2 Samuel 8:1-14 – Success Because of God’s Promises
What we see in this chapter is a king who is on the up. This is a king who is rising in power. The key word in the chapter is the word ‘defeated’.
v1: David defeated the Philistines
v2: And he defeated Moab
V3: David also defeated Hadadezer
V5: David struck down – which is the same word in Hebrew – David struck down, or defeated, 22,000 men of the Syrians.
V13: ‘And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites’. Again, it’s the same word.
The word is also used in verses 9 and 10 to tell us that Toi, king of Hamath, had heard reports of David striking down these other nations. The way David’s victories are reported is to give us a sense of him capturing every corner of the map. He defeats the Philistines in the West, the Moabites in the East, Aram in the North and Edom in the South.
But why was David so successful? Was it just chance? Was it because his army was better equipped or his generals were better strategists? The last part of v14 is clear about where David’s success comes from: ‘And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went’. David was successful because the LORD’s hand was on him. We see the same thing in the first verse of the previous chapter: ‘Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies’. And again in chapter 22v1: ‘And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies’. David was victorious because the LORD was with him.
Neither was God’s presence with David something temporary that might be here one minute and gone the next. God was present with David because he had promised to be. Back in v9 of the previous chapter, God had promised: ‘I will make for you a great name’. David’s victories in this chapter are because God was with him, and God was with him because he had promised to be.
Question
- Why was David successful?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that we have an even greater king than David.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.