And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their stead; for there was pasture there for their flocks.
Part of a small, scattered tribe moves out, takes land, and settles where there is grazing for its flocks. Why does a book of genealogies stop for this, and why date it to the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, so late in the nation's story?
The nation as a whole had failed. Yet these lists keep stopping to name people who prospered. One writer sets Simeon's advance beside Jabez:
Wherever there has been faith, God has blessed His people individually. Jabez (1 Chron. 4:9-10), the son of affliction, seeking blessing in the presence of the God of Israel, did not fail to find it. The Lord enlarged his borders, and so kept him from evil that it did not grieve him. Simeon, though scattered in Israel, was able to drive out the enemy and possess their land, even as far as Mount Seir. … So, although there was neither the power of the king nor the order of the kingdom, wherever there was faith, God blessed those of His people who trusted in Him.
Simeon had the least to work with. One writer traces why, and what a few with faith did anyway:
Because of Simeon and Levi's sin, these two brothers were "divided in Jacob, and scattered in Israel" (Gen. 49:7). In grace the Lord used Levi's scattering to give him priestly work suited to his position. It was otherwise for Simeon, who went on bearing the mark of God's judgment: his family did not multiply like the sons of Judah (v. 27). Simeon was small in number, partly surrounded by Judah's territory, open to enemy attacks on the south, and without definite borders. But we find here the truth already presented: when collective faith has failed, the faith of a few moves them to "enlarge their borders." Caleb's individual faith did the same earlier. … The extent of their possessions depended neither on their numbers nor upon their power. Like Jabez, they bore the consequences of the curse pronounced upon them. But they could not deny their extreme poverty, and it drove them to conquer what God placed within their reach.
The date matters. One writer notes when this tribe's gains came, and what was already closing in:
Notice that they obtained their blessings under the two reigns of grace in Judah: that of David (v. 31), and that of Hezekiah (v. 41). At that time the state of the people was already drawing down upon themselves the approaching judgment through the king of Babylon. … All that is according to nature ends in complete failure and is worthless before God. Grace is the only thing we can count upon, as we rest upon the counsels and election of grace which God has established forever.
The Meunim are not strangers to the record. A reference work links them with a people God had already dealt with a generation or two before, under an earlier king of Judah:
A people against whom Uzziah was helped by God. 2 Chr. 26:7. Perhaps the same as the Maonites mentioned in Judges 10:12.
Their location also explains why the next verses push further south into Mount Seir:
The Meunim or Maonites belonged to the territory of Edom, that is, to Mount Seir (v. 10). Today there still exists a city called Maan to the east of the Wadi-el-Arabah in this region.
What drove the expedition was simple: the flocks needed feeding. One writer applies that to anyone who cares for God's people today:
It was late in the history of Israel when these princes of Simeon went to seek pasture for their flocks. It was the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and in his reign Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, carried Israel away captive. They found "fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable." To secure this rich heritage, the sons of Simeon struck down the inhabitants and lived in their place. It is now late in the history of the church… but this is not a reason for indifference or idleness. Those who care for the flock of God should still seek pasture for the sheep, and be prepared for conflict to secure it for them.
- Small — Simeon was few in number, hemmed in by Judah, exposed on the south, and still marked by God's judgment for an old sin.
- Stirred — Their own poverty pushed them out. What they gained matched neither their numbers nor their strength.
- Named — Where the nation as a whole failed, God kept blessing people one by one, and their names stand in the record.
- Timed — The advance came under Hezekiah, a reign of grace. Judgment from Babylon was already near. Nature fails; grace holds.
- Fed — They moved because the flocks needed grazing. Caring for God's people still means going after good pasture, and being ready for a fight to hold it.
And five hundred men of them, of the sons of Simeon, went to mount Seir, having at their head Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Jishi,
Here the genealogies of 1 Chronicles pause to record a raid into the hill country of Seir. Why keep the names of so small a company, and what were men of Simeon doing in land that belonged to Edom?
Simeon and Levi were both scattered for one sin. The two scatterings did not turn out alike, and Simeon's poverty is what pushed these men outward.
Because Simeon and Levi sinned, these two brothers were divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel (Gen. 49:7). But they differed. In grace the Lord used Levi's scattering to give him priestly work suited to his place. It was otherwise for Simeon, who went on bearing the mark of God's judgment… Simeon was small in number, partly surrounded by Judah's land, open to enemy attacks in the south, and without fixed borders… They found "rich, good pasture" where the sons of Ham had lived before (v. 40). They even went to Mount Seir (v. 42), which Edom held. How much land they held did not depend on their numbers or on their power. Like Jabez, they bore the results of the curse spoken over them. But their deep poverty, which they could not deny, drove them to conquer what God put within their reach.
Another writer sets the two scatterings side by side, and notes the honour the men named here still held.
Levi really was scattered, but how honourably, and with what blessing! He was appointed to keep up the worship of Jehovah, with no care or worry except what belonged to the worship of God. Simeon was small in Israel. "Nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah." Even so, the men named here were princes, and their fathers' houses prospered (v. 38).
Seir was not empty land. Esau's descendants lived there, and the region took a second name.
The early name of the long mountain range that runs from about eight miles south of the Salt Sea to near the Gulf of Akaba. It is also called "the land of Seir." The Horites lived there first, and later the descendants of Esau, and it came to be called Edom.
One writer ties this small company to a command Saul had left unfinished.
God kept a special task for five hundred of the sons of Simeon, who had four of the sons of Ishi as their leaders. They carried out Jehovah's final judgment on the Amalekites, and lived in Mount Seir, where they did this great deed. That place had once been Esau's home. God had commanded Saul to "devote to destruction" everything that belonged to Amalek, but Saul disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and lost his throne for it. What was not done at the start was done near the end by only five hundred men. Even if we are in the last days, and very weak, and few in numbers, the Lord can use those who are true to Him to carry out His will.
What the four leaders won was not a raid's plunder but a place to live.
Son of Ishi a Simeonite: he with his brethren attacked the Amalekites of Mount Seir, and secured for themselves a permanent settlement.
David had all but wiped out Amalek long before. One writer traces how a remnant survived at Seir, and how late this raid came.
When David destroyed the Amalekites after their raid on Ziklag, only four hundred young men escaped (1 Sam. 30:17), so it seemed that only a small remnant of them survived. In the days of king Hezekiah, it seems this remnant of Amalek had escaped and settled at Mount Seir, the home of the Edomites. It was getting late in the history of Judah, about the time the ten tribes were being led away captive. Yet the Lord used this remnant of Simeon to carry out His will about Amalek. It is never too late for God's people to seek His mind and do His will, no matter how hard the days and how great the weakness.
One writer turns this search for pasture into a duty for anyone who cares for God's people today.
Those who care for the flock of God should still look for pasture for the sheep, and be ready for conflict to win it for them… Are we ready to stand in conflict for the rich heritage that was won for us?
- Poverty pushed them. Simeon bore the mark of God's judgment: small, hemmed in by Judah, with no settled borders. That very lack drove them to take what God had put within reach.
- Pasture pulled them. They went looking for pasture for their flocks. Those who care for God's flock still have to go looking, and still have to fight.
- Seir was occupied. The hills they entered were Esau's old home, the land that became Edom. Others held that ground; it was not empty country.
- Five hundred were enough. Four sons of Ishi led a handful of men, and finished late what King Saul had failed to do in obedience.
- Late is not too late. The ten tribes were going into captivity. Even then the Lord used a small, weak remnant to do His will, and Scripture names these men as princes.
and they smote the rest of the Amalekites that had escaped; and they dwelt there unto this day.
A long list of names suddenly turns into a battle report against Amalek, Israel's enemy ever since they came out of Egypt. Why was any Amalekite still alive so late in Israel's history, and what is a raid by five hundred men doing inside a genealogy?
Amalek was under God's sentence of destruction. He first gave that task to a king of Israel. What a whole kingdom failed to do, a handful of men did.
A special task was reserved for five hundred of the sons of Simeon, with four of the sons of Ishi as their leaders. They carried out the LORD's final judgment on the Amalekites, and settled in Mount Seir. That was where they did this great deed, and it had once been the home of Esau. The LORD had commanded Saul to "utterly destroy" everything belonging to Amalek, but he disobeyed the word of the LORD, and for this he lost his throne. What was not accomplished at the beginning was done near the end with only five hundred men.
An earlier defeat had left a small band of Amalekites alive. They took shelter among the Edomites in the hills of Seir.
When David slaughtered the Amalekites after their raid on Ziklag, only four hundred young men escaped (1 Sam. 30:17), so it seemed that only a small remnant of them survived. In the days of king Hezekiah, it seems this remnant of Amalek had escaped and settled at Mount Seir, the home of the Edomites… It was getting late in the history of Judah. The ten tribes were being led away captive at about that time. Yet the Lord used this remnant of Simeon to carry out His will in relation to Amalek. It is never too late for God's people, no matter how difficult the days and how great the weakness, to seek His mind and to do His will.
Simeon was the least likely tribe to try this. It lay under a curse, and it stayed small and hemmed in.
Simeon was small in number, partly surrounded by Judah's territory, open to enemy attacks on the south, and without fixed borders. But we find here the truth already presented: when the faith of the whole people has failed, the faith of a few moves them to "enlarge their borders." Earlier it was the individual faith of a Caleb… The extent of their possessions depended neither on their numbers nor on their power. Like Jabez, they bore the consequences of the curse pronounced on them. But their extreme poverty, which they could not deny, drove them on to conquer what God placed within their reach.
The men went out looking for grazing land, and they stayed. "To this day" marks ground they kept, not only raided. One writer draws the parallel to a late hour in the church's history.
It is now late in the history of the church… but this is no reason for indifference or laziness. Those who care for the flock of God should still seek pasture for the sheep, and be ready for conflict to secure it for them. … Are we prepared to stand in conflict for the rich heritage that was secured for us?
The verse sounds final. It was not.
From reading 1 Chronicles 4:43 we might have thought that not one Amalekite was left… But it was not so. Even when Israel and Judah were in captivity we read of an Amalekite, "Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite" (Esther 3:1), holding a very high place in the palace of King Ahasuerus… The same hatred and murderous spirit that marked Amalek when Israel came out of Egypt showed up in Haman so long after.
One writer reads Amalek as a picture of the flesh — the sinful nature in us.
Amalek is a type of the flesh, and with flesh God can make no terms. In it dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18); God condemned the sin that is built into it in the sacrifice of Christ (Rom. 8:3); and Christians are seen as having, for themselves, "crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5:24). This means they have accepted God's sentence against the evil thing. Nothing remains but to be unsparing with all its workings day by day (Col. 3:5-9).
- Unfinished. Saul had a kingdom behind him. He spared Amalek and lost his throne. Five hundred men of Simeon later did what he refused to do.
- Few. The tribe under a curse, small and short of land, is the one that enlarges its borders. Reach depends on faith, not on numbers or strength.
- Late. The raid falls near the close of Israel's history. It is never too late, and never too weak, to seek God's mind and do His will.
- Held. They did not raid and leave; they settled. Finding a good inheritance is one thing; keeping it takes conflict.
- Ongoing. Haman the Agagite appears generations later. Amalek pictures the flesh, and God makes no terms with it: judge it day by day.