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.” – 1 Samuel 30:24

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 15, 2016): 1 Samuel 30

Richard the Lionheart wasn’t home. If you are a fan of the Robin Hood saga, you might recognize this simple statement as the reason why the conflict between the outlaw of Sherwood Forest versus Prince John (Richard’s younger brother) and the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham is able to take place. Richard the Lionheart wasn’t home. The Robin Hood saga doesn’t happen because Richard is a weak king (although he may not have been the best administrative king in the history of England), nor because Richard was an incompetent military leader. His abilities in battle is the reason why he was given the nickname “Lionheart” in the first place. He was a strong king and a great military strategist, but he simply wasn’t home at the time that the moment in time when the Robin Hood story takes place . Richard was off doing his religious duty and taking part in the Third Crusade. He wasn’t home.

And because Richard was away, John had the privilege of running England the way that he saw fit. Incidentally, historians wonder if the Robin Hood saga has given us a seriously damaged impression of John. John would rebel against Richard, but was also forgiven by Richard, and he might have been a better king than the fans of “Robin Hood” want to allow him to be. Some believe that Richard had decided that John should be the successor to his throne before his death in 1199. But this was also an eventuality that John had worked hard on during Richard’s absence. And, of course, this desire of John to become King is part of the tension in the Robin Hood story.      

The home of David had been raided by the enemies of the Philistine while the Philistine armies, with David in tow, were preparing to fight against Israel. David is dismissed from the battle and returns home only to discover what had taken place in his absence. The wives and the children of David and his men had been stolen, along with all of their animals and possessions. And the act was only made possible because David wasn’t home.

So David decides to pursue those who have stolen from him and his men. In the course of the story, we are told that of the 600 men with David, 200 men were too exhausted to continue the trek pursuing the invaders. So David left them behind while he took the other 400 men with him. David and the 400 win, and the 400 decide that the spoils of the battle should be theirs alone, and not shared with the 200 who were too tired to continue. (This suggestion would seem to be in direct conflict with the command found in Numbers - Divide the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community (Numbers 31:27).) So David rejects the suggestion, but in his rejection he reveals a little more about what had happened. Yes, the 200 had evidently been too tired to continue, but David had used that tiredness as a reason to leave a contingent of soldiers behind to guard what was left of their things. David understood that what had happened could only have happened because he was away, and the great military leader was not going to make the same mistake twice.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 31