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1 CHR ONICL ES 21
page 373
of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under
his personal command to fight the Arameans in
the fields. 11 He left the rest of the army under
the command of his brother Abishai, who was
to attack the Ammonites. 12 “If the Arameans are
too strong for me, then come over and help me,”
Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites
are too strong for you, I will help you. 13 Be
courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people
and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will
be done.”
14 When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. 15 And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they also
ran from Abishai and retreated into the city.
Then Joab returned to Jerusalem.
16 The Arameans now realized that they were
no match for Israel, so they sent messengers and
summoned additional Aramean troops from the
other side of the Euphrates River.* These troops
were under the command of Shobach,* the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.
17 When David heard what was happening, he
mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River,
and positioned his troops in battle formation.
Then David engaged the Arameans in battle,
and they fought against him. 18 But again the
Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time
David’s forces killed 7,000 charioteers and
40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the
commander of their army. 19 When Hadadezer’s
allies saw that they had been defeated by Israel,
they surrendered to David and became his subjects. After that, the Arameans were no longer
willing to help the Ammonites.
David Captures Rabbah
In the spring of the year,* when kings
normally go out to war, Joab led the Israelite army in successful attacks against the
land of the Ammonites. In the process he laid
siege to the city of Rabbah, attacking and destroying it. However, David stayed behind in
Jerusalem.
2 Then David went to Rabbah and removed
the crown from the king’s head,* and it was
placed on his own head. The crown was made
of gold and set with gems, and he found that
it weighed seventy-five pounds.* David took a
vast amount of plunder from the city. 3 He also
made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced
them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron
axes.* That is how David dealt with the people
20
19:16a Hebrew the river. 19:16b As in parallel text at 2 Sam
10:16; Hebrew reads Shophach; also in 19:18. 20:1 Hebrew
At the turn of the year. The first day of the year in the ancient
Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April. 20:2a Or
from the head of Milcom (as in Greek version and Latin Vulgate).
Milcom, also called Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
20:2b Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms]. 20:3 As in parallel text
at 2 Sam 12:31; Hebrew reads and cut them with saws, iron picks,
and saws. 20:4a As in parallel text at 2 Sam 21:18; Hebrew
reads Sippai. 20:4b Hebrew descendant of the Rephaites;
also in 20:6, 8.
of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all
the army returned to Jerusalem.
Battles against Philistine Giants
4 After this, war broke out with the Philistines
at Gezer. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah
killed Saph,* a descendant of the giants,* and
so the Philistines were subdued.
5 During another battle with the Philistines,
Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of
Goliath of Gath. The handle of Lahmi’s spear
was as thick as a weaver’s beam!
6 In another battle with the Philistines at
Gath, they encountered a huge man with six
fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot,
twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant
of the giants. 7 But when he defied and taunted
Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimea.
8 These Philistines were descendants of the
giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed
them.
David Takes a Census
Satan rose up against Israel and caused
David to take a census of the people of
Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people
of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in
the north—and bring me a report so I may know
how many there are.”
3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the
number of his people a hundred times over! But
why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?
Are they not all your servants? Why must you
cause Israel to sin?”
4 But the king insisted that they take the
census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel
to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem 5 and reported the number of people
21
• Motives
1 C HR ON I C LES 21:1-7
King David ordered the census in
order to determine the strength of his
armed forces. There was likely nothing
unlawful or sinful about a census in and
of itself, but God took exception. Why?
Perhaps David wanted a number for his
own pride’s sake, wanting to be known
as king of a vast army. It may also have
been an indication that David was not
trusting God to protect Israel. If he had
been, the size of his army would have
been irrelevant. Even “harmless” actions
can be defiled by our motives. Can you
think of a neutral action that has been—
or could be—sin for you?