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Context No. 1544 of 4322 · 1 Chronicles

Context · Reflection

1 Chronicles 18:9-17: in context

9When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him (for Hadadezer had wars with Tou); and he had with him all kinds of vessels of gold and silver and bronze. 11King David also dedicated these to the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations: from Edom, from Moab, from the children of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek. 12Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah struck eighteen thousand of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13He put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. 14David reigned over all Israel; and he executed justice and righteousness for all his people. 15Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was scribe; 17and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief officials serving the king.

This passage parallels the account of David's victories, telling how the king of Hamath sent gifts after David defeated their common enemy, how David dedicated all the plunder to the LORD, and how the LORD gave him victory wherever he went. And then it gives the summary of his reign and lists his officials: David reigned over all Israel, and he executed justice and righteousness for all his people, with Joab over the army, Jehoshaphat as recorder, Zadok and Abimelech as priests, and others in their appointed roles.

The phrase to hold from the summary of David's reign is a small but weighty one: he executed justice and righteousness for all his people. The mark of David's rule, the thing the chronicler chooses to name, is not the extent of his conquests or the wealth of his tribute but the justice he did, and specifically justice for all his people. Not justice for the influential, the connected, the favored, but for all; the king's power was used to secure right and fair dealing for everyone under his rule, the ordinary and the unconnected included. That little word all is the heart of it. It is easy for justice, in any society, to be available to the influential and the well-connected while the poor and the ordinary are left without it; a ruler can do justice for some, for those who matter, while neglecting the rest. David's mark, at his best, was justice for all his people, impartial, extended to everyone, not reserved for the important. There is a standard in that for anyone with power over others, whether a ruler, a leader, an employer, or a parent. The right use of power is to secure justice and fair dealing for all those under our care, not to favor the few who can benefit us while neglecting the rest. David reigned over all Israel and did justice for all Israel; the power was turned to the good of everyone, not the privilege of some. Justice for all his people: that is the mark of a good use of power.

Where I have power or influence over others, do I use it to secure justice and fair dealing for all those under my care, the ordinary and the unconnected included, or do I favor the few who can benefit me, when the mark of David's rule was justice for all his people?

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