Theological Commentary: Click Here
Today’s
chapter is largely about the victorious conquests of David. There are several important things to note
today. None of them, however, are more
important than the note that we have about David dedicating the spoils of his
victory to the Lord. I find this note to
be exemplary. It was the Lord who
prospered David; it should be the Lord who gets the credit. The Lord’s name should be praised highly for
the progress that David makes.
As subthemes
to that overarching theme, I have a few other points to ponder. First, let’s look at the fact that God
continues to prosper David in war. It
would be easy to take a chapter like 2 Samuel 7 and turn it into a chapter
about how God must hate war because He wouldn’t let David build the
temple. To make such a point, however,
is simply narrow in focus. To make sure
a point ignores the theme of this chapter.
If God hated war, why on earth would he prosper David in war? I don’t mean to say that God is a violent
God, either. The reality is that God
understands something that we don’t. The
eternal status of the soul is far more significant than the fleshly life. War or no war, everybody dies. God’s focus is on the eternal. It is wrong to say that God hates all war
just as much as it is wrong to say that God loves war. God is focused on the eternal. War is a thing that humans bring onto
themselves. God will work through our
bloodthirst to bring about His righteousness.
Second, notice
that David starts to put garrisons in the surrounding nations. In other words, David begins to dominate the
region. David places garrisons in the
other nations for two main reasons.
These garrisons will ultimately ensure the peace. They will be able to watch over the conquered
land and deal with any rebellions before they get too great. The other reason is that the garrisons will help
ensure that tribute is paid back to David.
David uses these garrisons as a means to help keep the flow of resources
coming into his own people.
In all of this,
God is with David. God prospers David. God takes David and through his military
prowess brings the land under a single power: His people.
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