May 17th 1 Chronicles 19 David defeats Ammon and Syria
1: Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. 2: And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. 3: But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? 4: Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away. 5: Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. 6: And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah. 7: So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle. 8: And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 9: And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field. 10: Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. 11: And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. 12: And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee. 13: Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight. 14: So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him. 15: And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem. 16: And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river: and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. 17: And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. 18: But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host. 19: And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.
1 Chronicles 20 Ammon destroyed
1: And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it. 2: And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city. 3: And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Philistine Giants killed
4: And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. 5: And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam. 6: And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. 7: But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him. 8: These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
1 Chronicles 21 David counts Israel
1: And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. 2: And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. 3: And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? 4: Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5: And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. 6: But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
David punished
7: And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. 8: And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 9: And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, 10: Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. 11: So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee 12: Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. 13: And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. 14: So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 15: And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16: And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. 17: And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
David offers sacrifice to God
18: Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19: And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD. 20: And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. 21: And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. 22: Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. 23: And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. 24: And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. 25: So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 26: And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. 27: And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. 28: At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. 29: For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. 30: But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
In these three chapters we are reminded of more military victories of David’s armies over the Ammonites and the Syrians. The result is that Ammon is totally destroyed. Then we see that David’s mighty men deal with the Giants that are left over in the land. Then we have a very sad incident in the life of David. He is tempted to number Israel and the result is rebuke and the judgment of God. However David is restored to the LORD under his discipline. The first victory is over the Ammonites. A new king comes to the throne in Ammon and David sends his condolences to the new king in him time of mourning. David was grateful that his father had shown him kindness. But the king’s counsellors said they have come to be spies and to oppress us. So they took the messengers and cut off their beards and cut off their clothes leaving them naked from the waist down. When David got to know about this he went to meet them. And he said stay here in Jericho while your beards grow again and then return home. However when the Ammonites realised that they had made themselves repulsive to David they sent a 1000 talents of silver to Babylon to hire chariots and cavalry. They hired 32,000 chariots and the King of Maachah came with his people and camped nearby in support. Then the Ammonites set themselves to battle. And the Syrians set themselves in battle order. David responded by calling on Israel and his mighty men to battle. David was faced with two forces on two fronts so he divided his army into two. Joab was sent to deal with the northern army and Abishai went to confront Ammon. Both me were promised to support the other. So David created a battle array with balance and reserve. Then David strengthened them saying be encouraged and fight with no fear for your people and your cities and the LORD will do what is right. When Joab came near to the enemy they fled and when the Ammonites saw the Syrians run they ran too. The Syrians died in battle 7000 charioteers and 40,000 infantry. And they killed the Syrian general – Shophach. When the Syrians saw how the battle had gone they sued for peace and served Israel and never joined Ammon to threaten Israel again. A year later in the spring Joab led the army of Israel to Ammon and totally destroyed the country. The crown of the king of Ammon was presented to David. He found it to weigh a talent of Gold and with the precious stone it is possibly valued today as £1,000,000. The people of Ammon were executed with great destruction. After this David found himself at war again against the Philistines in this battle one of the children of the giants was killed. Later there was another war and another Giant was killed. Later another war broke out and there was a giant who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was also a son of a giant. He was killed by Jonathan one of David’s men. All of these men were sons of the Giant Goliath of Gath. So there were a succession of wars and at each time the Champions of Gath were killed. Then Satan stood up before the LORD to tempt David to number the people. So David told Joab to go and number them but Joab was very uneasy and he told David so however David insisted. Joab found that the northern tribes of Israel were a million people and a standing army of 100,000. The southern tribe Judah were 470,000 fit for war but he did not number the tribes of Levi and Benjamin. The order of the king was an abomination to Joab. This thing displeased the Lord so the Lord punished Israel. And as soon as David realised what he had done he came before the LORD and confessed his sin. The prophet Gad was sent to give David three options of punishment for his sin. 1. 3 yrs of Famine. 2. 3 mths of military defeat. 3. 3 days in the hand of the Lord. David pleaded to be dealt with personally by the Lord. Because he knew that the Lord would in judgment remember mercy. The Lord sent an angel to destroy and 70,000 men died. When the angel of the Lord came to Jerusalem as he was destroying it he was called upon by the Lord to restrain his hand. The angel of the Lord was standing in the threshing floor and David saw him standing between heaven and earth with a drawn sword over Jerusalem. David pleaded with the Lord saying l have sinned but these men are innocent stay your hand. May the judgment fall on me and on my house. The Angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David to Go to the threshing floor and offer sacrifice. David went to meet Oman to purchase the threshing floor. Oman offered it for free but David refused saying no l must purchase it what l do must not be for free. David offered a sacrifice there and the Lord sent down fire from heaven on the altar. Then the Lord told the angel to put away his sword. The fear of the Lord fell on David.
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