Ziklag

Beberapa hari yang lalu, saya lagi baca One Year Bible Plan, waktu roommate saya ingatin untuk bayar uang kost. FYI, we rent a unit of HDB (sebutan untuk rumah susun di Singapore) here, consists of three bedrooms, and one of those rooms has been vacant for a month. We’ve been trying our best in order to find a housemate, but still haven’t found one yet. Nah, berhubung saya dan roommate saya nyewa satu unit, konsekuensinya adalah kalau ada kamar yang kosong, kami yang harus nanggung pembayarannya. Haha, finding a housemate is frustating, and paying for a vacant room is even more! :p But then, we have no choice.

Jadi, waktu roommate saya ingatin untuk bayar uang kost (karena memang udah waktunya bayar), I went downstair to withdraw money from ATM (di bawah rumah saya ada mesin ATM, lol!). Waktu habis ngambil uang, saya cek saldo, dan… langsung mengasihani diri sendiri, wkwk. Ironis sekali bagaimana sederet angka yang terpampang di monitor mesin ATM bisa mempengaruhi mood-mu, ya? :p

Nah, saya balik ke rumah, kasih uang ke roommate saya, dan nerusin baca bacaan One Year Bible Plan untuk hari itu, which was 1 Samuel 30, about David destroying the Amalekites.

Courtesy of http://genebrooks.blogspot.sg/2012/01/but-david-strengthened-himself-in-lord.html

30:1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it

30:2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

30:3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

30:4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.

30:5 David's two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

30:6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

Coba bayangin, kita pulang ke rumah, lalu mendapati suami/istri/anak/saudara/ortu kita diculik oleh teroris. Bukan cuma itu, tapi juga suami/istri/anak/saudara/ortu dari tetangga kita sekompleks perumahan, dan tetangga-tetangga kita yang tersisa… berniat melempari kita dengan batu karena menganggap kitalah penyebab anggota keluarga mereka diculik. Gosh, I couldn’t even imagine such a situation! -.-

But I was trembling when I read the last sentence on verse 6…

But David found strength in the Lord his God.

In such a great distress… David found strength in the Lord his God! Masalah cari housemate, saldo tipis, tugas kuliah yang menumpuk, atau apa pun yang saya alami sekarang ini, sama sekali nggak sebanding dengan apa yang dialami Daud di Ziklag, tapi saya udah lebay pengen garuk-garuk tanah, while David found strength in the Lord his God! *ketampar*

It feels like that particular moment, when you read a Bible verse and you feel like the verse was written ONLY for you. And I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe that was God, who wanted to remind me, that I can find my strength, and my rest, in Him. That He cares about my problems, and He’s still in control!

Pfiuuuh! Such a relief, isn’t it? Dan yang lebih dahsyat lagi, Tuhan juga ingatin saya akan apa yang harus saya lakukan dalam situasi seperti ini, melalui apa yang dilakukan David sesudahnya.

30:7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him,

30:8 and David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."

Dalam situasi seperti itu, setelah menemukan kekuatannya di dalam Tuhan, David inquire the Lord. Dia bertanya pada Tuhan, meminta petunjuk. Dia nggak langsung muter otak, mengandalkan pikiran dan kekuatannya sendiri, atau membasmi orang-orang yang berniat merajam dia. Dia bertanya pada Tuhan, apa yang harus saya lakukan? Dan Tuhan menjawab dia, memberitahunya apa yang harus dia lakukan. So, please, bear this in mind: inquire the Lord first!

Okay, next!

30:9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind.

30:10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.

Kalau masalah yang kita hadapi adalah masalah bersama, mungkin kita masih beriman dan percaya Tuhan akan menyelesaikan masalah itu, karena Dia sudah berjanji (baca ayat 8), sementara “teman seperjuangan” kita sudah nyerah, nggak mau maju lagi… but we have to continue the pursuit! Kalau Tuhan sudah menjanjikan sesuatu pada kita, percayalah bahwa janji-Nya akan digenapi. Jangan terpengaruh dengan orang-orang yang give up di tengah jalan dan ikut mundur bersama mereka. Whatever God wants us to do, He takes the responsibility for providing for it to be done!

Hal ketiga nih:

Courtesy of http://www.pic2fly.com/viewimage/David%20at%20Ziklag/aHR0cDovL2Zhcm0zLnN0YXRpY2ZsaWNrci5jb20vMjMzMy8yMzgxNDI3MTkyXzdhYWUyYjliMDRfei5qcGc/eno9MQ

30:11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat

30:12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

Kalau kita lagi suntuk, boro-boro bantuin orang lain, mikirin masalah sendiri aja udah puyeng, ya nggak? Tapi Daud dan orang-orangnya mau memberi makan seorang Mesir yang mereka temui di jalan saat mereka sedang mengejar orang Amalek (yang menculik anak-istri mereka)! Apa yang terjadi selanjutnya? Ternyata orang Mesir itu adalah budak orang Amalek yang dibuang, dan ia tahu ke mana orang Amalek membawa para anak-istri Daud dan pengikutnya! Ia yang menjadi penunjuk ke lokasi orang Amalek, hingga Daud dan orang-orangnya bisa menyerang balik orang Amalek dan mengambil kembali anak-istri mereka, dalam keadaan nggak kurang suatu apa pun!

30:18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.

30:19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.

We never knew, how a simple good deeds like feeding the needy could bless us in return, but that’s how God works. What you sow is what you are going to reap. Jadi, jangan abaikan orang yang membutuhkan, meski kamu sendiri sedang dalam kesusahan. Dalam kesusahan seberat apa pun, masih ada orang yang lebih kesusahan darimu. 

The last thing God reminds me from this passage:

30:21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were.

30:22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, "Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go."

30:23 David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.

30:24 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."

Masih ingat dengan dua ratus orang yang meninggalkan Daud di Besor? Orang-orang ini mungkin tadinya mengolok-olok Daud, meremehkannya, nggak percaya Daud bakal mampu memimpin mereka mengambil kembali anak-istri mereka yang dijadikan tawanan, but he proved them wrong! Lebih lagi, setelah keberhasilannya, Daud nggak mengolok mereka balik dan bilang, “Nih lihat, orang yang lo remehin sudah menyelamatkan anak-istri lo, lho!” atau membalas dendam dengan nggak membagi apa yang sudah Daud dan orang-orangnya dapat dari hasil penyerbuan. Daud tahu, Tuhan-lah yang memungkinkan ia melakukan semua itu, Tuhan-lah yang memberikan orang Amalek ke dalam tangannya, jadi kenapa ia harus menyombongkan diri di depan orang-orang yang meninggalkannya atau meremehkannya? Ia malah berbagi dengan mereka, memberkati mereka. Nggak kebayang kan gimana malu dan segannya orang-orang itu? :) Lest any man should boast!

I believe that none of us is as greatly distressed as David when he was in Ziklag, but I know each of us is facing our own “Ziklag moments”. Just don’t lose faith, keep believing in God! Allah yang menolong Daud di “Ziklag moments”-nya masih tetap Allah yang sama, yang akan menolongmu saat ini. Ia juga Allah yang sama yang akan melepaskanmu dari “Ziklag moments”-mu. Ia tidak pernah berubah! Ingatlah akan perbuatan-perbuatan-Nya yang dahsyat dalam hidupmu. Ingatlah akan pertolongan-Nya yang tak pernah terlambat. Ingatlah akan janji-janji-Nya yang ya dan amin!

My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. (Psalm 119:50)

God bless! :)