204 BATTLES OF THE BIBLE.

ought to honour the Lord with our substance, and that
the more there is given to us the more will be required
of us.

The next war in which we hear of the Israelites
being engaged was a war with the Ammonites and
Syrians, and this was the reason of its being commenc-
ed: Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, died,
and Hanun, his son, succeeded him. David and Nahash
had been friends and allies, so, out of respect to the
memory of the father, David sent ambassadors to con-
dole with the son, and to express his desire for the same
friendly connection between the two countries. The
irritable Ammonites did not take this embassy in good
part; they looked on these ambassadors as spies, and
treated them very shamefully. Then, afraid that the
powerful king of Israel would revenge this insult to their
ruin, they hired Syrian soldiers to protect them. They
got one thousand from one place, twelve thousand from
another, and twenty thousand from a third. It was ne-
cessary for the Israelites to bestir themselves, to prevent
these foreign mercenaries from coming in to lay waste
their lands. Joab led the army into the country of
Ammon. There he found the enemy prepared to engage,
so he lost no time in arranging his forces, and taking up
his position. The Ammonites were ranged near the
gate of their city ; the Syrian kings, with their thirty-two
thousand chariots, were at some distance off in the field.
The army of Israel then must be divided to encounter
two enemies at once. Joab chose for himself the most