2 SAMUEL 8 - GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISES
2 Samuel 8
In 2 Samuel 8 we see God bringing to past all that he has promised David. Namely he is establishing the House of David. David has been through a great deal prior to becoming King. But God having fulfilled that promise, is now going to make the name of David great by defeating the enemies of David and Israel.
But 2 Samuel 8 begins with these 5 extremely important words: “In the course of time”. Many times we get tired of waiting for God to fulfil his promises and will seek to take matters into our own hands. In those circumstances disaster always ensues (read about Abraham and Hagar; Rebecca and Jacob or David’s predecessor Saul). Standing on the promises of God and allowing God to fulfil them, in the course of time, is an act of faith. 2 Samuel 8 is a wonderful reminder of God’s faithfulness. What God has said, God will do.
God has promised to establish the house of David and we see God at work as David experiences victory after victory. David defeated the Edomites, the Moabites, the Ammonites the Philistines, and the Amalekites. All nations that had troubled Israel and been problematic during the reign of Saul.
The comparison between Saul and David is apt. Both were little known, chosen by God in his grace, and raised to great prominence. Both saw God’s promises fulfilled in their lives. And yet the two men chose very different paths. Having been raised up by God, Saul’s reign would end in disaster (He and His son’s killed by the enemy); while David would go on to be the greatest King of Israel, and in whose lineage would come the Messiah.
We read about the roots of Saul’s disaster, by his own mouth, in 1 Samuel 15 v. 24
Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice….”
And we see the roots of David’s success in chapters 7 and 8 of 2 Samuel. As God has increased David’s stature, David’s heart is to build a temple unto the Lord and to lift the name of Yahweh. In chapter 8, even after being told not to build the temple, we learn that as he is defeating the surrounding nations:
“King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued…”
It should be no surprise that God will not bless our selfish ambitions when we seek to fulfil them in opposition to his word and authority. As Jesus made clear, seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness and all else will be added to you.
Or as King David, himself, would pen in Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.