1 Chronicles · chapter 19 of 29
Updated on
1 Chronicles 19 tells how a gesture of kindness from David ends in war. When Nahash, king of the Ammonites, dies, David sends messengers to console his son Hanun, but Hanun humiliates them by shaving half their beards and cutting their garments short. The Ammonites hire the Arameans, and Joab and Abishai defeat them; afterward David also defeats the Arameans from beyond the Euphrates.
The previous chapter showed David at the height of his victories. Here a war appears that he did not seek: it arises from an insult and from the distrust of some princes. It is a narrative chapter, with scenes of diplomacy, military strategy and faith. Its center is the near-motto Joab speaks to his brother Abishai before the battle.
Nahash, king of the Ammonites, who had shown kindness to David, dies, and his son Hanun reigns in his place. David sends messengers to console Hanun over his father's death. But the Ammonite princes tell Hanun that David is only sending comforters in order to spy out the land. Hanun takes David's servants, shaves them, cuts their garments in half, up to their hips, and sends them away.
When David is told, he sends to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed, and tells them to stay at Jericho until their beards have grown. The Ammonites know they have become odious to David and hire chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram-maacah and Zobah. Joab goes out with the army and sees that the enemies are in front and behind. He divides his men: he faces the Arameans and leaves his brother Abishai with the rest against the Ammonites.
Joab tells Abishai to be strong for their people and for the cities of their God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him. The Arameans flee, and the Ammonites too. The defeated Arameans gather their forces again, and David crosses the Jordan with all Israel and defeats them. Seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers die, and also Shophach, the commander of the army. Then the servants of Hadadezer make peace with David and serve him, and the Arameans were unwilling to help the Ammonites any more.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David sends messengers to console Hanun because his father had shown him kindness. His gesture comes from gratitude and courtesy, and it makes the reaction that follows all the more unjust: a good intention received with suspicion.
Hanun shaves the messengers and cuts their garments, a gesture of public humiliation. For a man of that time, the beard was a sign of dignity, and this insult amounted to a declaration of enmity with David.
Joab encourages his brother to be strong for their people and for the cities of their God, and leaves the result to the Lord. It is a combination of courage and dependence: doing his part with effort, without forgetting that the outcome belongs to God.
The Arameans made peace with David and served him, and were unwilling to help the Ammonites any more. The war began with an insult and ended with a peace that changed the political map of the region.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because Nahash, his father, had shown kindness to David. — 1 Chronicles 19:1-2
Answer: Of coming to spy out the land in order to overthrow it. — 1 Chronicles 19:3
Answer: He shaved them, cut their garments in half and sent them away. — 1 Chronicles 19:4
Answer: To stay at Jericho until their beards had grown. — 1 Chronicles 19:5
Answer: That they should be strong for their people and the cities of their God, and the Lord would do what seemed good to him. — 1 Chronicles 19:13
Answer: They made peace with David, served him and were unwilling to help the Ammonites any more. — 1 Chronicles 19:19
The chapter teaches us to act with kindness even when it may be misunderstood. David did the right thing, and the response was an insult. That is no reason to stop being kind, though it is a reason to act with prudence. In a small group, talk about situations in which doing good was poorly received and how to keep serving without bitterness.
Joab's phrase is also a good motto for Christian work: strive to the utmost and leave the result in God's hands. That attitude avoids both passivity and pride. We can ask ourselves what battles lie ahead and how to face them with effort and trust.
1 Chronicles 19 shows David and his army resolving a conflict that began from a misunderstanding. In the next chapter the author continues with the war against the Ammonites and with the victories over the Philistine giants, and avoids telling an episode from David's life that does appear in Samuel.
In the ancient Near East, the beard was a sign of dignity and manhood. Shaving half of it and cutting the garments was a public humiliation and an insult amounting to a declaration of war. That is why David protected his men and had them wait at Jericho.
The Ammonites were a neighboring people of Israel, east of the Jordan, descended from Lot. The Arameans lived to the north and northeast, in cities such as Zobah and Damascus. Both appear several times in Israel's history as neighbors with whom there were wars and alliances.
Because the enemies were attacking in front and behind. Joab took the best soldiers to face the Arameans, who were stronger, and put Abishai with the rest against the Ammonites. They promised each other help, and the strategy worked.