Diving Back into 1 & 2 Samuel

So David takes 600 men to battle. 200 are too weary to continue the pursuit so they stay behind. The 400 win a great victory and recover not only their stuff (Oh, and everyone's wives and children, too!) that had been taken in a raid, but lots of other stuff. Some of the 400 don't want to share the spoils with those who were too weary to continue. David, of course, doesn't see it that way and makes it a law that the spoils of war will always be evenly shared.

There are echoes of this story, I think, in the parable that Jesus tells of the workers that are hired throughout the day and all paid the same wage (what was promised them). The ones who had been working the longest grumbled that they should have gotten more. See Matthew 20.

Generosity is fine as long as it is lavished on us who deserve it, some might think. But Scripture suggests otherwise and revels in the "unfairness" of God who lavishes equally upon all.