[0:00] Take your Bibles, go with me to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 8, 2 Samuel chapter 8. Won't take very long in the Word tonight because I do know we have a business meeting we need to get to and we'll get to that part.
[0:13] So as a respecter of your time, we'll try to go there. 2 Samuel chapter 8, we'll look at the chapter in its entirety because it is not a very long chapter. It's only 18 verses.
[0:24] But hopefully we come to an understanding of exactly what's going on. Kind of a transitional chapter, the 8th and 9th chapter kind of transitional. David's on the throne.
[0:36] He's established as king over all of Israel. He is, if you just remember in the 7th chapter, you have the Davidic covenant. He had a desire. He brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.
[0:48] He wanted to build a temple for the Lord. Talked to Nathan about that. The prophet Nathan comes back and tells him the Word of God. The Word of God says that you're not going to build the temple. But it says, you think you're going to build a house for me?
[1:00] I'm going to build a house for you. And God gives this grand covenant with David. This Davidic covenant which we still look to the ultimate fulfillment of today. It narrows the focus of what we're looking in as the Messiah.
[1:14] It kind of broadens the reality of all that the Messiah is going to do. But it's one of those grand covenants in Scripture. You have the Edemic covenant or the covenant made with Adam and Eve in the garden.
[1:27] You have the Abrahamic covenant. You have the Davidic covenant. All those wonderful things that just line up pointing to one great person coming. And then we get to the 8th chapter. And we find out after these promises are made to David, right, God has said, you're not going to build a house for me.
[1:43] So it's not like David shifts focus. He just begins to operate where he's at because God has established a rule and a place and a kingdom there. And he is God's man for that day.
[1:54] It says, now after this, in the 8th chapter, verse 1. Now after this, it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. And David took control of their chief city from the land of the Philistines.
[2:06] He defeated Moab and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. And he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
[2:17] Then David defeated Hadadezar, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, and he went to restore his rule at the river. David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers.
[2:32] And David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezar, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 Arameans.
[2:44] Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus. And the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.
[2:55] David took the shields of gold, which were carried by the servants from Hadadezar, and brought them to Jerusalem. From Betha and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezar, king David took a very large amount of bronze.
[3:08] Now when Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezar, Toi sent Joram, his son, to king David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezar and defeated him.
[3:20] For Hadadezar had been at war with Toi, and Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. King David also dedicated these to the Lord with the silver and the gold he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued, from Aram and Moab and the sons of Ammon and the Philistines and Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezar, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
[3:42] So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David.
[3:56] And the Lord helped David wherever he went. So David reigned over all Israel, and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. Joab, the son of Zariah, was over the army, and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahelod, was recorder.
[4:10] Zadak, the son of Ahitab, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests, and Zariah was secretary. Benaniah, the son of Joadiah, was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were chief ministers.
[4:24] Some say they're an in-priest. The same word is used for, like, David would not have made his son priest, just kind of a side note so we understand this, because they're the wrong lineage.
[4:35] So they were kind of like foreign ministers. They were chief ministers. It was a political court, not a religious court. All right, here we see 2 Samuel chapter 8. This passage is just really details kind of not in depth, but in broad range.
[4:50] It's kind of an overall picture of David's victories in battle. Chronicles gives us a little bit more detail to a lot of these battles. First Chronicles, we see some of them being played out. But probably as we continue to read through 2 Samuel, we need to understand that just because the author has it here doesn't mean they happened right here, right now.
[5:10] Old Testament in particular is not always concerned with making sure things are in consecutive order. So it could be that the author is writing here and showing us all these things that took place over the next several years of David's reign and what happened and how he established peace and ruled upon the land of Israel.
[5:30] But really our ambition is to kind of see the application that it has to us and why it's here for us in Scripture. And we see, very quickly, we won't take a long time to look at it tonight because I really believe there's just some very good points, some great truth and some great application for us here.
[5:44] Here we see kingdom expansion. Kingdom expansion, right? God had called David to be the king of his people. God had anointed him. He had appointed him.
[5:56] And over a span of over a decade, David had waited. And now God has fulfilled this anointing and this appointing. And David indeed is king over the people of Israel.
[6:07] After becoming king of the people of Israel, David defeats the enemies that comes into the land of Israel. David establishes a really awesome place of the seat of the government in Jerusalem that has this play throughout the rest of Scripture.
[6:25] He had taken this well-fortified area. I'm so sorry, but that window back there, that glare is pretty awesome right now. So if anybody could close that blind, I would really appreciate it.
[6:36] It's this time of year when the sun moves from this door to that window. And when your pastor is one of those squirrel guys and I get hung on something, I just keep looking at that window blinding myself so everybody has white dots on their forehead.
[6:47] Thank you, my brother. That looks a whole lot better. Now let's get back on track. So David now is king of the Lamb. He has established his rule at a really peaceful location because if you remember, Jerusalem is on the border of Judah and Benjamin.
[7:00] So it's a middle ground. It's right there between the two places it rained. He is God's man at God's time, at the right place, at the right time to do things. He wants to establish the rule of his kingdom upon worship of God.
[7:15] So he brings in the Ark of the Covenant. He desires to build this temple. God tells him, no, I'm going to build a house for you. You don't have to build a house for me. I'll build your house. And it says, now after this.
[7:26] Now here you go. Here we have the intentional leading of the author, right? The men of God, moved by the Spirit of God to write the Word of God. And this is why I think it's important because we just read of the Davidic covenant and it says, now after this.
[7:38] That is after that desire and that ambition, when David was at peace and he had this desire to build this house for God that would have consumed a number of his years, a number of time, it would have consumed his energies.
[7:51] And God says, no, that's not what I want you to do. That's not what I'm calling you to do. He says, now after this, we have this chapter recorded for us of the kingdom expansion. That he presses forward because God had called his people.
[8:03] Now, we're not just looking at this historically and politically. We're looking at this as God's plans and purposes, right? We'll understand it in just a minute. That David expands the kingdom further than any other king ever does.
[8:17] And there's a purpose behind it. But there's some things I want you to see about this kingdom expansion because when we think about it, in our mentality, you say, what's the application to us? Well, we belong to the kingdom of God, right? We will rule and reign with him one day.
[8:30] We have been anointed. We are appointed. We will sit with him upon the thrones. We see that all throughout the New Testament. We see in the book of Revelation in particular. Our kingdom is a kingdom that will expand and grow.
[8:41] And we are to be about kingdom business. Right? We are. So the principles that David puts into practice when he's doing this politically and socially are the same principles we can put into practice today as followers of Jesus Christ.
[8:54] The first thing is, is we see a movement of faith. A movement of faith. Chapter 8, 2 Samuel. Mark it, is the very first offensive battles David ever fights.
[9:07] Prior to this time, David has defeated the enemies which have invaded the land of Israel. He has been on the defensive. Prior to this, David has protected what Israel already occupies.
[9:22] Pay attention to that. He has been in a defensive mindset of protecting what they already occupy. The 8th chapter is a transition because now David is not just protecting the kingdom as it is.
[9:39] He is expanding the kingdom by going on the offensive. If we were to trace the nations which David defeat in this 8th chapter, we will see that he defeats nations to the north, to the east, to the south, and to the west.
[9:53] Every direction, literally, on the map, he is expanding the kingdom. Now, before we get too upset at David because you say, well, here he is just swinging the sword like the crusaders and going out and just killing a bunch of people.
[10:07] Every enemy which David defeats, every enemy which he offensively goes at is an enemy that's already had judgment passed by the Lord God upon them. Every one of these were enemies that God had declared judgment upon and already decreed that his people would be his judgmental hand of chastisement and rebuke to them.
[10:29] The sons of Moab, for instance, remember the sons of Moab, right? They are actually the descendants of Abraham through Lot, but remember, they were originally told to leave the sons of Moab alone. Later on, when they are in the valley of Moab and they call the prophet over to bring a curse upon them and he doesn't bring a curse, he brings a blessing instead.
[10:47] Remember that? Balaam comes and does all these things and then they tempt them with the Moabite women. Now, David is a descendant from the tribe of Moab. God pronounced judgment upon them because we have Ruth, the book of Ruth, right?
[10:59] She was a Moabitess. But anyway, so David now serving as an instrument of God's judgmental hand, pronounces that judgment, declares that judgment and we'll get to in just a little bit here in a minute how he spares even in that judgment and defeats Moab.
[11:14] The Philistines, the Amalekites, every one of these are people that God has already decried judgment against. And you say, well, what right does God have to do that? Well, number one, he is God and number two, they have been walking in sin, they've been walking in rebellion and they've been doing hideous things.
[11:29] We read this and we say, oh, the poor innocent Philistines. Well, that's just like saying anybody that you run into contact with, God has no right to judge. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None is righteous, no, not one.
[11:41] Right? God had just declared that judgment would come then. So David goes on the offensive. Now, this is important because the reason it's important, prior to this, David had been protecting what they already occupied.
[11:56] Now, he is claiming what God has already promised. It's a big difference. They have been protecting what they already occupied, but when David goes on the offensive and he moves forward in faith, because God said, I will establish your kingdom, I will establish your name, I will make you a great dynasty, a lasting dynasty, he moves forward in faith and begins to claim what God has already promised.
[12:24] Because you see the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 15, verse 18, declares that the nation of Israel would occupy the land from the river Egypt to the river Euphrates.
[12:37] They don't occupy but a small portion of that when they go into the land of Canaan. As a matter of fact, they've never occupied everything God has promised. Never. We won't see that, many people believe we won't see that until the millennial reign of Christ.
[12:51] Never have they fully occupied everything God has promised, but David goes into all that land that God has promised, begins to defeat the enemy that's there and begins to establish garrisons throughout that land.
[13:04] Why? Because God had declared his people would inhabit that land. These are the enemies he's supposed to fight so he goes from protecting what they already possess to moving forward in faith and claiming what God has already promised.
[13:18] The application is so clear. So many believers are content with where they already are. They just want to protect what they have. instead of moving forward in what God has declared. We get so wrapped up in trying to protect ourselves from the enemies attacked where we're already at that we don't want to push ourselves to go beyond into the things God has already promised.
[13:39] Now this isn't name it and claim it theology. This is just reality that God has called us to walk in faithfulness with him. He has called us to obey him. He's called us to trust him and he's called us to step out on faith, right?
[13:51] To move forward in faith. Are there enemies in the land? Absolutely. In every direction there is opposition. But David went forward in faith in every direction because he knew God had entered into a covenant with him.
[14:06] And we see a movement of faith which led to great kingdom expansion. The kingdom will never again be this size. Solomon will reign over it.
[14:17] He will make allegiances, not militaristically, but, well, through marriage. He'll make allegiances which will expand its ties, but he won't go militaristically into these lands like his father did and then it divides up, breaks up, and gets smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller.
[14:32] Because the moment we quit moving forward in faith, we inevitably begin to move back in doubt. Paul says, I'm not yet what I should be, but I press on to that which I will be.
[14:47] Continue to move forward in faith. Number two, not only is there a movement of faith, there is a measure of accountability because kingdom expansion brings with it personal temptation.
[14:58] As the kingdom grew, there's the temptation which, by the way, will be the downfall of the nation. There was the temptation for self-promotion. So David sees the Lord with him.
[15:11] He is going throughout these battles and he's defeating these enemies. And as we read this passage, we see measures of accountability which David put into place. The first one is striking because his son definitely does not do it.
[15:26] Solomon does the exact opposite. The first one is when he captures the chariots and the chariot horses and it says that he hamstrung every chariot horse except for 100 of them.
[15:37] You say, well, that seems kind of strange to hamstring a horse was to make it useless for battle, but it could be useful maybe for agricultural purposes or pulling a cart or something of that nature. He didn't put the horse down.
[15:48] It just rendered it useless for battle. And the reason we have to believe that David did this and we have to say it this way so that he did not further violate the Deuteronomy 17 principle. We cannot say so that he would not violate the Deuteronomy 17 principle because we know Deuteronomy 17 says the king of my people shall not have multiple wives.
[16:06] Wait a minute. David's already done that. That causes trouble later. But it also says that he should not hoard horses and he should not hoard wealth. Right? He should not accumulate horses especially from Egypt. Solomon does that.
[16:17] He goes into Egypt. He gets a bunch of horses. He starts building cities that have stalls in it just for his multiple horses and he starts trusting in his horses and this is why. The measure is David says I don't want them. I just want 100 of them. That's fine.
[16:28] Why? Because multiple horses causes you to rely on your abilities more than your Lord God. So he put this measure of accountability that he would not set up something that would cause him to rely on the proudness in battle rather than the one who was over the battle.
[16:47] Not only did he hold himself accountable there it also says that every spoil from the battle he dedicated to the Lord. All the shields that he captured all the gold shields all the bronze all the silver even that which Toei sent to his son Joram who brought all these articles and he says he also dedicated these to the Lord God.
[17:06] Again Deuteronomy 17 says that the king of my people should not multiply his wealth. God was using David not only to provide for the construction of the temple which Solomon would use everything that David laid up in store but also as a safeguard against the reality that he should not just continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger because these measures here ensure that David's dependency is upon the Lord not upon his possessions.
[17:34] We see a measure of restraint even in David because when he goes into Moab it says he stretches out the line. Bible scholars go back and forth. The reality is he spared one third of the Moabite men.
[17:49] He measured out the line. The text says that he caused them to lay down on the ground and he measured out two lines and then a third line these two he slaughtered these he spared. Some think that he maybe had a string and he did it while they were standing up and he slew the taller ones and allowed the shorter ones to live.
[18:07] Either way we see a measure of restraint. You say well this doesn't seem like much restraint. Well it is in reality that the Moabites were a judged people. God had decried that they should be annihilated because of their sinfulness with the people of Israel.
[18:23] So we see these measures of accountability. Why? Because as kingdom expansion occurs personal temptation increases. And if we're not careful as we push forward in faith and God continues to open things up and God continues to move things and God continues to walk with us as the testimony in the scripture is and the Lord was with him and God blesses us and favors us as you continue to move forward then the temptation for personal gratification begins to increase.
[18:55] And if we don't have these measures of accountability in place then we will begin to look more to ourself than to the Lord who is walking with us. Number three we're making our way quickly because we need to get to the business.
[19:07] You see a movement of faith a measure of accountability and finally a means of government. A means of government. We read that this kingdom expands and it tells us here in the 15th verse so David reigned over all Israel and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.
[19:22] A time of peace a time of security. It's not a time of no war that comes later that's part of the Davidic covenant is that there will be a time of peace but David's not doing there but here you see the nation is stable for the first time since coming into the promised land and for the first time since Joshua right we went through the book of Judges we went through the reign of Saul we went through all those times right this turmoil this chaos but now there's justice and righteousness and there's security right the kingdom is no longer we're not in preservation mode right now we're in expansion mode right God is using this man to reign but as soon as he announces that David is reigning over all this and there's justice and administration and righteousness then he begins to list people he begins to list the people that God put in place one thing you know it's about David David's a man after God's own heart but if you notice that everywhere you read of David you also read of the people David has around him right you read of the soldiers who were gathered with him in the cave you read of David's mighty men you always read of the people around David and here's the same way he's reigning over all of Israel he's administering righteousness and justice and there's faithfulness for once the right man at the right time but the author of God's word will not let us assume that David's doing it alone because he reminds us of who David put in place and we're not going to take the time to go through each one of these but what you need to understand and you can read of them in scripture he had the right people in the right place at the right time you say well what about Joab
[20:56] Joab is the man who murdered this guy in public right Joab is the commander of the army this is a military okay they're moving forward we're not here to play the place of God and say well he shouldn't have done that and he should have been gone and all this other stuff he is a warrior and he is leading them forward in battle some of these men that we read that are with David when David goes to defeat one of the Goliath's brothers and he fails in defeating that brother then these men come beside him and they rescue David and that's when they tell David hey you're too old to be out here fighting the battle let us fight the battle right because everybody needs somebody beside them to remind them this isn't yours and so they go back and they win the battle they fight the battle we see all these people right he has the right people at the right place at the right time he has Joab who is there the son of Zeriah who is over the army Jehoshaphat the son of Ahelod who was the recorder Zadok the son of Ahitab and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests and Zeriah was secretary Benaniah the son of Joadiah was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites and then David's sons were chief ministers or kind of like foreign ministers and they're here and all these people he's got all these people in the right place at the right time because it reminds us everybody needs somebody no matter who you are no matter where you are no matter how much
[22:14] God's anointed and appointed you and called you nobody stands on their own God has created mankind more than any other creature to be a creature of fellowship of dependency upon others we've been seeing that in the New Testament we've been seeing it through the book of 1 Corinthians we saw it at retreat last year in the book of Ephesians chapter 4 we will see it even further this year in the book of Colossians chapter 2 this rooted in Christ but you're rooted together in Christ right you're rooted with one another the scripture is rampant with this reality find me an individual in scripture who stands alone and I'll find you an individual in scripture who will soon fall Samson comes to mind really quick he's a really mighty guy we don't read of anybody fighting with Samson right Samson's always slaying everybody by himself Samson is a strong guy he's a mighty guy he's called by God he's taking a jawbone of a donkey he's ripping down gates he's always fighting by himself always fighting by himself but he didn't have anybody around him to say you know what
[23:20] Delilah ain't too good for you Samson you know after about six times maybe you don't need to listen to Delilah don't lay your head in her lap with a pair of scissors you understand nobody stands alone because if you do you fall David set up a means of government in that he put people around him when we press forward in the kingdom and we're doing and let's bring this application to us because we are a part of the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of God and when the kingdom begins to expand and God is using us I didn't say if I said when God is using us to reach and to minister and to do these things it is a matter of putting people into place it's not a matter of just putting somebody out there by themselves whoever that is because there has to be a means to keep it going and that means it's people that's who God uses people and we see this in kingdom expansion there's a movement of faith there's a measure of accountability there's a means of government and God is using David but he's also using all those people he's got around him because David's the one who's called to be there but God has also given David a mind and everywhere we read of David you know the time when David gets in trouble when he's by himself you know the second time
[24:37] David gets in trouble is when he doesn't listen to Joab and he wants to count to people and Joab says oh don't do that don't do that and he does it anyway when he acted independently that's when he got in trouble but the right means the proper means is God had interconnected all these people to do it the right way and we see kingdom expansion found in 2 Samuel chapter 8 thank you my brother so Thank you.
[26:16] Thank you.
[26:46] Thank you.
[27:16] Thank you.