1 Chronicles 18:1-13--David Defeats His Enemies

1 Chronicles 18:1-13
English Standard Version

David Defeats His Enemies
18 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

​12 And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

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As confirmation of the covenant that we just read about, the priests that are recording the history of King David now record all the military victories that the LORD gives to Him.  He and his mighty men have victory over the Philistines, including the giants that were relatives of Goliath.  We talked about this victory the other day as I mentioned how "Palestine" was named after an enemy who had been completely and utterly defeated, and if any of them remained, they lost all their land and were subjected to a life of servitude.

David was also given victory over the lands of Moab and Edom--close relatives of the Jews (Moab was from one of Lot's daughters and Lot was the nephew of Abraham, and Edom was from the descendants of Esau, the bother of Jacob).  These relatives often tried to take the inheritance the LORD had given to Israel away from them and sided with their enemies.  Edom in particular has not been completely destroyed and we will see Edom acting as bounty hunters to help the Babylonians capture the Israelites when the time of exile and captivity comes.

David also defeated one of the kings of the Syrians and subjugated the other Syrian peoples and took the resources of this land to prepare for building a Temple to the LORD.  Many people in the region began to pay tribute to David in exchange for peace, and this money went into the treasuries that were used to build the Temple.

So it was that David was given victory over the nations of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites (also descendants of Lot), the Philistines and the descendants of Amalek (the giants that were in the Land that the spies in the book of Joshuas said that they were like grasshoppers in the sight of these giants).  This in nearly complete and total victory to all the Land the LORD had promised to give to Moses and Joshua--that promise is finally being fulfilled.  However, we see that where it was the LORD's will that all these nations should be killed or at least driven out of the Land so that it would be clear that they had no part or portion in it, we see David start a bad habit that his son Solomon will continue of taking these peoples that continued to live in the Land and using them as slave labor.  This will give these peoples a chance to revolt and make friends with the enemies of Israel, and also to change the culture of Israel from the inside--introducing worship of other gods and goddesses to the people--even to Solomon.  Solomon will have bigger problems than letting the enemies of the LORD live among him as slaves though as he will marry many of women from these countries in an effort to make peace between their nations and they will live within his own house and raise his sons and daughters.  It's no wonder that the nation will turn in a single generation.  Israel's problem will not be the enemies without (we see from this passage that the LORD has taken care of them), but it will be the enemies within that will be the downfall of the nation--the sin on the people, and the pagan peoples among the Israelites will be a catalyst allowing Israel to feel empowered to become more and more like them at an accelerated rate.  Soon the question will be asked by the prophets what the LORD must do to Israel if they have become just like all these other nations that David defeated.  Should not a similar end come to them?  Yet praise the LORD that He keeps His covenant and had a greater plan in mind--a plan for the salvation of all people in all places at all times, or the people of God would have been tired and found wanting, and they likely would have been swept away with the judgment of the wicked nations around them.  Yet the LORD's "steadfast love" is great, and He is both full of grace and mercy.  We see His justice and judgment here, but we need to see that we are not better than these nations and we too deserve to fall under the LORD's judgment.  It is only by His love, kindness, grace mercy, and compassion that we do not.