II. THE EVIL OF ABSOLUTISM. No doubt this little kingdom of Ammon was autocratic. It is true, indeed, that the princes advised, but the king decided. And what terrible penalties his poor people paid for his decision! The city of Rabbah was sacked (1 Chronicles 20:2), and its inhabitants not only lost their property but were subjected to cruel tortures; and "even so dealt David with all the cities," etc. (1 Chronicles 20:3). Our heart is touched with sorrow and indignation as we think how one man's (or how a few men's) incensate folly brought down upon thousands of the innocent such a wretched fate. Let us thank God that public policy is largely taken out of the hands of one man who may be shamelessly selfish or utterly incapable, and is deposited with the many who consult the large and general interests of the nation.
III. THE PERILS OF POWER. One may well believe that Hanun had little happiness, if any at all, in the subsequent years of his reign. Surely the cries that came from these mutilated subjects and from these bereaved homes must have rung in his ears, and made discord of every other sound that greeted him. Men covet power, but it is a perilous thing to possess. One great mistake, and we involve numbers of our fellow-men in suffering and sorrow.
1. How should they who wield it be solicitous and prayerful that they may be preserved from abusing it!
2. How well may those who are denied it be content to take the lower place, and be secure from such solemn and weighty responsibilities as they would otherwise incur!
IV. THE NEED FOR REFLECTION IN THE HOUR OF ANGER. It would be altogether unjust to judge David by the humane and merciful standards of our own age; yet we cannot but regret that he inflicted such cruelties on the children of Ammon (1 Chronicles 20:8). We should have liked it (and him) better if he had entertained and acted upon the thought which, on another occasion, he admitted to his mind, "These sheep, what have they done?" (2 Samuel 24:17). He had been greatly provoked, but he carried his indignation further than he was obliged to do, and beyond the point at which a large-minded, God-taught man should surely have stopped. In anger we should pause and think, for we are in great danger of speaking too harshly and striking too hard (Romans 12:19).
V. THE BEST CROWN TO WIN AND WEAR. (1 Chronicles 20:2.) David seems to have set much store on this crown, which was taken from the King of Ammon and placed on his head (Psalms 21:3). Better far the crown of God's favour, the crown of righteousness, the crown of grateful love, the crown of glory. These are
1 Chronicles 20:4-8.-Little things and great.
How small and insignificant in our esteem are the physical peculiarities of these "children of the giant"! How little we care to treasure their names and deeds in our memories! They probably thought much of themselves, and were made much of by their contemporaries; but they have sunk into entire insignificance now. We feel that —
I. DISTINCTION BASED ON BODILY PECULIARITY IS OF LITTLE WORTH. Great stature makes its possessor conspicuous among his fellows, if that be a desirable thing; great muscular strength serves in good stead on those rare occasions when a man has to resist by physical force. Unusual beauty of countenance attracts the eye and wins the admiration of the opposite sex. But these visible specialities have their drawbacks, if not their evils. The first of these often secures a most undesirable and even painful notoriety; the second tempts to acts of violence which are regrettable; the last exposes to peculiar perils of its own. And how speedily they perish! In this war with the Philistines these giants "were subdued" (1 Chronicles 20:4). Lahmi's great spear did not save him from the skill of Elhanan (1 Chronicles 20:5); nor the immense stature of the giant with twenty-four fingers and toes, from the courage and capacity of Jonathan (1 Chronicles 20:6, 1 Chronicles 20:7). "They fell by the hand … of David's servants" (1 Chronicles 20:8). Mere size of body, mere power of muscle, mere skill of fence, and even beauty of face and charm of manner,—all these are either overmatched with something that is stronger, or they soon fade and fall under the resistless ravages of time. And when they pass, how soon they are forgotten! We hardly recognize some of these names; or, if we remember them, we associate them with other men who bore them, but were distinguished by other and nobler features. The next generation will care little for those who have nothing better to claim than great strength, or commanding stature, or some other bodily peculiarity. On the other hand, we feel that —
II. DISTINCTION BASED ON SPIRITUAL WORTH IS A DESIRABLE EXCELLENCY.
1. Mental strength, when gained by diligent self-culture and devoted to useful ends, enjoys a more lasting honour and effects a far greater good.
2. But spiritual worth is the most valuable acquisition; that is the true greatness of man.
The "good men do" is not "interred with their bones;" it lives and blossoms, and bears precious fruit in the hearts and lives of men.—C.
HOMILIES BY F. WHITFIELD
1 Chronicles 20:1-8.-The wasting of the Ammonites, and David's wars with the giants.
The outrage inflicted on the Hebrew ambassadors was still further to be avenged by David. Joab was sent out with the power of the army to waste the country of the Ammonites. The former campaign had been disastrous because of the hired auxiliaries of the Ammonites. Now the full strength of David's army was to be led forth to complete the ruin both of the people and their land. "At the time that kings go out to battle," i.e. spring-time, the expedition set out. Having besieged the capital, Rabbah, and having after a protracted siege taken the lower town, or "city of waters," and knowing that the royal city would soon fall, Joab invited King David to come in person and have the honour of taking it himself (see 2 Samuel 12:26). We are thus enabled to reconcile the two statements, that "David tarried at Jerusalem" (1 Chronicles 20:1), and "David and all the people returned to Jerusalem" (1 Chronicles 20:3). David took the king's crown, and it was set on David's head. This crown weighed a talent, or one hundred and fourteen pounds' weight of gold. The crowns of Eastern kings were not usually worn on the head (and could not have been in this case), but were suspended by chains of gold over the throne. We again notice the cruelties of war and especially of that time (1 Chronicles 20:3). These are recorded, not for example, but to deepen our sense of gratitude for the blessings which Christianity has brought in introducing a humane mode of warfare. It may also make us long for the time when "nations shall learn war no more," and when "righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." We see here David's victories over the giants. The "stripling" in God's hand has overthrown kingdoms and slain the giants of wickedness. In God's hand "the worm Jacob shall thresh the mountains." As we review David's rise from the "stripling" of the wilderness to the highest place in the land, we may say, "What hath God wrought!" "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." To the outward eye of sense a man may be a "stripling," and in his own eyes "a dead dog" and "a flea;" but it is such instruments God ever uses to accomplish his mighty works and to advance his kingdom in the world. Gideon's "lamps and pitchers," Naaman's "little maid," the widow's "pot of oil," Jonah's "worm" and "gourd," and Samson's "jawbone of an ass,"—these God uses for in these he can be glorified. Man's might and power is passed by, for there is no room in them for God to be glorified. If we are only low enough, only little enough, only nothing before him, he can and will use us; and the reason he has so often to pass by the "vessel" is, that it is too full and not "fit for the Master's use." "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not [too contemptible to be named], to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).—W.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
1 Chronicles 20:3.-The horrors of war.
All actions, both of nations and of individuals, should be judged in the light of the prevailing standards and sentiments of the age in which they are done. This is a most important principle, but it is a difficult one to apply wisely; and it is one that may be easily misrepresented. Right can never be other than right, and wrong can never be other than wrong. But custom and sentiment give a temporary character to many actions which tend to confuse our apprehension of their essential rightness or wrongness. Limited knowledge also leads to the permission of things which advancing civilization shows to be unworthy and even wrong. These points may be illustrated from slavery, truthfulness, sense of the value of life, ideas of property, and war. Another important consideration, which greatly helps to explain Old Testament narratives, is that national judgments must of necessity take national character. An old divine well says, "God can punish individuals both in this life and in the next; but he can only punish nations in this." There are distinctly personal and individual sins, and there are as distinctly national sins; wrong done by the rulers in the name of the people; or a wrong spirit pervading the people; or times when vice is permitted to run an unrestrained and ruinous course. And such national sin Jehovah ever regards, using such agencies as famine, plague, or war, for its due punishment. In this light the Old Testament ever regards war; the aggressive force is always treated as the executioner who carries out the Divine judgments. And it may be urged that this is still the deeper view to take of war, and that it is quite consistent with a clear recognition of the fact that such an aggressive force may act in mere wilfulness, or in furtherance of wicked schemes of self-aggrandizement. God makes the very "wrath of man" praise him. In treating the incidents of this chapter, it may be well to point out the distinction between what usually happens under the excitements of a siege, and the deliberate judgment that may be pronounced upon a conquered people. As may be painfully illustrated from the conduct of the British soldiers in India and in Spain, when a city is taken by storm, a scene of wild and awful rioting usually follows. Illustrate also from the Roman siege of Jerusalem. For Rabbah, the city here referred to, see the Expository portion of this Commentary, and 2 Samuel 11:1.
I. ANCIENT HORRORS OF WAR. Illustrate from different kinds of war—wars of races, the young and strong pushing out the old and weak; hardy mountain races occupying the cultured plains of the over-civilized and effeminate; dynastic wars, occasioned by the rivalries of different royal houses; sacred wars, such as the Crusades, to recover possession of the Lord's tomb; and wars of revenge, undertaken to clear off supposed or real insults. Of this latter kind was the war with Ammon (see 2 Samuel 19:1-43.). Modern ideas concerning war make it impossible for us to approve of the treatment to which the conquered Ammonites were subjected. Some writers have urged that David merely condemned the captives to severe bodily labours, to hewing and sawing wood, to burning of bricks, and to working in iron-mines; but probably the more terrible translation of the language must be accepted, in view of the common war-law of that stern age. And, with its best mitigations, war must still be regarded as a dreadful thing. The whole world sighs for the day when "the nations shall learn war no more."
II. CHRISTIAN MITIGATIONS OF THE HORRORS OF WAR. Illustrate from modem treatment of the dead, the wounded, the prisoner, and the conquered. Show how a prolonged period of comparative peace has influenced national sentiment concerning war. Explain, illustrate, and impress that the Christian law of the universal human brotherhood seeks to destroy all forms of war; and the day of its full triumph is surely coming.—R.T.
1 Chronicles 20:6, 1 Chronicles 20:7.-Strong in body, and strong in God.
Here are introduced to us "a man of great stature," and of abnormal development; a striking instance of mere bodily power: and a man who could overcome this giant, by virtue of his loyalty to God and reliance on his strength. It seems to be a fact that hugeness of body is usually associated with dulness of mind. The quick-witted David is always more than a match for the ponderous Goliath. It seems to be the fact—at least under our present human conditions—that the culture of the mind tends to ensure the frailty of the body. It seems to be now very difficult, if it may not be called impossible, to gain and to keep the mens sana in corpore sano. Yet we should feel that both the body and the soul are sacred trusts, and that we are responsible to God for the full and wise and harmonious culture of them both. The "body is to be for the Lord," and we are to "prosper even as our souls prosper." There are two principles by which our life should be toned. We should seek to be —
I. STRONG IN BODY; that is, in the bodily powers and resources. Applications may be made to health, vigour offrame, due control of passions, and proper training of mental faculties. But it should be shown that there are limitations to the success which we may reach in these matters—limitations from constitutional peculiarities, from hereditary tendencies, and from disabilities of circumstance. In this each of us can but reach his best possible.
II. STRONG IN GOD; that is, in the higher moral capacities and forces. In the culture of these there need be no qualifications or limitations. Due training of these will ensure complete dominion over the bodily powers and relations, so that all the lower faculties take their due place of ministry or service. And this is the high ideal after which we all should strive—the true man, who is like the Man Christ Jesus, strong in God, and therefore strong in body.—R.T.
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