Chapter 8 deals primarily with the military victories of David during his years as king.
"In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute." (2 Samuel 8:1-2) Metheg Ammah is apparently the same city as Gath according to 1 Chronicles 18:1. David's treatment of the Moabites is shocking. His great-grandmother Ruth was a Moabite. Because of this relationship, David sent his parents to live under the protection of the king of Moab when Saul was seeking him to take his life. Why he would have defeated them and thinned out their numbers as described in verse 2 is not known. Some scholars speculate that after he sent his parents to Moab with the intention of keeping them safe from Saul, they were mistreated or even killed by the Moabites. But the Bible doesn't say and the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 18 doesn't mention the part about David measuring the people off and killing many of them. There must have been some compelling reason for David's actions since the Bible speaks no words of reproach against him; instead of criticism we find the author of 2 Samuel telling us later in our text that the Lord gave David victory wherever he went. I cannot imagine the Lord blessing him in this way if David's war against the Moabites was unjustified.
"Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses." (2 Samuel 8:3-4) Zobah was a kingdom of Syria. Verse 3 might be more properly rendered as saying Hadadezer went to "strengthen his control" over the area by the Euphrates River. David gained control of the area instead and hamstrung all but a hundred of Hadadezer's horses, not for the purpose of comitting animal cruelty but so the horses could not be used in battle until they had healed. I did some background research on the practice of hamstringing horses and learned that it was done to temporarily disable an army but that with proper care the horses would recover. The hundred horses David didn't hamstring were, I assume, kept by him because they were the most excellent specimens of the bunch.
"When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought him tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went." (2 Samuel 8:5-6) David takes objects of valuable metals as the spoils of war. "David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. From Tebah and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze." (2 Samuel 8:5-8)
The king of Hamath is pleased about David's victory over Hadadezer and is quick to extend the hand of friendship to the king of Israel. "When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze." (2 Samuel 8:9-10) You may have heard the expression, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." David defeated Tou's enemy, Hadadezer, and Tou wants to be on good terms with David. He sends him expensive items of silver, gold, and bronze as a gesture of thanks and goodwill. I don't think he sent only a few of these items. I think a whole caravan came with Tou's son Joram to Jerusalem, loaded down with gifts for David.
"King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah." (2 Samuel 8:11) It is thought that all the items of silver, gold, and bronze taken from enemies or given to him as gifts are placed in storage to be used for the future temple. A few days ago the Lord told David he would not be the man to build a temple but that one of his successors would. David doesn't yet know the exact identity of the builder of the temple (he likely assumed his eldest son would ascend to the throne and do the work) but he is putting aside the funds in an account, so to speak, to be used only for the purpose of this future building project.
"And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people." (2 Samuel 8:13-15) The Israelites possessed more of the promised land during David's years as king than they did at any other time.
Our chapter concludes with a list of David's top officials. "Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army;" (2 Samuel 8:16a) This is David's top general, the eldest son of his sister Zeruiah. We will be hearing a lot more about him as time goes on. "Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;" (2 Samuel 8:16b) Ahilud was the chronicler during David's administration.
"Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests;" (2 Samuel 8:17a) Zadok and Ahimelek are serving as co-high priests at this time.
"Seraiah was secretary;" (2 Samuel 17b) "Benaiah son of Jehoida was over the Kerethites and Pelethites;" (2 Samuel 18a) We will find out more about this brave man Benaiah later in the book.
"And David's sons were priests." (2 Samuel 18b) This is not the best translation of the original text as it would have been unlawful for the sons of David, a Judahite, to serve as priests. 1 Chronicles 18:17 renders this verse as, "David's sons were chief officials at the king's side." The word translated in verse 18 as "priests" is the Hebrew "kohen" which can mean priest but it can also be used to refer to someone who officiates over something or to one who plays a major supporting role. At its root the word means "column", as in support pillars. So I believe what the author is saying is not that David's sons (who aren't Levites) acted as priests but that they were top officials second only to David. They were the royal princes of Israel and as such they were pillars of David's government. They could handle affairs of state and receive important visitors on David's behalf if he were not present. Not only was it natural for David to put his sons in such high positions, it was imperative that he do so, for his successor must thoroughly learn the business of running a kingdom. The brothers of the successor must thoroughly learn about running a kingdom so they can be of valuable help to him when he ascends to the throne.
Tomorrow we'll find David treating someone else as a royal prince of Israel. He will show kindness to the memory of a man who was very kind to him. The son of his late friend Jonathan will become a member of David's household.
No comments:
Post a Comment