March 21, 2021: Day 15 – I Chronicles 11

We move from King Saul and the last days of his life to King David and his throne and the warriors who helped him achieve that throne.  There were three warriors in particular who are lifted up as significant.  They were front and center as David took over the crown and they helped to conquer Jerusalem that then became called the city of David.  It was ruled by the Jebusites who weren’t super pleased that David wanted to have it since, after all, it was theirs.  But David conquered the city and took it anyway.

You will find a listing of a whole number of other warriors who were important for David in order to maintain his kingdom.  You should see a familiar name in vs.41: “Uriah, the Hittite”.  Who remembers who this was?  This was the husband of Bathsheba whom David seduced and raped and then sent him to the battle front in order that he would be killed.  Of course, none of that is mentioned in these verses, but interestingly his name does not disappear, even if there is no mention of that incident, of that tragedy in Chronicles.  

David is portrayed as a man of the people as he complains that he can’t have the water from his home town, Bethlehem, remember that is where Mary and Joseph go for the census because they are from the house of David.  Then when these three soldiers go and get water from the well from Bethlehem he refuses to drink it because it was not right for him to put his men in danger just in order to have his desires met.  The deed was done, but he felt it was important to give an object lesson.