And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
The list gives the chief men of David's government, with Joab the son of Zeruiah placed over the army as its commander and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud serving as recorder, the officer charged with keeping the royal records. This naming of officers stands within the record of David's victories and the firm establishing of his kingdom. It belongs to the moment when God had given David rest from all his surrounding enemies, closing Israel's long unsettled years and journeyings. In that rest David reflected on the contrast between his own dwelling in a house of cedar and the ark of God still dwelling within curtains. Out of that contrast grew his desire to build a permanent house for the ark.
The list gives the chief men of David's government, with Joab the son of Zeruiah placed over the army as its commander and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud serving as recorder, the officer charged with keeping the royal records. This naming of officers stands within the record of David's victories and the firm establishing of his kingdom. It belongs to the moment when God had given David rest from all his surrounding enemies, closing Israel's long unsettled years and journeyings. In that rest David reflected on the contrast between his own dwelling in a house of cedar and the ark of God still dwelling within curtains. Out of that contrast grew his desire to build a permanent house for the ark.