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II Samuel 8-9; I Chronicles 18     Listen Podcast

 

 

 

David...what a warrior! (II Samuel 8; I Chronicles 18)

II Samuel 8
I Chronicles 18
1 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.
4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.
5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,
10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
11 Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;
12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.
14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.
16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;
18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.
1 Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3 And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish his dominion by the river Euphrates.
4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots.
5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
6 Then David put garrisons in Syriadamascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought gifts. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 Likewise from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
9 Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah;
10 He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
11 Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
12 Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.
13 And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
14 So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people.
15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder.
16 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe;
17 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

Getting a promise from God like David did (Genesis 15:18 (see notes) as part of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Israel's Promised Land Map

David has finally acquired control of all the land that God had promised Abraham in Genesis 15:18.

Here we see that David defeats and subjugates the Philistines: "...David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines." That phrase means he took control of their mother (capital) city. Then David defeats and subdues the Moabites. That's interesting inasmuch as David's great grandmother (Ruth) was born and raised in Moab before she left home with Naomi for Israel. Moreover, we see in II Samuel 8:2 that some fascinating method of measuring by David was implemented with the Moabite prisoners of war to determine which two-thirds of them would be executed, leaving the remaining one third as servants of Israel.

Perhaps these Moabite prisoner executions were excessive. When David is denied permission to build the Temple, he is told in II Samuel 10:6, see notes).

It's no wonder King Toi brought offerings to David - better to be David's friend than his enemy. David had just conquered everything around him, and after the defeat of the Edomites, his name was known everywhere. I think we can assume that David's border with Egypt probably extended to the Nile River, thus fulfilling (see notes), "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:" It would appear that this was David's goal.

David was definitely on a roll, and I Chronicles 18:13 tells us why, "Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went." Then take special notice of I Chronicles 18:14, "So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people." David was a just king, and "the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went" (verse 13). His regime was not one of oppression or cruelty. His became the Old Testament model for reigning.

The office of high priest was shared by Abiathar and Zadok (II Samuel 8:17; I Chronicles 18:16) during David's reign. (I Samuel 2, see notes), was not a descendant of Phinehas.

Later on after David's reign, while Abiathar (a descendant of Eli) and his ancestors had enjoyed the office of high priest, he was deposed by Solomon because he took part in the attempt to raise Adonijah to the throne instead of Solomon (Numbers 25:13 (see notes); it just took a few hundred years. Zadok's line became the exclusive line for the high priests. As a matter of fact, it is believed by many that the name "Sadducees" has "Zadok" as its root. In Jesus' day, the Sadducees exclusively filled the office of high priest.

David looks for a way to make it up to Jonathan (II Samuel 9)

1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.
4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

Before his death, Jonathan was heir apparent to King Saul's throne. One problem though - God had discontinued the line of kings from Saul (II Samuel 4:1-12, see notes). Typically, a king would do everything possible to exterminate the descendants of previous kings in order to prevent their ascension to the throne at a later time. David, however, honors his friendship with Saul's son, Jonathan. He gives him servants and promises to take care of him for the rest of his life. Saul's former servant, Ziba, strikes it rich here along with his entire household. They get the pleasure of serving Mephibosheth, compliments of David. So, David has subdued his enemies, built a nice house in Jerusalem and extended kindness to Saul's descendant; he's on a roll.

Incidentally, this man Ziba facilitates this Mephibosheth/David connection and subsequently gets a very nice job of taking care of Mephibosheth on behalf of King David. However, Ziba later deals treacherously with Mephibosheth - even lies about him (II Samuel 16:1-4, see notes). Sometimes it's simply hard to get good help.