Key Verse Spotlight
1 Chronicles 20:4 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" After this, war arose at Gezer with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, of the sons of the giant; and they were subdued. "
1 Chronicles 20:4
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
2 David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. It was set on David’s head, and he brought very much plunder out of the city.
3 He brought out the people who were in it, and had them cut with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. David did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
4 After this, war arose at Gezer with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, of the sons of the giant; and they were subdued.
5 Again there was war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
6 There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant.
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The Philistines were almost fully subdued (1 Chronicles 18:1). But, just as Joshua’s conquest of Canaan ended with the sons of Anak, the giant clans, being overcome last (Joshua 11:21), so the final part of the victory over the Philistines came when the giants of Gath were brought down. In the struggle between God’s grace and human sin, some sins act like these giants. They hold their ground for a long time and are not conquered without much effort and a long fight. Yet judgment will finally lead to victory.
Notice a few things here. We never read of giants among the Israelites, as we do among the Philistines, the giants of Gath, not giants of Jerusalem. God’s people are meant to grow in usefulness, not in size. Those who want to add cubits to their height do not think about how that would only make them harder to manage. In God’s sight, David counts for far more than Goliath.
David’s servants, though ordinary men in size, were more than a match for the giants of Gath in every fight, because God was on their side. He delights to bring down proud looks and to humble the giants in the earth, just as he once did in the flood, even though those men were famous. So the friends of the church should never be discouraged by the power or pride of the church’s enemies. We do not need to fear great men when the great God is for us. What can an extra finger or toe do against all-powerful God?
These giants had mocked Israel (1 Chronicles 20:7), and that arrogance brought judgment on them. Those who insult God and his people are the ones most clearly marked for ruin. God will do great things before he lets the enemy act proudly (Deuteronomy 32:27). The victories of David’s Son, the Messiah, like David’s own victories, come step by step. We do not yet see everything put under him, but we soon will. Even death, the last enemy, like these giants, will be defeated in the end.
From This Chapter
1 Chronicles 20:1
"At the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, Joab led out the army and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Joab struck Rabbah, and overthrew it."
1 Chronicles 20:2
"David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. It was set on David’s head, and he brought very much plunder out of the city."
1 Chronicles 20:3
"He brought out the people who were in it, and had them cut with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. David did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
1 Chronicles 20:5
"Again there was war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam."
1 Chronicles 20:6
"There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant."
1 Chronicles 20:7
"When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him."
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