VICTORY AND FAILURE. 1st Chronicles 20 The writer of 1st Chronicles had a reason for putting certain events down in writing to be read by the returning Jews and omitted other events that would not promote the objective of rebuilding. The purpose of the chronicles was to motivate the Lord's people to rebuild the temple and the city. As a dwelling place for God in the midst of His people, the temple would be the center of attention, the place of sacrifice, and a reminder of their sovereign God, who is the Ultimate Ruler.
The legacy left to the restored people was the history of the holy city and the service of the temple to remind them of who they were and to whom they belonged. God's dealings with His people in the past set the foundation for His dealings with them in the present. The temple, the law, and the prophets were the means by which God unified His people to Himself in the past. Now, they were to pick up the torch of Israel's testimony among the nations, rebuild, and carry on that legacy. Their obedience to God was expected if there was to be peace, prosperity, and victory over those who opposed them. The hope of Israel was now in their hands. The restored people had the opportunity to establish a unified testimony to the name of the Lord God of Israel once again.
In view of the shrinking size of assemblies that gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to take stock of ourselves and face the fact that "There is dearth in the land. Is there not a cause?" We have a sense that we have been taken captive by the world religion of materialism. In this pseudo-religious movement, money and possessions have become the focus of our attention and effort. Pleasure-seeking is a fallout of that, as the pursuit of this elusive thing consumes any extra time we have. We then use any leftover money to add extra square feet to our dwellings so we can look across a large room and congratulate ourselves for "having arrived."
But the fact is, we have gone backward. If we are not moving forward in the things of God, we are moving backward. The only solution to this trend is to change our goals and ensure the objective of our lives aligns with what God desires. "Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim; In the light of His glory and grace."
For some reason, David did not take seriously the value of his role as king and leader at this particular time. Perhaps he had become accustomed to victories through the power of God and thought it wouldn't matter if he was there or not. Joab, although he was not a nice man at all, recognized his role and responsibility. He also acknowledged his limitations, so he led "the power of the army to deal with the Ammonites." He took no chances and left nothing behind that was needed - except the king.
We may be well-trained, and our skills may be honed to accomplish what we have been called to do, but we must use every provision God gives us and be honest enough to admit our inadequacy. We need God in any work we undertake. Although it may seem small in our eyes at first, behind every obstacle ahead of us is an organized enemy under the control of Satan, empowered by his unceasing hatred. He hates God, he hates God's people, and he hates the work being done by His people. He uses every nefarious means he can find to stop the advancement of the kingdom of God.
Sadly, we have allowed his deception to cloud our commitment to the commission our Lord gave of "going into all the world" and making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to "observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." An enthusiastic approach to heralding the Gospel has been toned down to making friends with as many people as possible in order to "win them." True, "He that winneth souls is wise," but it is also true that "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us which are saved, it is the power of God."
We have allowed a quiet chat at Christmas time in which we quote, "Jesus is the reason for the season," to replace "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." The Easter bunny and colored eggs have taken the place of "Christ died for the ungodly,” "He made peace through the blood of His cross," and "He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification." We need to go forth again "in the power of the army" as a band of Christian soldiers, marching as to war, “with the cross of Jesus going on before."
It is true that the chronicler omitted the events in David's life that occurred when "He tarried at Jerusalem," because they did not need to be repeated to motivate the new generation to build the temple. As a general rule, there is no need to revisit past failures. However, we as individuals need to be reminded that there are temptations and sinful opportunities that attract us and can bring us down if we "tarry at Jerusalem." When we have the choice between making a million or "making it to a meeting," we should choose the meeting with God's people where the real battle is taking place. If we can choose between taking a vacation to "get a rest" or helping out in outreach work or a missionary enterprise, we should choose the latter, not the former, and we "will find rest to your soul" - and avoid sin.
Joab and his army surrounded and besieged the city of Rabbah. They waited until David finally arrived before accepting the full surrender of the Ammonites. The 75-pound gold crown that had adorned the head of foolish Hanun was placed on David's head. One wonders whether someone pointed out to David the spot where Uriah the Hittite was killed after he had been sent out front by David's "armchair" directive. It is likely that when David and his army returned to Jerusalem, he did so with a sense of guilt. The forced labor of the Ammonites and the spoils of war would have been valuable in building Solomon's temple. However, failure and victory are often not far apart.
Another major victory noted by Ezra to encourage the people he led was the triumph over the Philistines. They had been a problem for God's people since their departure from Egypt. They traveled through the wilderness instead of taking the route by the Philistines to prevent God's people from being drawn to or captured by the worldly system represented by the Philistines. The overwhelming influence of the world is backed by the power of the adversary, the devil. Giants always seem to be nearby when there are people of God who wish to serve Him. There were giants at the beginning when Noah preached righteousness for 120 years before the flood. There were giants in the promised land, and there are giants who oppose us today.
It would have encouraged the returning Jews to know that there were four giant-killers in their history who, by the power of God with them, defeated the giants. The opposition faced by the returning Jews could be overcome through God’s power as they moved forward in their work by faith. David, Sibbechai, Elhanan, and Jonathan brought down those who opposed the people of God. The three battles and victories over the Philistines centered around the defeat of these giants.
One man who knows his limitations but is willing to prepare himself as best he can, then steps out in faith against opposition, can bring victory for many. Paul wrote, "My (God's) strength is made perfect in weakness." Peter wrote, "The trial of your faith is more precious than gold that perisheth." As our numbers shrink in assemblies that gather in the name of the Lord unto Him, we pray for men and women of God to rise up with "vision, vitality and venture" to take the word of God in hand and move forward for God to reach the lost, rather than go backward to find an easy chair or a poolside chaise. Jim Elliot wrote, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."
There are giants in the land today, just as there were in the ancient past. In those days, they were distinguished by their physical size; one had six fingers on each hand. Perhaps this made him more adept at taking things that weren’t his own, and due to his size, he could intimidate everyone. A giant like that exists now, and he goes by the name of “Greed.” He is never satisfied with what he has; he desires everything he sees. There is hardly room for anything else where he lives. Greed exerts all his strength to get what he wants, and he has no fear of God.
Another giant goes about making noise like the one who had a spear like a weaver’s beam. His name is “Intimidation”; he is a nightmare, not a dream. He is never satisfied until everything is done his way. It makes no difference to Intimidation what the Bible says. He wants everything to please him, and woe betide anyone who gets in his way.
“Selfishness” is a giant who stomps about making his loud, self-centered demands without considering the needs of others. He believes everyone should pay attention to him and fulfill his every command. He is difficult to live with, as nothing anyone else does pleases him. Whatever he sees, he believes is his right, and he claims everything around him for himself.
There are many other giants around with whom we must contend. Malice, Hypocrisy, and Evil Speaking all need to be kept under our heel and not allowed for any reason. Some are quite evident; you can see them clearly. Others only emerge at night. The only way to confront giants is by God’s power, to put them to flight.
The good fight of faith may go on indefinitely and, truly, will persist throughout our lifetime. Against the giants who oppose our God, we must remain constantly alert and prepared to defend ourselves and our faith. The powers of darkness are on their side, but with Christ in us, we are stronger than they are. He is our Strength, our Almighty Shield; no one can overcome Him. The ongoing battle of Light against darkness will not cease until life is over, but greater is He that is in us than our foes. He will give us power from on high to defeat the enemies who come against us, even when they come again and again. The battles fought and victories won will be worth it when we hear “Well Done” from Him.