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1
Chronicles Chapter Fourteen
1 Chronicles 14
Chapter Contents
David's victories.
In this chapter we have an account of, 1. David's kingdom
established. 2. His family built up. 3. His enemies defeated. This is repeated
from 2 Samuel 5. Let the fame of David be looked upon
as a type and figure of the exalted honour of the Son of David.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Chronicles》
1 Chronicles 14
David is confirmed in his kingdom, verse 1,
2. His wives and children, verse 3-7. His victories over the Philistines, verse
8-17.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Chronicles》
14 Chapter 14
Verses 1-17
Verse 1-2
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David.
The building of the royal house
In Hiram’s conduct notice--
I. An instance of
true friendship.
1. Genuine.
2. Lasting.
II. An illustration
of human agency in the service of God.
III. A proof of
God’s providence.
1. In Hiram’s conduct.
2. In David’s accession to the throne.
3. In the honour and extension of David’s kingdom. (J. Wolfendale.)
Hiram and David
The treaty between these two kings illustrates--
I. The providence
of God in the exaltation of a good man.
II. The influence
of a good man upon others when thus exalted. Men pay homage to moral worth and
holy life. This power every Christian may possess and wield.
III. The design for
which God exalts a good man (2 Samuel 5:12). Not for themselves,
but for others are men enriched and honoured. (J. Wolfendale.)
Lifted up
Man throws down. God lifts up:
1. Persons.
2. Societies.
3. Nations.
Lifts up above:
1. Distress.
2. Opposition.
3. Danger. (J. P. Lange.)
Verse 10
And David inquired of God.
Inquiring of God
The Israelites usually asked counsel of God by the ephod, the
Grecians by their oracles, the Persians by their magi, the Egyptians by their
hierophantae, the Indians by their gymnosophistae, the ancient Gauls and
Britons by their Druids, the Romans by their augures or soothsayers. It was not
lawful to propose any matter of moment in the senate, priusquam de coelo
observatum erat, before their wizards had made observations from the heaven
or sky. That which they did impiously and superstitiously, we may, nay we ought
to do in another sense, piously, religiously, conscionably, i.e.,
not to embark ourselves into any action of great importance and consequence, priusquam
de Coelo observatum est, before we have observed from Heaven, not the
flight of birds, not the houses of planets, or their aspects or conjunctions,
but the countenance of God, whether it shineth upon our enterprises or not,
whether He approve of our projects and designs or not. (J. Spencer.)
Verses 14-17
And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops
of the mulberry trees.
The sound in the mulberry trees
What this “sound of going” was exactly we cannot tell. It probably
resembled the march of an army in the air. A host of unseen angels may have
moved above the mulberry groves, striking terror into the hearts of the
barbarians and sending them into precipitate retreat. As they retreated, they
fell into the hands of the Israelites (who had swung around to their rear), and
were routed with complete discomfiture.
I. That God
signals to His people to take certain steps at certain times. Then it is their
duty to bestir themselves. When the Deluge was about to descend upon a guilty
world, Noah was commanded to bestir himself and prepare an ark for the saving
of his household. When the fire-shower was coming upon Sodom, Lot was laid hold
of by God’s angels and urged to escape for his life. When the children of
Israel were in peril of being overwhelmed by the Egyptians, God signalled to
them the order to advance, and by a majestic pillar of cloud led them through
the parted sea. All sacred history is studded with illustrations of this truth.
Martin Luther, discovering the “open secret” in the convent Bible at Erfurth,
and hammering his theses on the church door of Wittemburg; the young Wesleys,
awakened at Oxford and sent out to awaken slumbering Britain, were simply God’s
agents bestirring themselves at the Divine signal.
II. God has His
“set times to favour Zion.” One of these was the memorable day of Pentecost.
The faithful men and women in the upper room heard a sound as of a mighty
rushing wind, and the baptism of fire descended. God moved, and His people were
on their feet promptly. Each man, each woman obeys the signal. The Word of God
grows mightily and prevails. The secret of this marvellous success is that
Christians promptly and thoroughly co-operated with the Divine Spirit.
III. A personal
application. There are times when each child of Jesus hears the “sound of the
going in the mulberries.” Let them be improved. Do not let us lose heaven’s
fair wind. When we get fresh insight into the Word, let us open it to others. When
our hearts are stirred with sympathy for sinners, then is the time to “pull
them out of the fire.” If the Holy Spirit is striving with us, then is the time
to strive with Him to save men from eternal death. As God moves in us, let us
move for the salvation of those within our reach.
IV. A time of trial
is often a time of especial blessing. I have read of a German baron who
stretched between the towers of his castle a set of iron wires. In calm weather
the wires were silent. But when the winds arose these metallic chords began to
play, and in the height of the gale this hurricane-harp gave out glorious
music. So is it with a child of God. In seasons of calm and quiet prosperity he
may too often become silent, inactive, useless. But when the storms of trial
strike him his soul-harp awakes to new melodies of love and faith, and his life
becomes as a stringed instrument struck by the hand of Jesus. Open your heart
to the voice and the influences of the Divine and Loving Spirit. Let the time
of trial be the time for doing God’s will, and at least one soul will taste the
joys of a true revival! (Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D.)
The repeated question
The word “again” contains the kernel of the special teaching here.
I. How David acted
here.
1. A wise self-distrust. Self-distrust may be sinful, as it was in
the case of Moses, who could not overcome his diffidence even when God had
given him the greatest of all encouragements, saying “Certainly I will be with
thee.” But there is a distrust of self, which is healthy and which leads a man
on to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might; and that was what David
had now and what secured his success.
2. A full confidence in God. He confided all the circumstances of his
case to God.
3. A spirit of obedience. He was ready to abide by the Divine
directions.
4. A recognition of wisdom beyond his own.
II. How David might
have acted.
1. He might have said the means which I had before will be enough
now; I have very recently defeated those Philistines; their resources I know are
much impaired, mine are not; I will go out against them at once. Such reasoning
would have been wrong. Means which we have had before, even though intact, are
not of necessity enough for us in a new emergency. The same circumstances
seldom happen with every incident precisely alike. We may not see where the
differences lie, but they may exist nevertheless; and perhaps it is precisely
one of those unseen differences which will defeat us.
2. He might have contented himself with thinking generally that God would
be with him. For this particular enterprise David asked specific advice.
Specific acts of recognition of God receive specific blessings. Lessons--
1. The value of all close contacts with God.
2. We need not be afraid of wearying God with our frequent comings.
3. The value of new infusions of God’s wisdom and strength into all
old, well known, well tried and successful means. The means will never be any
more to us than what God enables them to be.
4. Nothing need grow old with God to keep it fresh.
III. What came of
David’s acting thus? In all probability escape from defeat. The way which God
pointed out in answer to David’s inquiry, involved much from him.
1. Apparent cowardice.
2. Much self-restraint; but all these were but the preliminaries to
triumph--the short time of waiting before God’s plan was perfected in victory.
Let us permit God’s answers to work themselves out. They must
generally evolve. We cannot consult God with reverence, obedience and love,
without His taking an interest in whatever we bring before Him. (P. B.
Power, M. A.)
The battle of Gibeon
I. A special
change of tactics.
II. A special sign
by which these tactics are carried out.
1. A supernatural sign.
2. A disciplinary sign. Requiring an upward look, an open eye to see,
an attentive ear to hear.
3. A typical sign. In the setting up of Christ’s kingdom, disciples
waited to be equipped for work. (J. Wolfendale.)
Signals for duty
I. God’s answer to
man’s prayer.
1. Prayer for knowledge of duty.
2. Prayer for assurance of Success.
II. God’s help in
man’s circumstances.
III. God’s signal
for man’s action. We need not only to know, and strength to obey God’s will,
but the signal to “go” at the right time. A detachment on one occasion waited
for orders, longed to join their comrades in battle, instead of standing in
silence, exposed to danger. At length Wellington gave the command, and the
attack was successful. “They serve who stand and wait.” (J. Wolfendale.)
A wise tarrying
Xerxes, monarch of Persia, had invaded Greece with an army and a fleet.
Against the latter the ships of the Greeks were drawn up, and were ready to
sail down the bay to attack the Persians. But Themistocles, the commander,
delayed. The men grew impatient and began to fret at the delay. Still he
refused to give the order to advance. Discontent now became almost mutiny. Some
said Themistocles was a coward; others declared that he had sold out to the
enemy. But Themistocles was waiting for the land breeze. He knew that every
morning, about nine o’clock, the breeze blew from the land, and by waiting for
it to spring up, it would be possible to use the sails and it would be
unnecessary to use the oars, and so every rower would become a fighter--thus
his warriors would be increased in numbers. His delay meant success and victory
as the sequel proved. In the spiritual work of to-day there is a wise tarrying
and a foolish haste. Oh, if we could hear more said about the spiritual
preparation, we are sure more would be accomplished in aggressive inroads upon
the enemy! Let us insist that the Church be led to look for and expect the
breath of the Holy Ghost, and then every man will be a soldier.
Before thee
1. A word of consolation in sore distress.
2. A word of encouragement amid inward conflict.
3. A word of exhortation to unconditional obedience of faith.
4. A word of assurance of the victory which the Lord gives. (J. P.
Lange.)
The rustling of the Lord’s approaching help
1. Dost thou wait for it at His bidding?
2. Dost thou hear it with the right heed?
3. Dost thou understand it in the right sense?
4. Dost thou follow it without delay? (J. P. Lange.)
Victory comes from the Lord
1. When it is beforehand humbly asked for according to the Lord’s
will and word.
2. When the battle is undertaken in the Lord’s name end for His
cause.
3. When it is fought with obedient observation of the Lord’s
directions and guidance. (J. P. Lange.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》