“David took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was found to be a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city.”
– 1 Chronicles 20:2
Hi James and Ellen,
What is your take on wars? Do you think that guys should engage in fighting each other? What is your take on harmony? Do you think that guys should take on being peaceniks? What is your take on having laws? What is your take on having police? What is your take on your country having an army? Crime is a certainty. Laws require vetted enforcers. Thugs run over pacifists. Prisons are built to deter lawbreaking but . . . policemen are trained to defend law keepers but . . . soldiers are armed to dissuade lawless intruders but . . . despite knowing that incarceration is a designated punishment for disobeying a law, jails become filled with guys, gals and kids who defied a society’s agreed upon law. Despite knowing that doing protection is one of their given tasks in upholding an approved law, there have been and there will always be cops who have and who will always abuse the public’s trust in them by disregarding a community’s explicitly determined dictate. Despite knowing that protecting and maintaining their country’s borders is an expectation for a country’s armed forces personnel to do to keep alien guys, gals and kids from entering their country, armed forces personnel have through coup d’états turned on their nation’s chosen or elected leader to rid themselves of a country’s President because . . . so that . . . are you pragmatics? A pragmatist sees what is taking place on planet Earth through the lens of reality. Are you romantics? A romanticist sees what is taking place on planet Earth through the lens of fantasy. A pragmatic has internalized the fact that there will always be wars, crimes and disagreements on planet Earth. A romantic is always on an idyllic hunt for peace, obedience and conformity. Your grandmaa and grandpaa think of themselves as being realists. During the first four years that your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia as missionaries on the South America Mission field missionary team, different conglomerations of renegade military personnel and/or dissenting political opponents at different times arbitrarily overthrew via coups Bolivian Presidents. The year after your grandmaa and grandpaa arrived in Guatemala City, Guatemala as missionaries to join the OC International field missionary team, a peace accord was signed that ended 36 years of civil unrest that resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 Guatemalan guys, gals and kids.
1 Chronicles 20 is a snapshot of what life was like 3,000 years ago for an Israelite people group guy. After the fields had been planted in the spring, kings – like David, and an army of Israelite people group guys would use this break from working in the fields to head off to do war. The chronicler comes across as being somewhat fuzzy about David’s battle involvements after David became king while the historian who completed the Samuel Book – as he recounted the same incidents, has a very exhausted David taking a break with his elite team of warriors on their first excursion against an enemy armed force leading to David’s elite warriors telling him to remain in his palace during ensuing confrontations against enemy armies. The chronicler’s initial battle report is of Joab – who was David’s army commander, going against the Ammonite people groups army to capture the city of Rabbah and to leave the city of Rabbah in ruins. The city of Rabbah is today Amman, Jordan. The Ammonite people group guys and gals lived in a land area that is on the east of the Jordan River. Your grandpaa does not know why David – in cahoots with Joab and very likely with other key leaders, decided that they had to at this time do a number on the Ammonite people group’s army. Your grandpaa though can picture David sitting down with his military leaders to discuss a strategy which would bring about the total eradication of an enemy people group armed force that was afflicting havoc on God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals. Verse 2 is the chronicler’s report of the Israelite people group’s army’s success, “David took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was found to be a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city.” How would you like to have a 75 pound gold crown sitting on your head?
As the Samuel Book historian did, the chronicler zeroed in on Rephaite giants who fought with the Philistine people groups raiders. The chronicler recounts Sibbecai killing Sippai, Elhanan killing Lahmi – who was Goliath’s bro, and Jonathan – who was David’s nephew, killing a big dude who was born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Your grandpaa uses the killing of different giants by different loyal warriors in David’s core army unit in a devotional that he often teaches. Your grandpaa believes that all guys, gals and kids have giants in their lives. A giant that a guy, gal or kid might have in his or her life may be a health issue, an interpersonal clash, feeling alone, a cash flow challenge, a devastating occurrence, etc. Your grandpaa believes that every guy, gal and kid will always have at least five giants messing with his or her life. Your grandpaa believes that no guy, gal or kid can kill his or her own giants; that giants can only be killed by other guys, gals and kids. How would you kill a giant that another kid has in his or her life? Your grandpaa thinks that the way to kill a giant that a guy, gal or kid says that he or she has is to first unconditionally accept the guy, gal or kid as he or she is and then find ways to affirm and approve the guy, gal or kid. What five giants do you have in your lives? Who can you ask to help kill your giants?
1 Chronicles 20 (1091)