The siege of Rabbah was last mentioned in 2 Samuel 11:25. Here we learn that David and Joab were successful in their campaign. Remember, this war started when the new Ammonite king humiliated David's ambassadors. The climax of the war was the defeat of the Ammonite capital and David's coronation as the Ammonite king. After this another war broke out with the Philistines, but David was also successful in defeated these people. The reference to giants deals with the Rephaim mentioned in Genesis 14:5. These were a race of very large humans.
So, why is this here? It shows a chronicling of the political history of Israel. War is not new. There will always be people that seek to take by force other's wealth and power. Were these ancient times more violent than our own? I don't think so. In America we are pretty sheltered from the violence of a fallen world; however, the United States military is fighting or helping in 74 civil conflicts according to this source: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/05/u-s-currently-fighting-74-different-wars-that-it-publicly-admits.html There are 24 countries in Africa, 15 countries in Asia, 8 countries in Europe, 8 countries in the Middle East, 5 countries in the Americas involved in some sort of conflict. http://www.warsintheworld.com/?page=static1258254223
War is everywhere. So how do we not lose hope? We believe in a God that offers us something better than this fallen world. As I've been reading the Bible and blogging over the last year or so, I've come to realize that a lot of the issues we deal with boil down to choice. In a world of free will (free choice) there are people who will choose themselves over the greater good every time. Maybe I should restate that, "We will all choose ourselves over the greater good some of the time." These choices lead to conflicts both great and small. Selfishness, greed, and pride hurt others. So, why doesn't God stop it? Because He gave us free will. He allows us to choose. If He stops one choice, there is no longer free will. We are no longer in a relationship with God, but a forced servant-hood. However, God isn't removed from our troubles. He gave us a conscience, He gave us the Holy Spirit, He gave us His Word. He gave us love,joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control, even through the storm.
David relied on God and he was successful in life. Did he sometimes make poor choices and have consequences to deal with? Absolutely. However, David continued to learn from his mistakes. He continued to repent and to draw near to the Lord. The relationship made him successful. You can be successful too. Simply draw near to God and line up your choices with His Word.
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