1Ch 4:38-43 | TNotes

4:39 ^a Gerar: The actual territory is not certain, since Gedor (as in Hebrew) is a common name; the Greek variant Gerar would refer to a city in Philistia, to the west of Judah (Gen 10:19 ^b).
4:41 ^c completely destroyed: See thematic note for Complete Destruction at end of chapter.

Thematic note: Complete Destruction
God instructed Saul to “completely destroy” the Amalekites, who had ambushed the Israelites after the Exodus (see Exod 17:8-16 ^d; Deut 25:17-19 ^e). The Hebrew word kharam (“completely destroy”) often means dedicating something or someone completely to the Lord, either by destroying it (1 Sam 15:3 ^f; Josh 6:17-18 ^g) or by giving it as an offering (see Lev 27:28-29 ^h; Josh 6:19 ⁱ).
Complete destruction was called for in cases where those to be destroyed had committed a severe offense against God, such as worshiping false gods (Deut 7:1-6 ^j; 13:12-18 ^k). In 1 Samuel 15:3 ^l, complete destruction is prescribed as God’s judgment on a nation that mistreated his chosen people. Those who curse God’s family are, in turn, cursed (Gen 12:3 ^m).
God still judges the godless and impenitent. But in the new covenant, Christians are not called to be agents of such judgment. God calls us to exercise his mercy toward those who wrong us (see Luke 9:51-56 ⁿ). We must completely destroy whatever within ourselves wars against Christ (Rom 8:12-13 ^o; Col 3:5 ^p). And we must overcome the enemies of Christ by our faith, by the Good News, and by our love (Eph 6:10-20 ^q; 1 Jn 2:9-17 ^r). God will mete out judgment according to his justice and in his time (Rom 12:19 ^s; 2 Thes 1:6-10 ^t).

Passages for Further Study
Exod 22:20 ^u; Lev 27:28-29 ^v; Num 21:2-3 ^w; Deut 7:1-6 ^x, 26 ^y; 13:12-18 ^z; Josh 6:17-19 ^aa; 7:11-26 ^ab; 1 Sam 15:3 ^ac; 1 Kgs 20:42 ^ad; Isa 43:26-28 ^ae