The Lord's Victories

Reflections on 2 Samuel 8:3-12

The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
-- 2 Samuel 8:6, 14

When a person is successful, he often takes credit for it assuming that there is something about himself that makes him superior to anyone else. Consequently, this successful person thinks that the spoils are rightfully his. He thinks that no one else deserves them. In contrast to this, David never forgot that his success was really the work of God. Consequently, he did not keep the spoils of war for himself, but dedicated them to the Lord.

GOD'S PROMISE. After Hadadezer king of Zobah lost two battles while trying to give support to the Ammonites, some of the kingdoms who had been his vassals or allies gave their support to David. Other kingdoms subject to him decided to throw off his fetters and be independent. Hadadezer was compelled to try to reestablish his control over these kingdoms along the Euphrates River. David did not want Hadadezer to reestablish his power and decided to attack Zobah, about 60 miles north of Damascus. God gave David victory over the Arameans of Zobah and over the Arameans of Damascus when they tried to come to Hadadezer's rescue. Consequently, David put garrisons in Damascus, and all the Arameans became subject to David and sent him tribute. In this way, David extended Israel's control to the Euphrates River in accordance with God's promise (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23:31; etc.).

GOD'S PLUNDER. Moses had forbidden Israel's kings to accumulate gold and silver (Deuteronomy 17:17), so David dedicated the plunder, tribute, and gifts to God rather than amassing greater and greater wealth for himself. David recognized God's superiority over idols and expressed his gratitude to God for giving Israel victory. He wanted this immense wealth (more than 3,000 tons of gold and 30,000 tons of silver according to 1 Chronicles 22:14) to be used to build a temple for God. He proved superior to his son Solomon, who used the tribute brought to him to increase his personal wealth (1 Kings 10:14-23). Unlike Solomon, David never wavered in his faith and gratitude to God. Nevertheless, it is sobering to observe that even while he was dedicating these resources for a temple for God in Jerusalem, David committed adultery and plotted the death of Uriah. As David later recognized, God was not nearly as pleased with the gifts and sacrifices that David brought as He would have been with a humble heart and obedient life (Psalm 51:16-17).