From the Philistines David turned against the other petty enemies who
had so often taken advantage of the weakness of the Hebrews. Already,
while a vassal of the Philistines, he had thoroughly punished the
Amalekites, in the deserts of the south; and now he gave the Ammonites
and Moabites and other enemies on the east a taste of Hebrew warfare.
Before many years passed they had all learned their lesson, and there
was peace in Canaan.


PROGRESS IN CIVILIZATION

During all those years when the Hebrews were fighting for existence
life in their little villages and towns had been anything but
pleasant. Not only was there constant danger from human enemies and
from famine, there was also a lack of the comforts and pleasures of
civilized life. There were no books to read, no musical instruments
to play on, and few opportunities for any kind of recreation. They had
only coarse, rough clothing to wear, and coarse, ugly furniture for
their homes.

=The development of commerce.=--Now that peace and security had been
achieved, David did much to make the daily lives of all his people
happier. One way was through commerce. The great merchants of those
days were the Phoenicians, the people of Tyre and Sidon, whose daring
sailors steered their ships into every harbor on the Mediterranean Sea
and even out upon the stormy Atlantic and up to the tin mines of
Britain.

Very wisely David made a treaty of friendship with Hiram, king of