CONTROLLING THE NATIONS
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Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, for your Word that teaches me, convicts me, reminds me, and reassures me. I come ready to receive from it whatever you have for me today.
Read 1 CHRONICLES 19, 20
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
David Defeats the Ammonites
19 In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.
When David’s envoys came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Haven’t his envoys come to you only to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”
6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents[a] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim,[b] Aram Maakah and Zobah. 7 They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maakah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.
8 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 9 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.
10 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 11 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 12 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. 13 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”
14 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 15 When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.
16 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophak the commander of their army.
19 When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him.
So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 That is, about 38 tons or about 34 metric tons
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
The Capture of Rabbah
20 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins. 2 David took the crown from the head of their king[a]—its weight was found to be a talent[b] of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 3 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
War With the Philistines
4 In the course of time, war broke out with the Philistines, at Gezer. At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaites, and the Philistines were subjugated.
5 In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.
6 In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
8 These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 20:2 Or of Milkom, that is, Molek
- 1 Chronicles 20:2 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘… the earth shall be filled with the glory of God / as the waters cover the sea.’1 Where do you see that happening?
These two chapters continue the theme the chronicler sought to outline in chapters 14 and 18: that of the fame and fear of the king. Nahash (19:2) had been an enemy of Saul’s2 and thus an ally of David’s, but Nahash’s son Hanun’s advisers deliberately made false accusations. If they had had social media back then they would have had a heyday spreading disinformation! Thanks to Joab, those who had been shamefully and embarrassingly treated were vindicated, but it makes a very unpleasant story.
Comparing chapter 20 with 2 Samuel 11, we discover the consequence of King David’s staying at home this time instead of going out to battle. Beautiful women have often been the downfall of great leaders. It is vital to pray for our church leaders, who are just as prone to temptation as anyone else. The chronicler ignores this aspect of David’s story, although maybe he gives a nod to it by mentioning the unusual fact that David stayed at home. Instead, he focuses on the positives of military success, spoils of war, and more workers, which he sees as being illustrative of the glory of David’s kingdom. David’s enemies were subjugated—even though we know (and the chronicler’s readers knew) that his worst enemy was himself!
Just as in chapters 14 and 18, the time of which the chronicler writes is a day of great things, but the time in which he writes is significantly less so and reminds us that even under foreign dominance God’s hand was unmistakably at work behind the scenes. Needless to say, it still is! There is huge uncertainty and fear in our world today, let alone actual suffering, and we must cling to the truth that the God who helped David is still able to control the nations today, even when it’s hard to see it!
Apply
What do you fear most when you listen to the news? Bring it to God in honest prayer.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Father, that no matter what is happening in my personal world or in the world at large, you are in control. Whether or not I see your hand at work, help me to trust in your unfailing love and power to save.
1 ‘God is Working His Purpose Out’, Arthur Ainger, 1894 2 1 Sam 11
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