You Ain’t So Big

1 Chronicles 20: 1 – 8

You ain’t so big

20 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And Joab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it. 2 Then David took their king’s crown from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set on David’s head. Also, he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. 3 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So, David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. 4 Now it happened afterward that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of the giant. And they were subdued. 5 Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant. 7 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. 8 These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

In reviewing this chapter my mind jumped to a song by Jimmy Reed called Big Boss Man. Here are the Lyrics

Big boss man

Can't you hear me when I call?

Big boss man

Can't you hear me when I call?

Well, you ain't so big

You're just tall, that's all

Got me working, boss man

Working 'round the clock

I want me a drink of water

But you won't let Jimmy, stop

Big boss man

Can't you hear me when I call?

Well, you ain't so big

You just tall, that's all

Well, I’m gonna get me a boss man

One gonna treat me right

Work hard in the day time

Rest easy at night

Big boss man

Can't you hear me when I call?

Well, you ain't so big

You’re just tall, that's all

Today’s chapter is only 8 verses long, but it is filled with amazing action. I have seen some advertisements for an HBO movie series called Game of Thrones. I do not have HBO, but the small advertisement caught my attention. Part of the war scene had ‘giants’ fighting in the battles. They looked to be about 5 times the height of the other warriors. This got me thinking about the giants that David and his men faced off against. Unlike the make-believe action figures of the television movie David and his men faced the real Giants and they did not play for New York or San Francisco.

We are going to read just some small snippets of the bravery of David and his men. When we go over these verses I encourage you sometime later just to think about what these men accomplished.

What follows is based on 2 Samuel 11.1; 12.26, 30-31. It was a consequence of Ammon’s insult to David and the battles that followed. Now was the time to finally make Ammon pay for its insult. Rabbah was taken, along with other cities, and they were deliberately desolated and rendered nonhabitual.

20 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And Joab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it.

The return of the year was the period after the rains when men were relatively free from the requirements of the land, and when the roads were most suitable for travel. It was thus the time of the year when kings ‘go out’ (on looting expeditions or to battle). This is deliberately set in contrast with the fact that David did not ‘go out’. He ‘stayed at Jerusalem’ and sent Joab, together with his commanders and officers (his servants) and all Israel instead.

The prophet Ezekiel warned us all about the danger of just taking it easy and being idle in chapter 16 of his book, “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. We know what happened to David because he stayed back and was not out with his brothers – He fell into adultery.