1 Chronicles 14

After David is made king over all Israel, God blesses and establishes his reign. Hiram sends help to build his palace, David’s family grows, and twice the Philistines attack. Each time David asks God first and then obeys his instructions, and the result is victory and wide fame.

1 Chronicles 14:1

Hiram, the king of Tyre, a Phoenician coastal city, sends messengers, cedar, and skilled workers to build David’s house. A foreign king honors David, a sign that his kingdom is now taken seriously. God supplies what David needs through unexpected hands.

BSA: envoys (“messengers, representatives”): Hiram sent official representatives, which shows a formal, friendly relationship between the two kingdoms.

See also: 2 Samuel 5:11.

1 Chronicles 14:2

David understood that his throne was no achievement of his own. The LORD had set him firmly in place, and the purpose was not David’s glory but the good of God’s people. A true leader sees his office as a trust given for others.

BSA: established (“confirmed, set up”): God himself made David’s kingship firm, so David could rest in it. realized (“perceived, knew by experience”): David came to know this through what he saw happen, not only by being told.

Hebrew: וַיֵּדַע (vayyēda‘, H3045) — “and he knew.” The Hebrew word for knowing often means knowing by experience, not just by information. David saw God’s hand at work and came to know it for himself.

1 Chronicles 14:3

David takes more wives and has more children in Jerusalem. The text records this plainly. Scripture elsewhere warns that kings should not multiply wives, so this is not held up as a pattern to follow. It does show his household growing along with his reign.

See also: Deuteronomy 17:17.

1 Chronicles 14:4-7

This list names the sons born to David in Jerusalem. Solomon, the future king, and Nathan both appear here. Nathan is an ancestor in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus. Even a list of names shows that God keeps track of families and carries his promises forward through them.

BSA: Solomon (“peaceful, a peacemaker”): His name is linked to peace, which suits the son who would build the temple in a time of rest.

See also: 1 Chronicles 22:9; Luke 3:31.

1 Chronicles 14:8

Once David is king over all Israel, the Philistines see him as a threat. Earlier they had left him alone while the nation was divided. Now they all go to find him. When David hears, he does not hide but goes out to meet them.

BSA: anointed (“set apart, consecrated”): David was set apart by God, and that calling is what stirs up the enemy’s hostility.

See also: 2 Samuel 5:17.

1 Chronicles 14:9

The Philistines spread out and raid the Valley of Rephaim, a broad lowland near Jerusalem. The valley’s name recalls ancient giants. The enemy had come right to David’s doorstep, and the danger was real and close.

BSA: raided (“made a raid, spread themselves”): The Philistines fanned out across the valley, so the threat covered a wide area.

1 Chronicles 14:10

Before he acts, David asks God two things: should he go, and will God give the victory? He does not assume. God answers plainly with a command and a promise. David is a warrior, yet he waits on God’s word before fighting.

BSA: hand (“an open hand; strength, a side or share”): To be given into someone’s hand means to come under that person’s power, and God promises to put the enemy there.

See also: Proverbs 3:5-6.

1 Chronicles 14:11

David wins at Baal-perazim and gives God the credit. The enemy was swept away as a flood bursts through a dam, and David names the place after this. He says God did it, though it was done by his hand. The victory belonged to the LORD.

BSA: bursting flood (“a breach of waters, a sudden outburst”): David pictures God breaking through the enemy line as water breaks through a wall.

Hebrew: פֶּרֶץ (perets, H6555) — “a breach, a breaking through.” This word gives the place its name, Baal-perazim, meaning ‘master of breakthroughs.’ The name keeps God’s act alive in memory.

1 Chronicles 14:12

The Philistines flee so fast that they leave their idols behind. David has them burned, as the law commanded. Gods that cannot even be carried to safety by their followers are shown to be powerless, while the LORD has just shown his strength.

See also: Deuteronomy 7:5.

1 Chronicles 14:13

The Philistines come back and raid the same valley. Defeat did not end the threat. A battle won once does not mean the struggle is over, and believers should expect trouble to return.

BSA: Once again (“still, yet again”): The enemy persisted, so David had to meet the same trouble a second time.

1 Chronicles 14:14

David again asks God and does not just repeat the first plan. This time God gives a different strategy: go around and wait by the balsam trees. What worked before is not guaranteed to work now. Each situation calls for fresh guidance.

BSA: inquired (“to ask, seek guidance”): David sought God’s direction again, even though he had succeeded the first time.

See also: James 1:5.

1 Chronicles 14:15

David is told to wait for a sound in the treetops, a marching noise, and then to move. That sound would show that God had gone ahead of him. David is not leading God into battle. God is leading David, and David’s part is to listen and follow.

BSA: marched out (“gone forth, come out”): God is pictured as a commander going ahead of his army to win the battle.

Hebrew: צְעָדָה (ts’ādāh, H6807) — “a marching, stepping.” The word describes the rhythm of steps. The sound in the trees was like footsteps, telling David that God was moving ahead of him.

1 Chronicles 14:16

David does exactly what God commanded, and the Philistines are struck down over a long stretch of country from Gibeon to Gezer. Careful obedience to God’s instruction is what leads to this complete victory.

BSA: commanded (“given orders, appointed”): David treated God’s word as an order to be carried out, not as a suggestion.

1 Chronicles 14:17

David’s name becomes known everywhere, and other nations fear him. The text is clear that the LORD caused this. David’s honor came from God, and he received it by faithful trust and obedience, as the chapter has shown.

BSA: fear (“dread, have awe of”): The nations felt a respect mixed with dread, because they saw that God was with David.

See also: Psalm 18:43-45.