1 Chronicles 21:9

1 Chronicles 21:9 says, And the Lord spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,  Gad was referred to as David's seer, and God spoke to him.  Gad was not said to have gotten a vision by his own psychic abilities, but was said in the next verse to have gotten a message from God.  God did at times allow certain people in the Old Testament to see into the future, but today we are only given signs of the coming of the return of Jesus Christ, and I don't believe we are given any new revelations about God.  Verse ten adds, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.  Gad was told to go tell David that He was giving him three choices as punishment for his arrogance in numbering the people for his own glory.  We only have one choice.  We can either accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord or reject Him and go away into everlasting punishment.  Verse eleven continues, So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee  Gad delivered God's message to David, and we can only deliver the gospel to people today, and there is no other choice for redemption from sin.  Verse twelve states, Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.  None of the choices were good, and all involved the whole nation, which may not seem fair, and they would last for different periods of time depending on their severity.  Again, we only have the one choice, and it lasts forever whichever one we make.  Verse thirteen adds. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.  David asked he fall into the hand of God and not into the hand of man, because God was merciful, but men aren't always.  That eliminated the choice of three years of famine or three months while David's enemies destroyed him.  David chose to leave it in God's hands, maybe hoping He would just forgive him and not really punish him.  Still, sin can never be overlooked by God, and a penalty must be paid, but as followers of Jesus Christ, He paid that penalty for us, and He is the only One Who can pay it.  Verse fourteen continues, So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.  David had been proudly numbering the people of Israel, and because of his prideful action, there were now seventy-thousand fewer people to be numbered.  We might say that these seventy thousand men did nothing to deserve death, and that might be true, but we are talking about physical and not spiritual death.  Those who had put their faith in God simply went on to their heavenly reward sooner, and those who didn't had made their choice to not do so.  Verse fifteen says, And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.  God then sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem.  He didn't send a legion of angels, but an angel.  As the angel was doing so, God decided that the people had been punished enough and stopped the angel from any further destruction.  Still, the angel stood by the threshing floor.  Matthew Henry says that when David repented of his sin that God repented of His punishment, but to repent implies that someone has done something wrong, and God certainly hadn't.  I believe that He simply decided that he would show mercy to Jerusalem, even if the people might have deserved punishment.  We all deserve punishment for our sins, and it is only by God's mercy that we escape it.  Verse sixteen adds,  And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.  David saw the angel with sword drawn standing between heaven and earth over Jerusalem.  That must have been quite a terrifying sight, but it pales in comparison to what hell will be like.  David and the elders fell on their faces before God, even though we are not told that the elders saw the angel.  Whether we ever see an angel about to destroy the world around us or not, if we are guilty of sin, we need to fall on our faces before God and ask for forgiveness.  Just because we are forever forgiven by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not free to sin with no remorse nor repentance.  Verse seventeen continues, And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.  David then asked that since he was the one who had sinned by numbering the people of Israel that God punish his family and him and not the rest of the people.  One thing we can be sure of is that each individual will be punished only for their own sins, and the only way to avoid that punishment is by accepting Jesus Christ as oor personal Savior and Lord.

1 Chronicles 21:1

1 Chronicles 21:1 says, And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.  Satan himself is said to have stood up against Israel and caused David to number the people of Israel, but this time not by God's command to do so.  If we begin to take pride in the number of people who attend our local church and count the number of member so we can brag about how large we are, then this is an abuse of numbering the people I believe. This was wrong because it was motivated by Satan and not by God and not just because the people were being counted.  Even a man after God's own heart could be tempted by Satan, but it took a willingness on David's part to act on that temptation for it to become a sin.  We will never be above temptation in this lifetime, and at times the temptation may even sound like a good thing, but we must always rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit to guide us in anything we do, and Satan can never make us do anything.   Verse two adds, And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.  David instructed Joab and the other rulers of Israel to count the people so he could know the number.  He was involving others in his prideful action, and sometimes we may be guilty of the same thing.  As followers of Christ, we need to first make sure that He is the One Who is directing our actions and that we are not doing things out of a sense of self-pride, and we should never involve others in what we are doing if it isn't being done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse three continues, And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?  Joab questioned why David wanted to do this, since no matter how many there were of them, they were all his people.  Since God was the One Who had given David the kingdom and promised to multiply it, Joab said that David had no need to know how many people God had brought into the kingdom.  We don't need to know everything God is doing in the world today, nor even the results of everything we do for Him.  All we need to do is be obedient to Him and give Him the glory for all that He does through us.  Verse four states, Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.  Since Joab could not convince David that what he was doing was wrong, he left to do as David had instructed.  Joab may have thought that since David ordered him to do this over his objections that he had no choice but to do it, but he did have a choice.  I don't believe that we should ever do anything that we believe to be wrong in the eyes of God, no matter how powerful the person instructing us to do so may be.  Verse five adds, And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.  Joab counted the people, and there was a total of over a million and a half men who could draw a sword, which meant the total was even greater.  Still, this would indicate that David was putting his faith in the number of men he had and his own abilities and not in God.  We as Christians should never put our faith in anything other than God.  Verse six continues, But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.  Joab had not counted the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe, nor the tribe of Benjamin who were noted for their military abilities, because Joab had viewed the whole act of counting Israel an abomination.  We cannot go partially against what God tells us to do or not do and then stop and expect to be blameless.  Verse seven declares, And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.  God was displeased with Israel, even though they were doing what David their king had ordered to be done.  We cannot excuse our actions even if people in power, within the church or within the secular government order us to do something that goes against God's word.  Verse eight adds, And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.  David then acknowledged that he had sinned greatly and acted foolishly and asked God's forgiveness.  Once we realize that we have sinned, in which case we will have always acted foolishly, we can only acknowledge our sin and ask God's forgiveness and move ahead in faith and obedience to Him.  We also need to realize that Satan is always going to tempt us, but he can never cause us to sin.

1 Chronicles 20:1

1 Chronicles 20:1 says, And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.  When Israel next went to war with the Ammonites, David remained in Jerusalem.  Though it isn't mentioned here, this was the time that David fell into temptation that led to his having Uriah killed.  Matthew Henry says it wasn't mentioned here because even if we know of the sins of a person, we shouldn't continually bring them up and delight in them if they have been forgiven.  If we are idle when we should be doing what God has called us to do, we may find ourselves falling into temptation. He wasn't really acting like a leader but more like a ruler who had other people fight his battles.  We as followers of Christ should never remain in safety as others engage int the war with God's enemies, especially if we are supposed to be a leader.  Joab led them to victory. Verse two adds, And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.  David took the crown that had been taken from the king of the Ammonites and put it on his own head, though he hadn't been involved in the taking of the crown.  We too often want to take the crown from Jesus and put it on our own head, even though we have nothing to do with our salvation other than accepting Him by faith.  He also took a lot of spoils out of the city.  Verse three continues, And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. David then had all the people of Ammon killed brutally.  We should never seek to destroy our enemies, especially not with brutality, but should reach out to them with the love of God by sharing the gospel with them.  Verse four states, And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.  There was once again a war with the Philistines, and once again there were giants in the Philistine army, but once again they were defeated.  Matthew Henry points out that we never read of giants of the Israelites, but only of their enemies.  We don't need to be giants in physical size as long as we are giants in our faith to God.  It is His power that brings us victory and not our own strength.  Verse five adds, And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.  The Israelites continued in battle and more giants were killed.  We will always be at war with the world as Christians, and we will sometimes face what seem to be giant enemies, but we always need to remember that they are small when compared to God.  Verse six continues, And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot and he also was the son of the giant.  One of the giants of Gath had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.  I don't know if this gave him any advantage in battle, but it did make him different.  We may face many different enemies today, but even if they are being successful, if we face them by the power of God, they will be defeated.  Verse seven says, But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him.  This giant defied Israel, but he was slain by a Jonathan who is said to have been David's nephew.  As long as we remain faithful to God, we are already victorious, no matter what happens in this lifetime.  Verse eight adds, These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.  David and his servants killed all the giants of Gath through the power of God.  We can defeat all the giants we face in life by following the leadership of the Holy Spirit and acing under His authority and power.

1 Chronicles 19:8

1 Chronicles 19:8 says, And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men.  When David heard that the people of Ammon were coming to fight a war with Israel, in spite of his being sympathetic to them at the loss of their king, he didn't run and hide.  He sent Joab and a host of mighty to meet them. We are in a battle against Satan and his forces of evil today as Christians, and we don't need to run away and hide.  We need to be mighty men and women of God and face them head-on.  Verse nine adds, And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field.  The people of Ammon started the war with their kings present in the field.  The forces of evil today, along with those who are the main leaders, will always be ready to engage us as followers of Christ in battle.  We are not called on to start the war, but we are called on to be prepared for it.  Verse ten continues, Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.  When Joab saw how the war was going to be waged against him, by being attacked front and rear, he chose the best men of Israel and went against the Syrians.  We may be attacked from every side spiritual, but we should never run away in fear, but stand firm in our battle against evil.  Verse eleven states, And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.  Joab didn't try to fight all the enemy by himself but divided his forces. putting some under the leadership of his brother, Abishai, who faced the forces of Ammon.  We should never think that we are the only one capable of leading God's people in battle but must willing share the responsibility with others.  Verse twelve adds, And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.  Joab told Abishai that if the Syrians proved to be too strong for him to defeat, that Abisahi was to come help him, and if the Ammonites proved to be too strong for Abishai to defeat that he would come to aid him.  We need to be ready to help other Christians who might be in danger of being overcome by the forces of evil.  If we see this happening, we need to come to their aid and visa-versa.  Verse thirteen continues, 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.  Joab called on Abishai and all the troops to be of good cheer and act valiantly for their people and their God and to do what was right in His sight.  This is all we can ever do, even if we are defeated in battle in this world.  Verse fourteen adds, So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him.  When Joab and his forces went against the Syrians, they fled.  They were just hired soldiers and may have thought it really wasn't worth the fight, but for whatever reason, they didn't want to fight against Joab and his forces, so they fled.  Sometimes, just standing for God will be enough to cause some of our enemies to flee, because they aren't totally invested in the fight to start with.  Verse fifteen says, And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.  When the Ammonites saw the Syrians fleeing, they fled also.  They were looking for strength in numbers, but they suddenly didn't have the numbers on their side, so they gave up the fight.  We will likely never have the numbers on our side as Christians, but if we are acting under the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit, sometimes those who oppose God are going to give up without a fight.  Verse sixteen adds, And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river: and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.  When the Syrians saw that they were losing, they sent for reinforcements.  They were not going to totally give up without a fight, because it would have made them look bad to the rest of those around them.  We should never expect our enemies to just give up completely until the return of Jesus Christ in victory.  Verse seventeen continues, And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.  When David heard about this, he led all his army to fight them.  As Christians, we need to all be engaged in the battle against evil today, no matter how powerful the forces of evil might be.  Verse eighteen states, But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.  In the battle, the Syrians once more fled, and seven thousand of them who fought in chariots were killed, along with forty-thousand-foot soldiers.  All our enemies are already spiritually defeated, no matter how many of them there may be, so we just have to stand firm in our faith when we face them.  Verse nineteen adds, And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.  When the king of Syria saw that his army was losing, he made peace with David and became his servant and never again helped the Ammonites.  Those who do not believe in God will likely never become His servants, but at times they are willing to live more at peace with Christians.  

1 Chronicles 19:1

1 Chronicles 19:1 says, Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead.  As they always will, one king died as was replaced, this time Nahash the king of Ammon, who was replaced by his son.  Those who are leaders in God's kingdom will one day die and be replaced, not by their sons necessarily, but by the person God calls.  Verse two adds. And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.  When David heard of the death of Nahash, he decided to whew kindness to his son, Hanun, because Nahash had shown kindness to him.  We should show kindness to those who are bereaved by the loss of a parent or loved one today, even if they haven't shown kindness to us.  We as Christians represent God by our actions, and He showed kindness, or mercy, to us even when we didn't deserve it.  Verse three continues, But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?  The other princes around Hanun asked him if he really thought that David was showing him kindness in honor of his father.  They said he was likely sending them to spy on him instead.  People will often question the motives of Christians if we are kind to them and claim we are somehow trying to use or control them.  This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be kind and help others though.  David had not done this because it benefitted him in any way, but out of compassion for Hanun.  We should never show compassion for others and help them out of an attitude of wanting to profit from it somehow.  Verse four concludes, Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away.  Hunan listened to his advisors or friends instead of believing that David was simply trying to bring him comfort, and he abused the servants that David had sent by shaving them and cutting their clothes away to expose their buttocks and sent them away.  He humiliated them in other words.  People did a whole lot more to God's Son, Jesus Christ, when he came to bring salvation to them out of the mercy of God, not only trying to humiliate Him but also crucifying Him on a cruel cross.  Verse five states, Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.  David received word of what had happened, and he sent word to Jerico where the men were to comfort them, telling them to remain there until their beards had grown out again.  God is going to meet us where we are today, and He will bring us comfort when we need it if we are followers of Christ, or to offer us the comfort of salvation if we aren't.  Verse six adds, And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syriamaachah, and out of Zobah.  When Hanun and the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves enemies of David, they attempted to buy protection for themselves.  We need to realize that if we are enemies of God that we will never be able to buy anything that will protect us from His coming judgment, no matter how powerful we may become in the world.  Verse seven continues, So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.  They not only hired chariots, but they hired the people of Maachah to fight with them.  The lost people of the world often unite in their fight against God, but no matter how many there may be, they will never overpower God.  This all started because Hanun rejected David's act of compassion, and if we are at war with God, it will be because we have rejected His act of mercy when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. 

1 Chronicles 18:9

1 Chronicles 18:9 says, Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah;  News of David's victory over Hadarezer reached Tou, King if Hamath.  If we are having spiritual victories in the world today, news needs to reach others about our success.  Verse ten adds, He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.  Tou sent his Hadoram son to David with gifts of vessels of gold, silver, and brass and to inquire about David's health. Tou did this because he had been at war with Hadarezer, and David had defeated him.  God sent His only begotten Son to defeat sin and evil in the world today because people at war against them and cannot defeat them and we should give everything we have to Him after we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven continues, Them also king David dedicated unto the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.  David dedicated everything that he gained in the wars he won to God and set it aside for His use.  I will state again that I believe that everything we gain in the world as Christians should be dedicated to God and bringing about His purpose and not just be to use for ourselves and to meet our desires.  Verse twelve states, Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.  Abishai, one of David's military leaders, killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the valley of salt.  The Edomites were descendants of Esau, who should have had the birthright of Isaac, but he sold it.  We all have the birthright, or rebirth right, available to us if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, but too many people sell it for the things of this world and never have the benefit of salvation that is already provided for them.  Verse thirteen adds, And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David's servants. Thus the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.  Abishai. acting under David's authority or David himself established garrisons in Edom and they became David's servants and God preserved David wherever he went.   When God has defeated the forces of sin in life for us, we must allow Him to establish a fortress in our lives by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and by His power we will be preserved forever spiritually.  Verse fourteen continues, So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. David ruled over all his people with good judgment and justice for all the people.  God today rules over all His people, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, with good judgment and justice.  Verse fifteen says, And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder.  Joab became the leader of the military and Ahilud became the recorder of what happened.  We need leaders in the war against evil today, but we need to let the world know what God has done through us.  God's good works should be made known to the world, and if they are to be, we as Cristians should make them known.  Verse sixteen adds, And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe;  We are then given the names of the priests and scribe.  Verse seventeen continues, And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.  Then we are told the name of one of the other leaders and the area he was over and are told that David's sons were the main ones in authority around him.  We all have different callings as Christians, but we are all under the authority of the Holy Spirit and should work together to spread the gospel to the world, and all should be done for God's glory. 

1 Chronicles 18:1

1 Chronicles 18:1 says, Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines.  After this time of communion and prayer, David began to be successful in defeating the Philistines, who had long been enemies of Israel, and even took Gath from them.  Before we go out to battle the enemies of God today, we need to spend some time in communion with God, and we will be facing the forces of Satan, who is always the ultimate enemy.  He has already been defeated, though, not by us but by Jesus Christ, so we just have to put our faith in Him to claim the victory.  Verse two adds, And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts.  David next defeated the Moabites, and they became his servants.  If we defeat the enemies of God today, they should not become our servants, but if they want to serve someone after they are defeated, it should be God.  Of course, our ultimate responsibility is not to physically defeat those who don't believe in God, but to reach them with the gospel out of love.  Verse three continues, And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish his dominion by the river Euphrates.  David continued to be victorious and expand the kingdom of Israel even farther.   We need to pray that we will be able to expand the kingdom of God further as we witness to people today  Verse four states, And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots.  From these people, David took a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen or cavalrymen, and twenty-thousand footmen, or infantry men.  He then houghed, or hamstrung the chariot horses, and kept only a hundred chariots.  David had said a horse was a vain thing to put your trust in according to Matthew Henry, and he proved that he believed it by his actions.  We may look to the amassing of weapons of war to keep us safe today, but only faith in God can.  Verse five adds, And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.  When the Syrians came to help Hadarezer, David and his forces, by God's power, killed twenty-two thousand of them.  As followers of Christ, we can expect all those who do not believe in God to be aligned against us. but they will never defeat us spiritually as long as we remain faithful to Him.   Verse six continues, Then David put garrisons in Syriadamascus; and the Syrians became David's servants, and brought gifts. Thus the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.  David then set up a garrison in Syria at Damascus, and the Syrians brought him gifts and became his servants.  Our goal as Christians is to reach people with the gospel, not for our material gain, but so that they might become servants of God and bring their gifts to Him.  Verse seven says, And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.  David also took the golden shields of Hadarezer's troops and brought them to Jerusalem.  We need to bring anything we gained in the battle against evil to God, and not just claim it for our own use.  Verse eight adds, Likewise from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.  David had also brought a lot of brass from the cities of Tibhath  and Chun, which Solomon would later use to make the sea of brass, the pillars, and the vessels in the temple.  Though David amassed all this brass that was later used in the temple, he was not allowed to build the temple himself.  We may lay the seeds of the gospel that others will reap the benefit of, but we are not to serve God for our own glory.