1 Chronicles 18:3-6
Verse 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
David’s military career was far from over. Being king didn’t mean sitting on his throne all day allowing others to do the dirty work. Granted he wouldn’t be on the front lines himself as it was foolish to place one’s king where the enemy had an easy target. The king’s next military takeover included the king of Zobah, Hadadezer.
Hadadezer’s name meant “Haded is my help.” Haded was the god of the storms for the Canaanite people. Once again God is using David to defeat the false gods of the other nations, showing them to be worth nothing more than the wood, metal or stone they were made of. David was willing to be used by God to remove those who could mislead his people and he was ruthless in doing it.
War seldom paints a pretty picture and this set of battles was no different. It was one thing to capture 1000 chariots, 7000 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers but to cripple the hind legs of anywhere from 900-1800 horses just so they could no longer serve in the military seems cruel by today’s standards. But this was necessary to show that the army had been conquered. It was a sign of their nation being stripped of its strength.
The people of Zobah had allies from Damascus that came to help fight the Israelites and it didn’t take long before the men in David’s army had killed 22,000 of them. Taking captive the city of Damascus, David made it a military strong hold for Israel, making the people of the city subjects of Israel and having to pay taxes to King David.
The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. Of course, this doesn’t mean that David himself was the reason for the victories. David was a mighty warrior but he only succeeded through power the Lord had given him. David understood that these battles were to be fought in the name of the Lord just as his battle with the giant many years before. David was just God’s appointed leader and he knew that. The battle was the Lord’s because the nation was the Lord’s.
Making It Personal
Have you had times in your life where you wanted to take credit for what you had been able to accomplish? Was it really you doing it on your own? Do things work out different when you are trusting God to work it out for you?
Making It Personal Kids
Who is stronger, you or Jesus? Can you do anything without Jesus’ help? Do you want Jesus’ help?
Closing Prayer
Father, You alone are able to do the impossible in our lives. Help us seek Your wisdom so we know what You want done and to learn to rely on Your strength to do it. In Jesus’ name, amen.