In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins. – 1 Chronicles 20:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 29, 2019): 1 Chronicles 20

The Normandy Landings, on Tuesday, June 6, 1944, during World War II, was the largest seaborne invasion in history. And they were almost the landings that didn’t happen. The problem was the weather. Initially, the Normandy Landings had been scheduled for the Monday, June 5. But a storm in the Atlantic made that plan impossible. But Allied meteorologists believed that the weather would settle enough to make the invasion possible on Tuesday. The weather did improve slightly, enough that General Eisenhower thought that the Allies could get the attack in before the door closed. If the invasion could not go forward on June 6, it would be another two weeks before they would get another chance, and by then, the Germans might have learned of the Allied plans.  

The German meteorologists did not have access to stations in the Atlantic, and therefore their projections were less accurate. They believed that the storm in the Atlantic was going to last a couple of weeks. As a result, the German’s allowed military personnel to attend to other duties, weakening their position at the landings sight. The result was obviously in favor of the Allied Landings. The reality is that had the weather been different, the outcome could have been significantly altered.

The Chronicler starts this portion of the story with the words, “in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war.” In the ancient world, war was not fought during the winter because the rains and cold weather made travel and fighting more difficult. But in the spring, a time when the weather generally improved, and if there were conflicts that needed to be fought, the kings would then go to war.

Of course, in this case, David did not leave Jerusalem. He should have accompanied his general, Joab. But he did not. Even in the battle that Israel fought against the Ammonites and the Arameans, the final blow did not come until David got involved in the fight. David was the authority behind which the army went to war.

What is revealing here is what the Chronicler does not choose to enter into his story. He says nothing about David and Bathsheba. Evidently, the story of David and Bathsheba was so well known, and maybe because the story was so painful, that recording the details of David’s failings were unnecessary. All that was needed was the words, “in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war” to invoke the details of the story of David and Bathsheba.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11