1 Chronicles 22:18

1Ch 22:18 [Is] not the LORD your God with you? and hath he [not] given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.

Ver. 18. Is not the Lord your God with you?] This is his συμπερασμα παροξυντικον, his conclusion full of incitation; as being framed and uttered verbis vivis, animatis sententiis, et spiritus fervoribus flagrantissimis, in most lively terms and affectionate expressions.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch 22:18. The land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people — It is brought under the command of God, and of you his people, all the enemies of God and of Israel, in it or near it, being now perfectly subdued.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The nations round about.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 18. Is not the Lord your God with you?] "Is not the WORD of the Lord your God your assistant?" - T.

Hath he not given you rest on every side?] David at this time was not only king of Judea, but had also subdued most of the surrounding nations.

Thus Solomon came to the Jewish throne with every possible advantage. Had he made a proper use of his state and of his talents, he would have been the greatest as well as the wisest of sovereigns. But alas! how soon did this pure gold become dim! He began with an unlawful matrimonial connection; this led him to a commerce that was positively forbidden by the law of God: he then multiplied his matrimonial connections with heathen women; they turned his heart away from God, and the once wise and holy Solomon died a fool and an idolater.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) Is not the Lord your God with you?—The proof appears in what follows.

And hath he not?—Rather, and he hath given you rest (1Ch_22:9).

He hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand.—The surrounding people, whose reduction is described in 1 Chronicles 18-20 (Comp. for the phrase, Jos_2:24.)

And the land is subdued before the Lord . . .—The chronicler, or his authority, thinks of passages like Num_32:22; Num_32:29, and Jos_18:1.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17–19. David’s Charge to the Princes

18. the inhabitants of the land] Cp. 1Ch_11:4, the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land. The remnant of the earlier inhabitants of Canaan is meant.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God,.... His honour and glory, most sincerely and cordially, and to the utmost of their power:

arise ye, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God; assist therein, and encourage the work as much as they were able, without delay:

to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord; which was now in a tent of David's erecting and pitching:

and the holy vessels of God: which were in the tabernacle at Gibeon: into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord: that so they might be together, and made use of; which in times past had been separated, and much neglected.

Next: 1 Chronicles Chapter 23

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Saying is not expressed in Hebrew, "Is not the Lord," &c. --- And hath. Hebrew, "for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand," or power. (Haydock) --- Almost all the neighbouring nations were subjected to David. (Calmet)--- The Lord, who assisted his people, and filled the enemy with terror. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Either,

1. It is brought under the command of God and of you his people, all the enemies of God and of Israel, in it or near it, being now perfectly subdued. Or,

2. It is really subdued, whereof both God and your own eyes are witnesses.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The whole of this verse should have been suggestive of memories thrilling with interest. What David says here is equivalent to the declaration of the perfect fulfilment of the promises of nine hundred years ago. By faith of those very promises how many generations had lived! What journeyings, suspense, punishment, and struggle, the intervening centuries had witnessed! And now at last it is given to the lip of the aged David to pronounce the termination of a nation"s prolonged conflict, its entrance into peace, and the fulfilment of the most impassioned wishes, imaginings, end prayers of the patriarchs, of Moses, and of a long line of the faithful. It was well for David that he could not foresee and did not know how near the culminating of a nation"s glory and prosperity might be to its woeful fall and prolonged decay. The analogy that obtains in this respect between the history of an individual and of a nation is as remarkable as it should be instructive and turned to the uses of warning.

Best on every side.

David had a word of encouragement, not only for his son, but for the princes of the kingdom. Solomon would need their aid in achieving his great undertaking. The king pointed out to them that the peace and prosperity established by Divine Providence were an indication of his will that, relieved from foreign anxieties, they should devote themselves to the service of Jehovah at home, in their own land, their own capital. "Hath be not given you rest on every side?

I OBSERVE THE NATURE OF THE REST HERE SPOKEN OF. It is not rest from labour; that, except for temporary relaxation, is, for the most part, not desirable in this world, where so much has to be done for God and for man. It was rest from their enemies, rest from war, rest from hindrances, disturbances, harassments; from the aboriginal inhabitants of the land, and from the heathen tribes and nations around. It is a blessing for any nation to be at peace.

II CONSIDER THE MEANS BY WHICH THIS REST WAS SECURED. The reign of David had been, on the whole, one of strife and warfare. Such a condition of things was not desirable on its own account, for its own sake. The end of effort, counsel, even war itself, is the rest of peace.

III CONSIDER THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH SUCH REST IS INTENDED. Not for sloth, luxury, and self-indulgence; but in order that the work of God may go forward unhindered, and with growing and conspicuous prosperity. It was a noble use to which the peaceful reign of Solomon was put the erection of the temple unto the Lord. And whenever God in his providence grants a nation rest on every side, it is a probation of national faithfulness, to see whether the precious opportunity will be used aright for the development of national resources, for the advancement of education and social well-being, and for the furtherance of genuine and practical religion. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God,.... His honour and glory, most sincerely and cordially, and to the utmost of their power:

arise ye, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God; assist therein, and encourage the work as much as they were able, without delay:

to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord; which was now in a tent of David's erecting and pitching:

and the holy vessels of God: which were in the tabernacle at Gibeon: into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord: that so they might be together, and made use of; which in times past had been separated, and much neglected.

Next: 1 Chronicles Chapter 23

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)