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.
- How does David defeat Ammon and Syria?
- What does David do to the Giants?
- What does David do to sin against the Lord and what punishment does David receive for it?
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