I like how David Pink gives us another view of this chapter: 1. His citizenship: “And they found an Egyptian in the field” (v. 11). In Scripture Egypt is a symbol of the world: the moral world to which the unregenerate belong and in which they seek their satisfaction. As another has said, “It had its beginning in Cain’s day, when he ‘went out from the presence of the Lord,’ and he and his descendants builded cities, sought out witty inventions of brass and iron, manufactured musical instruments, and went in for a good time generally, in forgetfulness of God. And that continues to this day. The land of Egypt figures this. There Pharaoh, type of Satan, ruled and tyrannized.”
2. His woeful condition: “I fell sick” (v. 13). Such is the state of every descendant of fallen Adam. An awful disease is at work in the unregenerate: that disease is sin, and “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). It is sin which has robbed the soul of its original beauty: darkening the understanding, corrupting the heart, perverting the will, and paralyzing all our faculties so far as their exercise Godward is concerned. But not only was this Egyptian desperately sick, he was starving: he had had nothing to eat or drink for three days. Well might he cry, “I perish with hunger” (Luke 15:17).
3. His sad plight: “my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick” (v; 13). He was a slave, and now that his master thought he would be of no further use to him, he heartlessly abandoned him and left him to perish. “And that is the way the devil treats his servants. he uses them as his tools as long as he can. Then, when he cannot use them any more, he leaves them to their folly. Thus he treated Judas, and hosts of others before and since” (C. Knapp).
4. His deliverance: “And brought him to David” (v. 11). No doubt he was too weak and ill to come of himself; and even had he the ability, he had never used it thus, for David was an utter stranger to him! Thus it is with the unregenerate sinner and that blessed One whom David foreshadowed. Therefore did Christ say, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” (John 6:44). Each of God’s elect is “brought” to Christ by the Holy Spirit.
5. His deliverer: No doubt this half-dead Egyptian presented a woe-begone spectacle, as he was led or carried into the presence of the man after God’s own heart. But his very ruin and wretchedness drew out the compassion of David toward him. Thus it is with the Saviour: no matter what ravages sin has wrought, nor how morally repulsive it has made its victim, Christ never refuses to receive and befriend one whom the Father draws to Him.
6. His entertainment: “And gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins” (vv. 11, 12). Precious line in our picture is this of the divine grace which is stored up in Christ. None brought to Him by the Spirit are ever sent empty away. How this reminds us of the royal welcome which the prodigal received and the rich fare that was set before him.
7. His confession: When David asked him to whom he belonged and whence he came, he gave an honest and straightforward reply: “He said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite” (v. 13). Strikingly did this adumbrate the fact that when an elect sinner has been brought to Christ, and been given the bread and water of life, he takes his proper place, and candidly acknowledges what he was and is by nature. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us” (1 John 1:9).
8. His obligation: “And David said, Canst thou bring me down to this company?” (v. 15). In this we may see how David pressed his claims upon the one whom he had befriended, though it is blessed to mark that it was more in the form of an appeal than a direct command. In like manner, the word to the believer is, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).
9. His desire for assurance: “And he said, Sware unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company” (v. 15). There could be no joy in the service of his new master until assured that he should not be returned unto the power of his old one. Blessed is it to know that Christ delivers His people not only from the wrath to come, but also from the dominion of sin.
10. His gratitude: “And when he had brought him down” (v. 16). He was now devoted to the interests of David, and did as he requested. So Christians are told, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph. 2:10). O for grace to serve Christ as ardently as we did sin and Satan in our unregenerate days. Found on biblebelievers site
Lord, Your blessings for me and your word have made such an impact on my life. I pray for the strength I need to stay focused on Jesus. I pray for those times when I backslide you will provide me with a way out and running right back into your arms. I need you and love you for all you have done for me and those saints who believe in you. Amen
Lean Not Unto My Own Understanding 