Bible Commentaries
Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1 Chronicles 19
1 Chronicles 19:7. Thirty and two thousand chariots. In 2 Samuel 10:6., it is said they brought into the field from Zobah twenty thousand infantry, and from Maachah twelve thousand hired for a thousand talents of silver. Hence the passage should read: “They hired thirty two thousand men who fought in chariots.”
1 Chronicles 19:18. David slew seven thousand—and forty thousand. Mercenary soldiers will never fight heartily for those that hire them. They get thrown into disorder, and their panic is such that they cannot be rallied. See on 2 Samuel 10.
REFLECTIONS.
The old proverb is here realized: He whom God destroys is first mad. The Ammonites received the reward of their wickedness, and at a time when they were full of self-confidence, and mocked at punishment.
We may here remark that an injudicious and brutal sovereign, surrounded with courtiers like himself, may easily involve his people in the greatest ruin. What prudence, what integrity, and what divine aids are requisite to sway the sceptre.
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