunch, he ran to God rather than relying on his own resources or caving in to death.

Having wept and having heard the vicious rumors, he "encouraged himself in the LORD his God."

I need to be blunt. We're supposed to be living in a time of unparalleled affluence in America. But it seems as if everyone I know is going through hard times, at least with money. Here in Oklahoma, the dominant expression of Christianity is the "Prosperity Message." Sometimes it seems more like the "Denial Message" to me! I don't want to be critical or to mock, but a lot of us seem to be watching our "Ziklags" smolder in ruins.

I'm coming to suspect that this is no accident, that we are His beloved, who should "not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among [us], which comes upon [us] for our testing, as though some strange thing were happening to [us]." (I Pet. 4:12. From ch. 2 on, this whole book provides real insight and support to those who are struggling.)

I suspect that many of you can identify with David, sitting on the ground in dust and ashes, the stench of smoke everywhere, and the angry murmuring of his companions getting closer. But, "David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." Vs. 7 is an historic turning point. He got a plan and took action. He pursued the raiders, killed them all, recovered ALL of the hostages (no small miracle!), rebuilt the city, and became king of Judah within weeks.

When Ziklag burned, it was his low point, as bad as it would ever get. From the ashes of Ziklag he rose to become one of the greatest men in history. This is not uncommon; we watched a series about Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln on PBS this past week. They, too, were people who overcame defeat and enormous sorrow to become great.

Why do "Ziklags" have to burn in the first place? Why is this so hard? Why can't there be an easier way? Or at least a little peace along the way? Peter seems to think that things are revealed when Ziklag burns that cannot be revealed in any other way. Ziklags burn so that "to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation." (I Pet. 4:13) Don't miss this: THE REASON WE ARE TO REJOICE IN THE SUFFERING NOW IS BECAUSE SOMETHING WONDERFUL WILL HAPPEN THROUGH IT WHEN HE IS REVEALED!

Does that make sense? No! Of course it doesn't! But crucifying the perfect, only begotten Son of God didn't make sense, either, at the time! NOW it does, but it sure didn't THEN.

Why do Ziklags have to burn? Apart from everything else, when they burn your Ziklag, you'll find out whether you trust the Lord or not. I think this is related to the "revelation of His glory" that Peter talks about. "His glory" isn't just a blindingly white cloud which will suddenly appear around you and scare the liver out of everybody else. "His glory" has to do with His character being formed in you so that when they see you, they see Jesus. And having seen Jesus in you, perhaps transformation will happen in their own lives.

In a real way, the chief survivor of the burning of Ziklag was David himself. In that moment, he proved beyond any doubt that he was made of the stuff that God could build a kingdom with. In that moment, he proved to himself and to everyone else that his character - integrity, loyalty, trust - coincided with the Lord's character; that he, in fact, really WAS "a man after God's own heart." And, in the end he himself was incredibly blessed. When the time came to prepare to build the Temple, he contributed a BILLION DOLLARS' worth of materials out of his own private fortune. Not bad for a shepherd boy!

But there's another side to the "burnings of Ziklags." Few of us are facing loss of all possessions, loss of all family, and imminent execution by an angry mob. Maybe the situations we're reacting to aren't exactly "the burning of Ziklag," but more like "the torching of the tool shed." That's when we lose stuff that we seldom use and really don't need.

I, personally, have been under conviction for some time about being wimpy whenever God touches my situation in a way that I don't like, but which is not some ultimate test of my courage and ability to trust. Perhaps you can identify with me in this.

There is an admonition in II Tim. 2:3 where Paul encourages his disciple to "suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." We could possibly paraphrase that last clause to read "like a good soldier of Christ Jesus ought to." Contextually this is right after the famous "four generations" verse about training successive generations of leaders. I doubt this juxtaposition is an accident. We become like those who lead us. Paul knew this perhaps better than anyone, and he wanted Timothy's followers to have the benefit of the very best example possible.

"Suffering hardship" is reinforced two chapters later, where Paul writes, "But you, be sober in all things, ENDURE HARDSHIP [emphasis mine], do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." This verse is tied in context to those who refuse to deal accurately with the truth and wander off into unreality. Paul seems to be saying that "enduring hardship" is an inescapable part of "fulfilling your ministry."

So, what kind of person are you? What destiny has God placed on your soul? Are you prepared to "show people Jesus" when they "torch your tool shed?" Will you do it even if they "burn YOUR OWN Ziklag?" Or will you do it just when it feels good and is easy?

"Have they burned Ziklag yet?" If they have, what will you do now? If they haven't, what will you do if they do?

"Lord, here I am again in the middle of circumstances that I neither planned nor desired. Please grace me to trust you, to stand my ground, and, above all, to show people Jesus even when it's hard and I hurt. I offer to You my life and my situation right now as a costly sacrifice. Please work through it, and work through me, Your good and perfect will. And somehow, make me more like Jesus in it all. For Jesus' sake, amen."

John Yocum resides in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and attends Believer's Church.  He is happily married to Kamla, is wife of 36 years and is the father of six children.