ENEMY OR SUPPORTER?
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Opening Prayer
As I come to study your Word today, Gracious Lord, open my ears to hear your voice; give me eyes to see you and a heart determined to serve you.
Read 1 CHRONICLES 18
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
David’s Victories
18 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines.
2 David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to him and brought him tribute.
3 Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah, in the vicinity of Hamath, when he went to set up his monument at[a] the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought him tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah[b] and Kun, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze, which Solomon used to make the bronze Sea, the pillars and various bronze articles.
9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold, of silver and of bronze.
11 King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek.
12 Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
David’s Officials
14 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek[c] son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was secretary; 17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 18:3 Or to restore his control over
- 1 Chronicles 18:8 Hebrew Tibhath, a variant of Tebah
- 1 Chronicles 18:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also 2 Samuel 8:17); most Hebrew manuscripts Abimelek
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
Pray into today’s news. How does the world look from God’s perspective?
Much of today’s reading makes us feel very uncomfortable. David was continuing what had been commanded earlier because of the Canaanites’ religious iniquity,1 so that such evil would not spread, preventing Israel from being God’s light in the world. McConville says, ‘The slaughter of the Canaanites cannot but be repugnant to the modern reader. But perhaps … it can be seen as the dark, other side of God’s love, a love that is solemn, even fierce, but whose end is the salvation of the world.’2 It does not give us a mandate for that kind of treatment today!
The chronicler omits the family strife, immorality, and murder that marred David’s reign and we read about in 2 Samuel. Here, he is focusing on David the king, rather than the man.3 It’s all about the reputation and influence of his glorious kingdom. For the chronicler’s readers, however, all that glory had gone. Their existence was dominated by pagan empires. Church history tells us of attempts to make the church the glorious kingdom of Christ, but we know all too well that, from a secular point of view, it means nothing for many today.
It is noteworthy that even amid David’s enemies—the nations hostile to him—there were some individuals who came into his service: Tou, king of Hamath (vv. 9, 10) and some of the Kerethites and Pelethites (from Goliath’s hometown).4 Today, many oppose the King of Kings, but many accept him and his fame is still going out into all lands. When you read the news of horrific things happening in the world and you wonder where God is, be encouraged. Jesus is building his kingdom and those of us who have voluntarily come into his service have a part to play in this. The world may look a mess, but God’s perspective is different.
Apply
What part has God called you to play in this world? Does it help you to see things from his perspective?
Closing prayer
Father, forgive me for those times when I see things only from my point of view. Help me to see through your eyes and to act with trust in the wisdom of your intention.
1 E.g., Gen 15:16; Deut 20:16–18 2 Gordon McConville, Grace in the End (Paternoster, 1993), 144 3 Michael Wilcock, The Message of Chronicles (IVP, 1987), 78 4 2 Sam 15:18; 1 Sam 17:4
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