2 Samuel 8:1-8 - With the Lord's help, victory is assured

In our journey with God, victory is promised. But we need to know that while victory is promised, there are responsibilities expected of us. We need to fulfill our part so that we can make God’s promises a personal reality. This is what we can see from David’s aggression against the enemies of Israel. God had promised to make him a great name and to grant Israel rest as a nation. But to ensure that, David and Israel need to partner with God and do their part. They need to take action to possess the promises and make it a reality. In much the same way, many promises God had made to us can be found in the Bible. But we must first identify those promises and then actively do what we need in collaboration with God to make them a personal reality.

In 2 Samuel 8:1-8, we see David playing his part to defeat and subdue three major enemies of Israel, namely the  Philistines, Moabites, and the Arameans or Syrians. Verse 1 describes how David defeated the Philistines and even took control of the chief city. In so doing the immediate resurgence of the Philistines was curtailed. How do we apply this spiritually speaking? There is a necessity to identify the vulnerable areas in our life and then with the help of God, seek to put them under control.

Verse 2 tells us what he did to the Moabites. After capturing them David had them laid on the ground and measured them. Two third of them were killed and one third was spared as a benevolent act. The Moabites were quite a menace to Israel in the days of their journey into the promised land. Remember Balak? He was one of the leaders of Moab who engaged Balaam to bring a curse on Israel. Thankfully, God foiled Balaam’s attempts. However, Balaam’s prophecy in Numbers 24:7 said that “A scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab….” David is the scepter that God had raised to crush the Moabites. Those he spared became Israel’s servants and continued to pay tribute to him.

Verses 3-8 describe how David dealt with the Syrians.  He defeated Hadadezer and captured 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot-soldiers. He also ordered that the horses he had taken from them be hamstrung leaving enough for 100 chariots. What he did had severely weakened the Syrians. When those from Damascus attempted to come to the rescue of Hadadezer, David also defeated them. He killed 22,000 Arameans. He subjugated the Arameans and stationed his garrison among them. The Arameans became David’s servants and brought tribute to him. He also seized the gold shields that Hadadezer’s men used and took them to Jerusalem. David also took a large quantity of bronze from the Arameans. The key to David’s success is found in this phrase in verse 6 that says, “And the Lord helped David wherever he went.” Victory is assured when we have the Lord’s help. Be sure to have the Lord alongside us in our spiritual battles. With God, a hundred battles, a hundred victories!