The men were bitterly disappointed when they came back to Ziklag to find their families gone. They know the horrible fate that awaits their loved ones and they do not have any hope for their recovery. It is quite possible that they consider David’s plan of beguiling the Philistines to be the cause of their loss. In any case, he failed to provide the protection that was expected of a leader.1 Of interest here is the fact that like David, Moses was also threatened with being stoned to death before he had won a victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:4).2
6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.