Day Two

Enlarged Territory
Yesterday we learned about David conquering the Jebusite fortress of Zino and establishing his capital. Today we will continue to see how David enlarged the territory of the land promised to the Israelites. I want to go ahead and warn you againthe contents of todays lesson are out of order. King David didnt just go out there and defeat all these nations at once. It took time. Im going to ask you to refer to your timeline and map throughout our lesson. Our first reading for today comes from 1 Chronicles 14:8-17. What nation came against David (v8)?__________________________________________ What did they do when they heard David had been anointed as king over Israel (v8)? ___________________________________________________________________________

Key Text
1 Chronicles 18

Key Verse
The LORD gave David victory wherever he went. 2 Samuel 8:14b

Yes, the constant thorn in Israels sidethe Philistines. Remember Delilah? The one who tricked Sampson? Yup, she was a Philistine. The Israelites had been dealing with the Philistines for a long time. In fact, through-out King Sauls reign, they were constantly at war. The Philistines were always against the Israelites. As we discussed, the Philistines were a dominating power during Sauls reign. At one point in Sauls reign (when David killed Goliath), the Philistine Empire began to decline. Saul was successful in taking land from the Philistines. At Sauls death, however, the kingdom of Israel lost some of the land they conquered. Scripture tells us the Philistines went up in full force to search for David once they heard he was crowned the king of Israel. This isnt surprising considering David was responsible for defeating their nine-foot tall champion Goliath almost 12 years earlier. The Philistines were well acquainted with David. At one point David even fought in their army while fleeing from Saul, and they knew he was a good warrior. According to Howard Vos, The Philistines became alarmed at the threat of a united Israel posed for them, especially when headed by a ruler with such prowess on the battlefield. As long as two quarrelsome Israelite states contended for the mastery, and as long as David appeared to be a Philistine vassal, the Philistines had nothing to fear. Now they decided to attack before David could consolidate his power and become a more formidable foe.i Locate on the map labeled, the kingdom of David, the area where the Philistines camped and raided (v9). Then locate the area where David and his men went up to (11). What do you think about Davids military plan? Write your answer in the margin. Once David attacked, the Philistines seem to have fled. We get this picture because they seemed to have left behind their idols. What command did David issue regarding the Philistine idols left on the battlefield (v12)? ______________________________________________________________________________ In the Middle East it was a common practice to carry idols into the battlefield. The nations believed their gods would grant them victory. The command to burn the idols was in accordance

with Gods Word, found in Deuteronomy 7:5. God commanded the Israelites to burn the idols of the lands they conquered. According to verse 13, what did the Philistines do once more?__________________________ The Philistines came against David again. David probably did not have the resources to follow up his victory over the Philistines and reduce them to the point that they could not attack again. So, either later in the year or during the next fighting season, the Philistines again gathered in the Valley of Rephaim.ii What strange military plan did God give David concerning his attack against the Philistines (14-16)? ______________________________________________________________________________ This is a very strange command, no doubt. Return to 1 Chronicles 14 and read verse 16. How far did David strike down the Philistine army? _______________________________________________________________________ What was Davids common practice before setting out to defeat another nation? _______________________________________________________________________ This is so very important. Without God, we cannot expand our territory. Without God, we are successful in no way. God is the only One who is able to give us victory and make us prosperous. Read 1 Chronicles 18:1. What does it tell us David did to the Philistines? ______________________________________________________________________________ What city did David capture? ____________________________________________________ Gath was the capital of the Philistia! When a nation breaks down a capital, it usually declares them the winner of a war. David not only took their capital, but subdued them! How awesome is that. He was the one who defeat the constant Thorne in Israels side. Read 1 Chronicles 20:4-8. Now turn to your map in the appendix labeled, Davids kingdom. Highlight or color in the territory David gained for Israel when he fought against the Philistines. Because Philistia is mentioned in the next text were going to read, go ahead and write it down in the space below labeled #1. Now, read 1 Chronicles 18:1-14 List the countries David brought under his control 1. ________________________ 3. __________________________ 2. __________________________________ 4. _________________________________

5. _________________________ 7. _________________________

6. ________________________________

To anyone who has never studied the Bible geography or people groups in the Bible, these are probably just a bunch of needless names. Each country listed, however, is important. This is just a list of Davids victories. We are going to read about some of those battles, though. Before we do, I want to discuss the section we just read. Circle the two countries that paid tribute to King David What does it mean to pay tribute? ________________________________________________ What countries did David station garrisons in (v6 & 13)? ______________________________________________________________________________ Return to your map. Color the areas mentioned in verses 2, 3, 6, 8, 11. Were going to study these countries verse by verse. The second country is Moab. Israel had an interesting history with Moab. The Moabites were descendents of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter. Their land ranged from the eastern border of the Dead Sea and on the plateau between the Dead Sea and the Arabian Desert. In the margin write the answers to the following questions: What does Numbers 22:1-6 tell us the king of Moab tried to do to the Israelites? What does Numbers 25:1-4 & 16-18 tell us the women of Moab did to Israel? In Judges 3:12-14 how long does it say the Moab oppressed the Israelites? Israel definitely had a history with Moab. The fact the king tried to curse Israel didnt bode to well in his favor. In fact, the seer he summoned to curse Israel blessed them instead, much to the kings dissatisfaction. Since the seer couldnt bring a curse upon Israel, it looks like Moab decided to use the women to seduce the men of Israel. You probably noticed the Lord said the Midianites, not the Moabites, seduced the men of Israel. The fact that the Moabites are mentioned at the begging of the text and the Midianites at the end, it lets us know these terms were probably used interchangeably. Sometime before the establishment of the kingdom of Israel the Midianites overran Moab, as would appear from the passage in Gen 36:35, but the conquest was not permanent, for Moab recovered its lost territory and became strong enough to encroach upon Israel across the Jordan.iii The time Moab regained strength is certainly the time Eglon oppressed Israel for eighteen years. Despite the fact David defeated the Moabites, I cant fail to mention here that he had a very personal connection with them. In the margin, write the name of the Moabite woman that Naomis sons married in Ruth 1:1-6? According to Ruth 4:17-22, what relation did she have to King David? I cant help but find it interesting and ironic. Ruth embraced the ways of the Israelites and worshipped the God of Israel, thus denying her own heritage. I wonder what kind of thoughts must have entered Davids mind as he defeated the Moabites. What strange execution method did David use according to 2 Samuel 8:2? ______________________________________________________________________________

Commentators vary on what exactly the verse means. Some believe David divided the country into the three separate parts and burned two thirds of the cities inside the country. Others believe it deals directly with the men. Im more inclined to believe it refers to David executing the men, based the phrase he made them lie down on the ground and measured them . . . This seems to be a practice of Eastern kings in dealing with prisoners of war. David measured them off and killed two-thirds of the men. David spared the remaining group. The Moabites then brought tribute to David. Countries that brought tribute to other kings were usually vassals. The king of the land did not rule as sovereign but was under control of the nation and king he brought tribute to. The next country David defeated was Zobah. Of all the countries we hear about in the Bible, this has to be the least one ever mentioned. In fact, aside from two more instances, youll never hear of the country again. Zobah was apart of the Aramean kingdom near Syria. It appears from verse 3 King Hadadezer wanted to establish control along the Euphrates River. Write in the margin how 2 Samuel 8:3 gives us a better picture of what King Hadadezer was trying to do. He was trying to restore his control along the Euphrates River. King Saul took this part of the land from them in 1 Samuel 14:49. David managed to capture a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Wow, thats a massive amount! Before we get into the rest of this war, I want us to finish with this one battle against the Zobahites. What did David do with the chariot horses he captured from Zobah (v4)? ______________________________________________________________________________ Hamstrung is the past tense of the verb hamstring, which is also a noun. A hamstring is a large tendon at the back of a joint corresponding to the human ankle. To hamstring something means to you would cut the hamstring out of the animal. This would leave the animal crippled. Before we mistake this instance as David displaying a strange cruelty toward animals, lets keep in mind one of the commandments God gave to the kings. What does Deuteronomy 17:16 command the king not to do? David captured 1,000 chariots, which means David could have captured a minimum of 2,000 horses (two per chariot). Sounds like a lot of horses to me. This explains why David only kept a hundred horses alive. Who came to help out King Hadadezer (v5)? _______________________________________ Since Zobah was officially Aramean, the Arameans from Damascus came to help out their brothers. Damascus was the capital of Aramwhich will be important as we study future kings. What did David do with the gold shields he took from Hadadezer (7)? ______________________________________________________________________________ What did he do with all the articles he acquired from other nations (v11)? ______________________________________________________________________________

The seventh nation David defeated was Ammon. Weve already learned about the Ammonites when Nahash came against Saul, so theres no need to elaborate any further on this nation. Read 1 Chronicles 19:1-19. What infused the war between Israel and Ammon (v1-6)? ______________________________________________________________________________ While the Bible doesnt tell us exactly how Nahash showed kindness to David, its almost certain this act of kindness transpired when David fled from Saul. Hearing of Nahashs death, David sent delegates to express sympathy. What happens next has to be the strangest reason weve ever heard of for any nation to go to war! Believing David sent the delegates to spy on the county King Hanun shaved the mens beards and cut off their garments in the buttocks. Talk about embarrassing! According to Middle East tradition no greater indignity could have been put upon them. The beard was considered a symbol of manhood, and, in some places, of freedomslaves were compelled to shave their beards in token of servitude. By shaving half their beards, Hanun treated Davids ambassadors with contempt and made them objects of ridicule.iv As for the buttocks incident, I dont think I need to elaborate any further. Who did the Ammonites hire to help them out (v6)? _________________________________ The Arameans and Zobahites may have been subjects to David, but he seems to have allowed them to continue in their own political affairs. According to 2 Samuel 10:7-12, what situation do Joab and his men find themselves in? ______________________________________________________________________________ They seem to have fallen into a trap. The Ammonites came out of their capital, Rabbah. The Arameans were in the open country. Soon Joab realized that he could be easily squashed in a princers movement. He determined rightly that the Arameans should be defeated first and probably were more vulnerable because they were the hired troops and were without a fortification to fall back on. The Ammonites, on the other hand, were fighting for their homes and had the walled city of Rabbah to protect them.v I cant help but laugh at the statement that the Arameans refused to help the Ammonites anymore. Read 2 Samuel 12:26-31. We open after a season of war is stopped and once again resumed in the springtime (2 Sa.11:1). Joab managed to capture the city of Rabbah. David took the crown from the king and placed it on his head. An act like this indicated he would strip Amon of their sovereignty to rule and exercise control over the nation. What did David do to the Ammonites (v31)? ______________________________________________________________________________ In upcoming weeks, this will be very important. Go ahead and color in all the territories David conquered and added to the kingdom of Israel on your map.

Vos, Howard F. New Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999), 197. Ibid, 197-198. iii Orr, James, Ed. International Standard Bible Encylopedia (Cedar Rapids: Parsons Technology, 1998), Quick Verse 8.0 iv Freeman, James M. New Manners and Customs of the Bible (Gainesville: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1998), 223 v Vos, ibid, 198-199
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