David’s Military Conquest
In
chapter 18 we hear about David’s conquests.
The first thing that we can hear is his success. The great enemy of the Hebrew people was the
Philistines. They are at the top of the
list. David subdues them.
Then we
hear that David subdued the Moabites.
Remember that the Moabites had been long-adversaries to the Hebrew
people, but they didn’t quite have the negative relationship with the Hebrew
people as did the Philistines. Add to
this the fact that David had Moabite blood coursing through his veins as Ruth
(married to Boaz, for whom the book of the Bible is named) was a Moabite and
was David’s great-grandmother.
Literally, David subdues a people to whom he is distant kin.
What can
we learn from this? The lesson is not
very deep, but we can still learn. God
is in control. God is in control of new
threats and old enemies alike. When we
are obedient to God and genuine in our relationship with Him we can expect God
to walk with us through life. While we
might not be able to expect to be made a prosperous king above all others –
after all, we can’t all be a king, right? – we can be confident that God will
walk through life with us. He will remember
those who oppose us. He will be
victorious over them.
We also
get to hear about David’s victories over the Arameans. David seems to have an easy time subduing the
Aramean threat. God was gracious to
David. David won many battles. Through the military victories, God brought
peace to the land of the Hebrew people.
When God is the center, peace among those who are following God is a
reality.
Then we
have this really neat story of Tou, King of Hammoth. (Tou is called Toi in 2 Samuel). Tou sees David’s success. Tou also knows that David has just beaten an
opponent to which Tou was equally matched.
What does this mean? If David
could beat Hadadezer’s army then David could likely best Tou. So Tou does the smart thing and sues for
peace. Tou sends a gift through his own
son. This is a dangerous move, because
if David wanted war he could have killed Tou’s own son. However, David is an honorable politician and
he honors Tou’s request.
What can
we learn here? When God is with us and
we are successful in Him, the world eventually becomes less interested in
taking us on. The world is not
dumb. They’ll pick us off while we’re
weak and vulnerable. But when we are
strong and God is securely by our side, the world tends to leave us alone and
unchallenged. In fact, the world often
sues us for peace so that we’ll leave them alone!
David’s Administration
We close
this chapter with a seemingly insignificant account of David’s administrative practices. We hear about David’s chief officials and
their position. We hear a bit about
their connection to David. We even hear
that there is a bit of nepotism in David’s administration as he appoints his
own sons to be leaders in certain areas.
That
being said, don’t miss the epitaph that the chronicler gives us with respect to
the administration. We are told that
David administered justice and equity.
After all the military victories, the chronicler makes sure to tell us
about David’s policy of rule.
There is
a reason that this epitaph is significant.
Remember walking through all those Minor Prophets? What were the two major complaints? God complained about the people and their
idolatry. God also told the people that
they were unjust and abusing the poor, the orphan, and those who are unable to
defend themselves.
The
chronicler is making a very subtle point as he speaks about administrative
policies of the kings. In the golden age
of Hebrew culture, justice could be counted on by all people. Everyone was looked upon equally. This doesn’t mean that the government cared
for all the needs of the poor. Rather,
what it meant was that the poor and the orphan and the widow had the same
chance at justice as the rich and the renowned.
You didn’t have to be rich or powerful or well known in order to know
that life would be fair. If this
post-exilic culture of the chronicler is going to thrive, then it would be
necessary for them to likewise focus of justice and equity. Justice and equity are the true cornerstones
of a godly society.
This
should be a natural side effect among people who know God. As God-fearers, we should desire to value the
other person. We should desire to see
others through the eyes of God. We
should desire to strive for fairness, justice, and equity. After all, that is how God sees each of us.
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