seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Samuel 5:17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim. 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
Here's the link to the commentary I use.David inquired of the LORD: As David sought God and looked to Him for guidance, he was blessed. God honored David’s dependence on Him and gave him the promise of victory.
The LORD has broken through my enemies before me: At the battle of Baal Perazim, David defeated the Philistines with an overwhelming force, like a breakthrough of water.
They left their images there, and David and his men carried them away: The Philistines brought their idols to the battle, thinking they would help defeat the Israelites. Because David inquired of God and obeyed God, they carried away the Philistine idols.
The LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines: At the battle of Rephaim David waited for the LORD to strike the camp of the enemy first. The sign of the LORD’s work was the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees.
First of all, look at verse 20 please. It says the Philistines [Palestinians] were defeated "like a breakthrough of water". That would be .... like a dam break. Ironic that the book should use that term when just yesterday we read that David invaded Jerusalem through the water system. But in this case, it means they were run over like a flash flood or a dam break took them out. It's not a flood or a dam... It's a way to define the scene after the battle.One of the stories I remember from high school was about the Civil War. The women and children brought picnic baskets to watch the battles. They thought the war would be over in a day or two. The soldiers didn't "flank" or "bring up the rear" back then. A lot of the men in charge of troops didn't have military training... They just survived a battle so they were given a promotion. When the battle began, and the order to "charge" was given, they would go right up the gut.... That's how they fought.
God designed the battle plan and David followed it.
These verses reminded me of those battles. Only God drew out a battle plan for David. God created a distraction and made the Philistines [Palestinians] think there were more troops by making noise in the tree tops. That scared the fire out of the Philistines [Palestinians]. They must have thought the whole Israeli army was going to burst out of the forest at them.
The Philistines [Palestinians] dropped everything [including their idols] and ran.
It says David's men "carried them away". That gave me real heartburn when I read it. Did the soldiers keep the idols or did they dispose of them?
If they disposed of the idols, the story would be closed. They trusted God and God saved them so they disposed of the idols the Philistines [Palestinians] left behind.
If they held on to a few of those idols, we'll probably read about it soon. Someone will pull out a rabbit's foot or a toad's leg and a battle will be lost. I'll have to look for that.
God rattled the mulberry trees and the Philistines [Palestinians] took off, leaving their lucky charms behind them.
They dropped their lucky charms and ran!
