v4-6 The death of Saul and his sons
v13 This passage blames Saul's sin for his downfall.
v14 God takes credit for the end of Saul. He has charge over every year we live, every day we see, and every breath we draw. Let's give Him the credit He's due, and give thanks for the days He has given us.
v3 David is made king.
v9 For the Lord of Hosts was with Him. Even though Chronicles can be a bit tedious--after all we are basically reviewing several books we've already been through--I find that the point of view is very insightful. You really see the hand of God as He orchestrates each move of His people according to His purpose. Why did David become greater and greater? Because the Lord of Hosts was with him. Period.
v11 He killed 300 men, one at a time. How long must that have taken? How heavy was that spear? Did they line up waiting to have their turn with him, or did he have to seek them out and find them? This one sentence raises so many questions!
v14 The Lord saved them.
v16-19 David might have been a bit eccentric at times.
v22 Benaiah--why don't we name more boys after this guy? He's amazing! "He also went down and killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day." What!! Who's pit was this? What kind of weapon did he use? Why did he go into the pit instead of just throwing his spear down into it? Where were they that it was snowing?
v23 The Egyptian that Benaiah killed was 7.5 feet tall. Not quite a Goliath, but he was huge. And I'm sure he had muscles to match his height. Benaiah took his club, knocked the spear out of the guy's hand, and killed him with it.
v26-27 David is a big character in Bible history, but it is important to remember that even the greatest men--the men who did more for the Lord's name than any other--were only men. God provided David with these mighty men--his support staff if you will. Most of these guys were at least as strong and talented and awesome as David himself. But their highest calling was to bring God glory by serving under David. This story is exciting to those of us in support roles. And humbling to those of us in leadership.
Next time: I Chronicles 12 I have read ahead, and am excited to say that God showed me something really cool in this chapter. Something that has me totally fired up. Come back and check it out for yourself!
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