And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them.
Israel had already beaten back the Syrian troops that Ammon hired. Syria would not accept the loss. It sent for fresh armies from beyond the Euphrates, led by Hadadezer's own commander. So why does a beaten enemy come back stronger, and what was missing from the first victory?
Joab won the earlier battle while David stayed home. One writer treats that win as a victory that settled nothing:
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The Ammonites and the Syrians flee, and the Ammonites go back into their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. This battle bears no fruit; it must all be started again. David had handed over to another man the responsibility God had entrusted to him personally. The Lord teaches him this lesson very gently, for David suffers no defeat. But the Lord's instruction brings him back to the true path.
The reinforcements come from beyond the Euphrates. One writer names the motive behind that long reach:
Syria was still not willing to admit total defeat. Hadadezer, the Syrian king of Zobah, had already been badly beaten by David. He was clearly thirsting for revenge. So he gathered a larger army, adding Syrians from east of the Euphrates River to his own large force.
Hadadezer had already met David in battle, and Scripture spells his name in more than one way:
Son of Rehob, Syrian king of Zobah. David defeated him with great loss and drove him across the Euphrates. David took much spoil, and he dedicated the shields of gold to the Lord. Later David defeated Hadadezer completely again. 2 Sam. 8:3-12; 1 Kings 11:23. Called HADAREZER in 2 Sam. 10:16, 19; 1 Chr. 18:3-10; 1 Chr. 19:16-19.
Ammon kept reaching for stronger allies. Each one proved as useless as the last:
No doubt they hired chariots, but it was useless! They also called in the Syrians, but they were no help. They were defeated. Then they tried the Syrians from beyond the river. Maybe they would do better. The Syrians fled before Israel, and the slaughter was complete. "When Hadadezer's servants saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. The Syrians would not help the Ammonites any more."
This time David did not stay home. He moved first and fought on the enemy's side of the Jordan:
When David heard that this army was gathering, he did not wait for the Syrians to cross the Jordan and attack Israel. He gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan eastward, to meet the enemy before they came near Jerusalem (v.17). This gave them no time to plot any special strategy.
Chronicles is mostly about the ark, the temple and worship. One writer explains why David's wars are recorded in it at all:
These chapters present the warrior king, while the rest of the book shows us the peaceful part of David's reign, filled with the service of the ark and the preparations for building the temple. Still, this book cannot pass over the military side of David's reign in silence. Chronicles deals with the kingship once established, its relationship to the ark, then to the temple, and with the order of worship. The account of David's victories is also needed. It shows us how the kingdom could be set up, how Israel could be delivered from their enemies, and how Solomon could bring in peace, righteousness, and rule over the nations. These things could only come about through a conquering and triumphant king. His victories are set before us in one block, so that the book does not have to come back to them again, since they are not its subject. Christ's dominion will be brought in the same way at the end.
- Defeated, not done. The Syrians had already lost. But they were "simply beaten back rather than conquered" — and a win that leaves the enemy whole must be fought again.
- Absent king, unfinished work. David had handed Joab the responsibility God gave him. Syria's return is the gentle correction that brought him back to the true path.
- Reaching for reinforcements. Hadadezer would not admit total defeat. David had once driven him across the Euphrates; now he pulled in Syrians from east of that river.
- Every ally fails. Hired chariots, then Syria, then Syria from beyond the river. Every fresh ally against David ended in surrender and service.
- The king himself decides it. David crossed the Jordan and struck before the enemy reached Jerusalem. Only such victories make a settled kingdom of peace possible — and Christ's dominion will be brought in the same way at the end.
And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came upon them, and set [the battle] in array against them. And David put the battle in array against the Syrians, and they fought with him.
Joab's earlier battle had pushed the Syrians and Ammonites back, but it settled nothing. When David hears that the Syrians have regrouped, he stops sending others and crosses the Jordan himself. Why does the victory wait for the king himself? And what does that say about a greater King?
Chronicles gives most of its space to the ark, worship and the temple. So why does it pause for a block of battles? One writer traces it to what the kingdom itself required.
The account of David's victories is needed to show us how the kingdom could be set up, how Israel could be delivered from their enemies, and how Solomon could begin peace, righteousness and rule over the nations. Only a conquering and triumphant king could bring these things about. His victories are given to us in one block, so that we do not have to come back to them again.
The war began because the Ammonites took David's kindness for spying. The harm fell back on the men who misread it.
The Ammonites could not understand that David should show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, because his father had shown kindness to him. The princes of Ammon thought it was merely a political trick to spy out the land and overthrow it. So they proposed an act of the greatest contempt toward David's servants. But this only brought the most grievous retribution on themselves. No doubt they hired chariots, but it was useless! They called in the Syrians, but the Syrians were no help.
David's first move had been to send Joab with the army while he stayed behind. One writer asks what was missing in that, and what it fails to picture.
David hears of their alliance and sends Joab against them, and with him all the army of mighty men. The Lord did not want Joab and his mighty men, He wanted David. He gave them victory, but not with such a visible showing of His presence and power as when David overcame the Philistines. Is there not in this absence of David a forgetfulness of the special place God had given him? He was anointed to be the leader of the people... God requires David's presence, so that no one else could claim the victory. For here we do not have the picture of Him who fights and overcomes by His own arm, Himself, in person — the One whose mighty deeds the past records, and the future will proclaim even more wonderfully.
That is why verse 17 has to happen. The first round gained nothing lasting, and the reason was not military but moral.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The Ammonites and the Syrians flee; the Ammonites go back into their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had put into another man's hands the responsibility God had entrusted to him personally.
When David gathers Israel, crosses over and fights in person, the outcome is different. The same writer puts it in one line:
This was a true and complete victory; a victory so complete that these kings submitted to Israel.
Two writers see something still ahead in this scene. One starts with the enemies:
The Ammonites fear David's vengeance and join with the Syrians and others against him. This is the result of his well-meant kindness. It suggests a future joining together of this world's rulers against Christ. He has shown such boundless love, yet men have denied and refused His mercy and kindness... But for these rejecters, as for the Ammonites then, a day of vengeance is coming.
Another fixes on the king stepping forward in person as the point of the picture.
The greatest victory comes in verses 15-19. The king appeared himself to lead his armies against the mighty enemy, and their overthrow followed. It foreshadows the day of final victory over the rebellious nations, led by the beast (Rev. 19:19-20), when the true King comes to fight against those nations.
The verse is more than a turning point in a war. One writer sees a lesson in it for David himself.
David must have received instruction from such an event. He had shirked his responsibility, but now in the school of God he had learned the danger of this holding back.
- Kindness refused. The Ammonites read David's goodwill to Hanun as spying. Their contempt for his servants brought retribution back on themselves.
- King absent. God wanted David, not Joab. By staying away from the field, David forgot the place God gave him as Israel's anointed leader.
- Victory hollow. Joab beat the enemy back but never conquered them. David had passed his own responsibility to another, so the war had to begin again.
- King present. David gathers Israel, crosses the Jordan and fights in person. The victory is complete, and the allied kings submit.
- King coming. The nations massed against the anointed king picture a future alliance against Christ. The king coming in person points to the day the true King comes to overthrow them.
And the Syrians fled from before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand [in] chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and slew Shophach the captain of the host.
Israel's second battle with the Syrian alliance ends in a rout. Thousands of chariot crews and foot soldiers fall, and the enemy commander Shophach dies with them. Two questions follow. How did an act of kindness turn into a war this size? And why does Chronicles, a book about worship and the temple, count the dead at all?
One writer traces the chapter in a single sweep, from David's act of kindness to the peace that follows in the next verse:
In 1 Chronicles 19, however, we see that there were those who distrusted David's generosity. The Ammonites could not understand why David showed kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash. David did it because Hanun's father had shown kindness to him. The princes of Ammon thought it was only a political move to spy out the land and overthrow it. So they proposed an act of the deepest contempt toward David's servants. This only brought the most severe payback on themselves. They did hire chariots, but it was useless! The Syrians were called in too, and they were no help. They were beaten. Then they tried the Syrians from beyond the river. Perhaps those would do better. The Syrians fled before Israel, and the slaughter was complete. "And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore."
Ammon kept adding to the opposition: more chariots, then allies, then allies from further away. Each attempt failed. One writer names the principle at work:
When grace is despised by those to whom it is shown, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only serve to establish his authority in the very place where resistance is attempted. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
The commander named in our verse also appears in the parallel account in 2 Samuel, with a slightly different spelling:
Captain of the Syrian armies of Hadarezer. Killed by David. 2 Samuel 10:16, 18. Called SHOPHACH in 1 Chronicles 19:16, 18.
Another writer comments on the same battle as 2 Samuel tells it, where the numbers are counted differently. He notes how fast the collapse came, and who was missing from the field:
David did not wait for the Syrians to cross the Jordan and attack Israel. He gathered all Israel to cross the Jordan eastward and meet the enemy first. This gave them no time to plot any special strategy. The battle was evidently not very long. The Syrians fled again. David's men killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen. That was an enormous reduction of an army that had not previously claimed that total number. The Syrian commander, Shobach, was among those killed. The Ammonites had evidently faded into the background: they are not even mentioned in this battle, though they had started the whole thing.
An earlier battle in the same war had already scattered these enemies, and yet it gained nothing. One writer explains why:
Joab wins the victory, but it is a useless victory. The Ammonites and the Syrians flee; the Ammonites go back into their city. They are simply pushed back rather than conquered or captured. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had handed over to another man the responsibility God had entrusted to him personally.
Here David leads the army himself, and the result is different. The same writer sees the whole episode as a lesson to David:
David must have received instruction from such an event. He had shirked his responsibility, but now in the school of God he had learned the danger of holding back.
Chronicles is a book about the ark, the temple and worship, yet it gathers David's wars into one unbroken block. One writer explains why:
We need the account of David's victories. It shows us how the kingdom could be set up, how Israel was delivered from their enemies, and how Solomon began peace, righteousness and rule over the nations. Only a conquering and triumphant king could bring these things about. His victories are given to us in one block, so that we do not have to come back to them again, since they are not the subject of the book. Christ's dominion will be introduced in this same way at the end.
- Grace despised. David showed kindness to Hanun. Ammon took it for spying, and the war grew out of that contempt.
- Grace resisted. Hired chariots, then Syrians, then Syrians from beyond the river. Each new alliance ends in another defeat.
- Grace enforced. Shophach the enemy commander dies on the field. The army that had never claimed so many men loses more than it ever had.
- Grace learned. Joab won the first battle and it changed nothing. David leads this one himself, and learns the danger of handing off what God gave him to do.
- Grace crowned. Chronicles keeps all the wars in one block. The conquering king comes first, then the reign of peace. Christ's dominion will be introduced the same way.
And the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with David, and became his servants. And the Syrians would no more help the children of Ammon.
This verse closes a war that began with an insult. Hired allies had failed one by one, and the strongest of them gave up. How did the mistreatment of a few messengers end with foreign kings submitting to David?
The verse is the last stage in a series of attempts to stop David, each one tried and each one useless.
Some men distrusted David's generosity. The children of Ammon could not understand that David should show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, because his father had shown kindness to him. The princes of Ammon thought it was only a political move, a way to spy out the land and overthrow it. So they suggested an act of the greatest contempt toward David's servants. This only brought the most terrible payback on themselves. They did hire chariots, but it was in vain! They called in the Syrians too, but the Syrians were no help. They got the worse of it. Then they tried the Syrians beyond the river. Perhaps they would do better. The Syrians fled before Israel.
Their resistance produced the opposite of what they wanted.
When people despise the grace shown to them, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only serve to establish his authority in the very place where men try to resist. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
In the first round of this war David sent Joab in his place.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former go back into their city. They are only driven back, not conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. God had entrusted this responsibility to David himself, and David handed it to another man.
The second round was different. The king himself took the field, and this time the enemy did not just retreat.
This was a true and complete victory; a victory so complete that these kings submitted to Israel.
The insult to David's messengers explains part of this war. It does not explain all of it.
God steps in for the sake of His own name. Hanun and his princes were suspicious and rejected David's friendly offers. Their refusal became the occasion for carrying out God's judgment on Israel's enemies. Kindness from the father leads to war with the son and almost to the wiping out of the Ammonites. On merely human ground, a righteous payback for their shameful treatment of David's ambassadors. But there was something deeper than that. There was God's judgment, and the human occasion fades from view.
Commentators see a bigger story inside this small one.
The Ammonites fear David's vengeance and join with the Syrians and others against him. This is the result of his well-meant kindness. It suggests a future joining together of this world's rulers against Christ — against Him who has shown such boundless love, yet whose mercy and kindness men have denied and spurned. He, the Lord, sent His ambassadors to men worse than the Ammonites; and how were they treated? Now Jew and Gentile are joined together in rejecting the kindness of God our Saviour. But for these rejecters, as for the Ammonites then, a day of vengeance is coming; that day is fixed, known only to God. There is a delay, but there is a limit. The Lord is now waiting until the appointed time, and His patience is salvation. But the judgment is approaching, severe and certain. That day will break up a wider alliance, with a more dreadful overthrow.
One question remains: why does this book record these wars at all?
The account of David's victories is needed to show us how the kingdom could be set up. It shows how Israel was delivered from their enemies, and how Solomon brought in peace, righteousness, and rule over the nations. Only a conquering and triumphant king could bring these things about. His victories are set before us in one block, so there is no need to come back to them again; they are not the subject of the book. Christ's dominion will be introduced in this same way at the end.
- Kindness — David offered friendship. The Ammonites read it as a trick and answered with insult.
- Contempt — Despised kindness is the hinge of the chapter. When people spurn grace, the king's judgment follows.
- Coalition — Chariots, then Syrians, then Syrians from beyond the river. Ammon tried every hired helper, and every one failed.
- Collapse — The first battle was fought by a deputy, and the enemy had to be beaten again. Then the king himself took the field and won a victory so complete that kings submitted.
- Crown — Enemies who resist only spread the king's authority into their own land. It is a small preview of a rule that comes by conquest, and a warning to everyone who still spurns the kindness offered them.