The Living Bible (100 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
When the Lord finally sent peace upon the land, and Israel was no longer at war with the surrounding nations,
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David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! Here I am living in this beautiful cedar palace while the Ark of God is out in a tent!”
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“Go ahead with what you have in mind,” Nathan replied, “for the Lord is with you.”
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But that night the Lord said to Nathan,
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“Tell my servant David not to do it!
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For I have never lived in a temple. My home has been a tent ever since the time I brought Israel out of Egypt.
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And I have never once complained to Israel’s leaders, the shepherds of my people. Have I ever asked them, ‘Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar temple?’
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“Now go and give this message to David from the Lord of heaven: ‘I chose you to be the leader of my people Israel when you were a mere shepherd, tending your sheep in the pastureland.
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I have been with you wherever you have gone and have destroyed your enemies. And I will make your name greater yet, so that you will be one of the most famous men in the world!
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I have selected a homeland for my people from which they will never have to move. It will be their own land where the heathen nations won’t bother them as they did when the judges ruled my people. There will be no more wars against you; and your descendants shall rule this land for generations to come!
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For when you die, I will put one of your sons upon your throne, and I will make his kingdom strong.
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He is the one who shall build me a temple. And I will continue his kingdom into eternity.
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I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he sins, I will use other nations to punish him,
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but my love and kindness shall not leave him as I took it from Saul, your predecessor.
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Your family shall rule my kingdom forever.’”
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So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said.
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Then David went into the Tabernacle and sat before the Lord and prayed, “O Lord God, why have you showered your blessings on such an insignificant person as I am?
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And now, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving me an eternal dynasty! Such generosity is far beyond any human standard! O Lord God!
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What can I say? For you know what I am like!
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You are doing all these things just because you promised to and because you want to!
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How great you are, Lord God! We have never heard of any other God like you. And there is no other God.
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What other nation in all the earth has received such blessings as Israel, your people? For you have rescued your chosen nation in order to bring glory to your name. You have done great miracles to destroy Egypt and its gods.
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You chose Israel to be your people forever, and you became our God.
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“And now, Lord God, do as you have promised concerning me and my family.
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And may you be eternally honored when you have established Israel as your people and have established my dynasty before you.
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For you have revealed to me, O Lord of heaven, God of Israel, that I am the first of a dynasty which will rule your people forever; that is why I have been bold enough to pray this prayer of acceptance.
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For you are indeed God, and your words are truth; and you have promised me these good things—
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so do as you have promised! Bless me and my family forever! May our dynasty continue on and on before you; for you, Lord God, have promised it.”
After this David subdued and humbled the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest city.
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He also devastated the land of Moab. He divided his victims by making them lie down side by side in rows. Two-thirds of each row, as measured with a tape, were butchered, and one-third were spared to become David’s servants—they paid him tribute each year.
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He also destroyed the forces of King Hadadezer (son of Rehob) of Zobah in a battle at the Euphrates River, for Hadadezer had attempted to regain his power.
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David captured seventeen hundred cavalry and twenty thousand infantry; then he lamed all of the chariot horses except for one hundred teams.
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He also slaughtered twenty-two thousand Syrians from Damascus when they came to help Hadadezer.
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David placed several army garrisons in Damascus, and the Syrians became David’s subjects and brought him annual tribute money. So the Lord gave him victories wherever he turned.
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David brought the gold shields to Jerusalem which King Hadadezer’s officers had used.
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He also carried back to Jerusalem a very large amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s cities of Betah and Berothai.
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When King Toi of Hamath heard about David’s victory over the army of Hadadezer,
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he sent his son Joram to congratulate him, for Hadadezer and Toi were enemies. He gave David presents made from silver, gold, and bronze.
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David dedicated all of these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from Syria, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and King Hadadezer.
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So David became very famous. After his return he destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites
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in Salt Valley,
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and then placed garrisons throughout Edom, so that the entire nation was forced to pay tribute to Israel—another example of the way the Lord made him victorious wherever he went.
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David reigned with justice over Israel and was fair to everyone.
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The general of his army was Joab (son of Zeruiah), and his secretary of state was Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud).
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Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar) were the High Priests, and Seraiah was the king’s private secretary.
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Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was captain of his bodyguard,
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and David’s sons were his assistants.
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One day David began wondering if any of Saul’s family was still living, for he wanted to be kind to them, as he had promised Prince Jonathan.
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He heard about a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants, and summoned him.
“Are you Ziba?” the king asked.
“Yes, sir, I am,” he replied.
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The king then asked him, “Is anyone left from Saul’s family? If so, I want to fulfill a sacred vow by being kind to him.”
“Yes,” Ziba replied, “Jonathan’s lame son is still alive.”
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“Where is he?” the king asked.
“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him. “At the home of Machir.”
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So King David sent for Mephibosheth—Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. Mephibosheth arrived in great fear and greeted the king in deep humility, bowing low before him.
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But David said, “Don’t be afraid! I’ve asked you to come so that I can be kind to you because of my vow to your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you shall live here at the palace!”
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Mephibosheth fell to the ground before the king. “Should the king show kindness to a dead dog like me?” he exclaimed.
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Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba. “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family,” he said.
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“You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him, to produce food for his family; but he will live here with me.”
Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, replied, “Sir, I will do all you have commanded.”
And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly with King David, as though he were one of his own sons.
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Mephibosheth had a young son, Mica. All the household of Ziba became Mephibosheth’s servants,
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but Mephibosheth (who was lame in both feet) moved to Jerusalem to live at the palace.
Some time after this the Ammonite king died and his son Hanun replaced him.
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“I am going to show special respect for him,” David said, “because his father, Nahash, was always so loyal and kind to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express regrets to Hanun about his father’s death.
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But Hanun’s officers told him, “These men aren’t here to honor your father! David has sent them to spy out the city before attacking it!”
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So Hanun took David’s men and shaved off half their beards and cut their robes off at the buttocks and sent them home half naked.
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When David heard what had happened he told them to stay at Jericho until their beards grew out; for the men were very embarrassed over their appearance.
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Now the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, so they hired twenty thousand Syrian mercenaries from the lands of Rehob and Zobah, one thousand from the king of Maacah, and ten thousand from the land of Tob.
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When David heard about this, he sent Joab and the entire Israeli army to attack them. The Ammonites defended the gates of their city while the Syrians from Zobah, Rehob, Tob, and Maacah fought in the fields.
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When Joab realized that he would have to fight on two fronts, he selected the best fighters in his army, placed them under his personal command, and took them out to fight the Syrians in the fields.
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He left the rest of the army to his brother Abishai, who was to attack the city.
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“If I need assistance against the Syrians, come out and help me,” Joab instructed him. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you.
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Courage! We must really act like men today if we are going to save our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”
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And when Joab and his troops attacked, the Syrians began to run away.
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Then, when the Ammonites saw the Syrians running, they ran too, and retreated into the city. Afterwards Joab returned to Jerusalem.
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The Syrians now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped, they were joined by additional Syrian troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander-in-chief of all of Hadadezer’s forces.
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When David heard what was happening, he personally led the Israeli army to Helam, where the Syrians attacked him.
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But again the Syrians fled from the Israelis, this time leaving seven hundred charioteers dead on the field, also forty thousand cavalrymen, including General Shobach.
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When Hadadezer’s allies saw that the Syrians had been defeated, they surrendered to David and became his servants. And the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore after that.