18 And the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the captains, [and he said,] Thine [are we], David, And with thee, thou son of Jesse: Peace, peace be to thee! And peace be to thy helpers! For thy God helps thee. And David received them, and made them chiefs of bands.
But the Spirit of the LORD took possession of Gideon; and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiez'rites were called out to follow him.
And Absalom set Amasa over the host instead of Joab; which Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Jithra the Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother.
Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God [the] Father and [the] Lord Jesus Christ. Grace with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption.
And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters.
And Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And two or three chamberlains looked out to him.
And he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on garments of vengeance [for] clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Ma'haneh-dan, between Zorah and Esh'ta-ol.
But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen; but they were men of war, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his captains, and captains of his chariots, and his horsemen.
And the king said to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and do thou attend here. So Amasa went to call together [the men of] Judah; but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities and escape our sight. And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. And Joab was girded with his coat, his dress, and upon it was the girdle of the sword which was fastened on his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.
And say to Amasa, Art thou not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually instead of Joab.
And Ittai answered the king and said, [As] Jehovah liveth, and [as] my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
I pray thee, forgive the transgression of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a lasting house; because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days. And if a man is risen up to pursue thee and to seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out from the hollow of the sling.
Then David sent out ten young men; and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. And thus shall ye say: Long life [to thee]! and peace be to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast!
and [he will take them] that he may appoint for himself captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and that they may plough his ground, and reap his harvest, and make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 12
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
What the mighty men did towards making David king we read in the foregoing chapter. Here we are told what the many did towards it. It was not all at once, but gradually, that David ascended the throne. His kingdom was to last; and therefore, like fruits that keep longest, it ripened slowly. After he had long waited for the vacancy of the throne, it was at two steps and those above seven years distant, that he ascended it. Now we are here told,
1Ch 12:1-22
We have here an account of those that appeared and acted as David's friends, upon the death of Saul, to bring about the revolution. All the forces he had, while he was persecuted, was but 600 men, who served for his guards; but, when the time had come that he must begin to act offensively, Providence brought in more to his assistance. Even while he kept himself close, because of Saul (v. 1), while he did not appear, to invite or encourage his friends and well-wishers to come in to him (not foreseeing that the death of Saul was so near), God was inclining and preparing them to come over to him with seasonable succours. Those that trust God to do his work for them in his own way and time shall find his providence outdoing all their forecast and contrivance. The war was God's, and he found out helpers of the war, whose forwardness to act for the man God designed for the government is here recorded to their honour.
1Ch 12:23-40
We have here an account of those who were active in perfecting the settlement of David upon the throne, after the death of Ishbosheth. We read (ch. 11:1, and before 2 Sa. 5:1) that all the tribes of Israel came, either themselves or by their representatives, to Hebron, to make David king; now here we have an account of the quota which every tribe brought in ready armed to the war, in case there should be any opposition, v. 23. We may observe here,