After their initial defeat at the hands of David, the Philistines regathered themselves to attack him, again.
When David inquired of the LORD, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines." (2Sa 5:23-24)
Doesn’t this give the impression that the LORD is the one who strikes down the enemies? If that be so, why should David have taken the trouble of leading an army around to the rear of the enemy at all?
David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer. (2Sa 5:25)
Read the above sentence a few more times. Who is the subject of this sentence? David. Who struck down the Philistines? David. Did the LORD do anything other than suggesting a strategic move he should make?
Even after his initial victory over the Philistines, David had this to say:
"The LORD has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood" (2Sa 5:20),
though the LORD didn’t say anything about His going before David and striking down the latter’s enemies.
God fearing men of yore attributed their victories to their God and those who read those ancient texts in a slipshod manner will certainly arrive at wrong conclusions.
If you compare this passage (2Sa 5:17-25) with the parallel narrative in 1Ch 14:8-16, you may notice that the latter narrative uses “God”, instead of “the LORD”, confirming what I have been saying all along: God (Elohim) is a post-exilic term.
In Christ,
Tomsan Kattackal
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