Read: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30; Romans 2:25-3:8; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 19:10-12
I can’t find anywhere where this king was kind to David except here. The Ammonites were always Israel’s enemy. It was this king that came to take Jabesh-gilead. The people of Jabesh told king Nahash that they would serve them instead and the king said that they must gouge out their right eye or they wouldn’t let them live. When Saul heard this he rallied men to fight them and this lead to Saul’s kingship. Nahash means “a serpent” so I don’t know why David would want to show kindness to his son.
This all worked to Israel’s advantage because when the Ammonites hired the Syrians to fight Israel, Israel won. The Ammonites became their slaves and the Syrians learned to never help the Ammonites again.
David’s army went out and slayed giants and took the crown from the Ammonite king which was probably the brother of Hanum. This made Satan so mad that he stood up and convinced David to number the people. Satan is the epitome of pride and that was what he used against David. Maybe, if David had been on the battlefield instead of staying in Jerusalem, he might have seen things differently. Against Joab’s advise, David had Joab number the people. He numbered everyone except the tribes of Levi and Benjamin. God was not pleased so he gave David three choices. David chose to fall under the hand of God instead of his enemies or famine. So his punishment was swift and painful as a plague swept through the land. It stopped at the threshing flood or Ornan which means “strong”. David bought his land from him and it became the place that Solomon would build the temple.
We cannot overlook what happened. David’s men brought down giants and Satan counterattacked. This is his mode of operation. When we win a great battle, he is always going to fight back. He never lets you win without a fight.
Lord, help us to be ready for the counterattack and not be so busy celebrating our victory that we lay our swords down.
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