“Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the Lord do that which is good in his sight.” — 1 Chronicles 19:13

Courage is an admirable quality. At the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, over twenty thousand United States soldiers were captured. Roddie Edmonds from Knoxville, Tennessee, was among more than one thousand non-commissioned officers who were taken to a prisoner-of-war camp called Stalag IX-A in Ziegenhain, Germany. As the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer of the group, Roddie was their commander. 

One evening, the prisoners were told that the next day those who were Jewish were to present themselves. Roddie told his fellow prisoners that they would all stand together in formation, and they did. When the camp commandant, Major Siegmann, saw this, he was furious and said they could not all be Jews. Roddie said, “We are all Jews here.” The Major aimed his Luger pistol at Roddie and ordered him to have the Jewish men step forward. Roddie replied, “According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank, and serial number. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes.”1 One survivor said Roddie “wasn’t even shaking, but the commandant was.”2 Siegmann put away his gun, turned around, and walked away. Before long the war ended and the prisoners were rescued. 

Roddie Edmonds died in 1985 without receiving acclaim for his courage. In February of 2015, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel recognized him as “Righteous Among the Nations” and the award was delivered to his son on January 27, 2016, in Washington D.C. 

Today’s text recounts a battle where Israel’s army was surrounded by their enemies. In the focus verse, Joab was exhorting the warriors to have courage. It is important to note that he also encouraged them to look to God for help, and the Lord miraculously gave the victory. 

Maybe today you are facing a situation that requires courage. Perhaps you feel insufficient, unsure what to do, or that you lack the necessary strength. Look to God! He is the source of true courage, and He has promised to give His people help in their time of need.

BACKGROUND

Today’s text continues the summary of the military victories for David and Israel’s armies. 

Chapter 19 is a parallel to 2 Samuel 10. The Ammonites were from east of the Jordan River and were long-time foes of Israel. However, at some point Nahash the king of Ammon had extended kindness to David. When Nahash died, David wanted to give condolences to Hanun, Nahash’s son. The princes of Ammon were suspicious of this effort, and they humiliated David’s messengers by cutting off half their beards and part of their clothing. The Israelites wore full beards, and shaving off half was extremely insulting and offensive. These demeaning actions made David angry. The word odious in verse 6 means “to be abhorred” and the parallel passage in 2 Samuel 10:6 says that “they stank before David.” 

Seeing war was imminent, the Ammonites spent a “thousand talents of silver” to hire allies. This was an enormous amount of money, since on another occasion, one hundred talents was the wage given to 100,000 warriors (see 2 Chronicles 25:6). 

When Joab, David’s army captain, saw that Israel’s warriors were between their enemies, he divided his army, putting one group under the leadership of his brother Abishai. God gave Israel the victory, and the Syrians who had been hired as mercenary forces fled. The last verse of chapter 19 says, “Neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.” 

Chapter 20 begins almost exactly as 2 Samuel 11. However, the writer of Chronicles did not include the account of David’s sin regarding Bathsheba. This likely was because the writer was focusing on encouraging the Jews who had returned from Babylonian captivity by reminding them of how God had used David and blessed Israel under his leadership. 

In chapter 20, Israel was again fighting the Ammonites. Rabbah was the capital of Ammon. It consisted of two areas—a lower portion along the river, and an upper fortress that protected the city. The parallel text in 2 Samuel 12:30-31 indicates that Joab had overcome the lower part of the city, and then called for David to come for the battle against the fortress so that credit for the victory would go to David. 

Verses 4-8 of chapter 20 are a summary of conflicts with giants and their descendants. Similar information is found in 2 Samuel 21:18-22.

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

II. The reign of David
     B. The establishment of his kingdom
          2. The prosperity of David’s reign
               c. The wars of David
                   (2) The rebellion of the Ammonites (19:1—20:3)
                         (a) Hanun’s insult and insurrection (19:1-9)
                         (b) Joab’s rout of the Ammonites (19:10-15)
                         (c) David’s defeat of the Syrians (19:16-19)
                         (d) David’s revenge at Rabbah (20:1-3)
                   (3) The defeat of the Philistine giants (20:4-8)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. According to 1 Chronicles 19:5, what did David tell his humiliated messengers to do?
2. How should we react when our efforts to show kindness are misunderstood?
3. What are some situations today where we might need to “be of good courage”?

CONCLUSION

God can provide courage in situations that seem hopeless if we look to Him.