Zig Zag to Ziklag: The Maze of the Miraculous

I Samuel 27: 1-7 --------- I Saumel 30:1-8 ---------------- II Samuel 6: 12-14

By Reverend Harold Mauldin

Ziklag was a son of Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel (Joshua 15:31). David, when being pursued by Saul, went to Gath and asked Achish the King of Gath for a city to use as a refuge from Saul. The King gave him Ziklag as a city for safety.

In life, we all would like to have a Ziklag. We all would love to have a place to hide from our problems. It's not the will of God to run from trouble. For trouble is the avenue to triumph. On your way to the will of God, there will be some adversity to come your way. And if we are not too careful, we will be like David and Zig-Zag to Ziklag.

David's life was one of ups and downs. It is not unlike a lot of our lives. It had great big highs and real low lows. He knew defeat and he knew victory. His life was not straight - line at all. He had lots of "zig-zags" in life.

David's life up to Ziklag:

1 Became harpist for Saul.

2. Kills Goliath

3. Becomes captain of Saul's army

4. Saul becomes jealous and tries to kill David

5. David kills 200 men and is married to Saul's daughter

6. Saul tries to kill David again

7. David goes to Samuel after Jonathan warned him that Saul wanted to kill him

8. David went before the priest and ate showbread and took Goliath's sword

9. Pretends to be a madman at Gath

10. He then went to Abdullah and he gathered 400 distressed, in debt and discontented men to support him. He also made safety for his Mom and Dad at Mizpeh.

11. From Mizpeh to forest of Hareth.

12. From the forest of Hareth to Keilah, then to the wilderness of Ziph. From Ziph to another wilderness, Maon. Then to Engedi where David spares Saul's life and flees to the wilderness Paran.

13. From Paran to Maon and Carmel then to Gath where he is given the city of Gath.

What a journey!!!

While David is in the city of Ziklag, he pretends to be a Philistine servant. Saul wanted him dead. When you run from trouble, you often get out of the will of God. The Philistines are a type of the world system. Why be a slave to the world when you can rule and rein in heaven? Be careful where your heart is, that's where your treasure will be.

David left Ziklag to fight with Achish against Israel but is sent back to Ziklag by the Philistines who did not trust him. They knew of David and the reputation he had among the Jews. When David got back to Ziklag, he found it destroyed by fire by the Amalekites. David and the 400 men that followed him were very sad. They wept and were so upset that they even threatened to stone David.

David knew how to get in touch with God. When life zigzags, where do you turn? David knew exactly what to do. He was trained properly. Please don't tell me that church attendance isn't important. That's the training ground for Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. When life zigzags, go to the source of power. Grab a hold of what gets God's attention. Get in God's will and watch him do stuff that will make hell shake and plans change.

In I Samuel 30, David asks for the Ephod, which was used by men of God to determine God's will. The ephod was a beautiful, two - piece sleeveless garment held to the body by a curious belt and joined at the shoulders by straps. On the straps were placed two onyx stones with the names of six tribes on each stone. When someone needed an answer from God, they would get the ephod and ask yes and no questions and the two precious stones (urim and thummim: a type of light and perfection) were put inside a pouch and used as the casting of lots to determine God's will.

David asked two questions of the Lord. He wanted to know if he should pursue and would he overtake. The answer to both was yes. David took 400 men with him and after the men who had taken their families away. While he looked for them, he came across a man who had become gravely ill. His master had left him to die, but David found him. This man's master was the enemy David was after. God knows how to help you. He knows where you are and if you are in His will, He will find people to help you.

David recovered all that he had lost that day. There was nothing lacking. You cannot lose anything God wants you to keep. It's impossible. God knows what you need and what you can do without. David took the spoils and gave of it to those that could not battle but were in need. When you learn that the zig zag that God puts in your life is for your good, then you can help someone who cannot start the battle but will help you after it's all said and done.

Why do we need to face our ziklag? What's the big deal in zigzaging to this place only to find it burned, destroyed and riped to shreds? The answer is simple. We, like David, were never meant to stay in Ziklag. There's a better place to dwell.

When David became King, he made Jerusalem the capital of both Israel and Judah and he became King of both. Jerusalem is the royal city, the capital of the Kingdom of God (for now) and it was the place where the temple was built and sacrifices were accepted. Jerusalem is where the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus took place. The Holy Ghost first fell at Jerusalem and it is the place that God chose to put His name there (I Kings 14:21). No other place is exalted in the Earth like Jerusalem. Jerusalem became known, even in David's time, as the city of David.

Have you zigzaged through life only to end up burned out, tired and feeling destroyed? Maybe it's time to confront your Ziklag and go through the maze of the miraculous to the promised New Jerusalem. It's yours for the taking, but you must do these six things.....

II Samuel 6: 12-14

1) Bring the Presence of God into your life by doing God's will

2) Come before God with gladness

3) Walk in God's light

4) Die out sacrificially

5) Praise the Lord in the congregation

6) Put on the garment of praise

Now look at the path that God has already led you through. See where it has taken you? Look what the Lord has done. The zigzag to Ziklag is the maze to the miraculous.... Where are you headed? To Jerusalem or somewhere else?

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