Day 126: David's Victories

2 Samuel 8:1-17 David continued with victories over the Philistines, the Moabites, and other enemies of Israel, winning every battle because of his faithfulness to God; his success caused others, including Toi, the King of Hamath, to seek a treaty with Israel. David appointed several men to high positions in his administration, thus continuing to build a powerful kingdom.

Ch 8:15 Justice and equity: These are marks of a good king. It is the moral responsibility of civil authority to act justly and always seek the interest of the common good. (CCC 1836, 1905-1912, 2419)

1 Chronicles 10:1-14 This passage almost replicates an earlier narrative (cf. 1 Sam 31:1-13), but it includes two significant differences. This account mentions that Saul’s entire household died with him, which implies that it was God’s will that Saul’s line would end; it also adds an explanatory statement that describes Saul’s death as divine judgement for his unfaithfulness.

Ch 11:1 In Chapters 11 and 12, “all of Israel” is shown to be united in support of David as king. There is no mention of the separation between the tribes recorded in 2 Samuel.

Psalm 60 In the historical literature of the Old Testament, God’s support and protection of Israel depended largely upon his people’s fidelity to him. When they were faithful to the covenant and sought his direction and aid, they were always victorious in battle; on the other hand, their infidelity and rebellion resulted in terrible losses. This psalm tells of one such loss to an inferior Gentile army, a defeat that was clearly understood as a punishment from God.

You have set up a banner: Although God allowed the defeat, he also opened the door to forgiveness and repentance for those who “fear him.” (are in awe of him, not afraid of him I was always confused by this term)

(CCC 312, 2084)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• The fast-paced summary of the victories of David in 2 Samuel 8 and 10 recalls Balam’s prophecy, which foretold the rise of an Israelite king who would conquer Moab, Edom, and Amalek (Nm 24:17-20).

• These accounts also confirm that the Davidic kingdom is steadily taking root in the land God had promised to Abraham’s descendants.

(*Walking With God: A Journey Through The Bible by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins)

• Awesome

• This is such a gift

• 2 Samuel Ch 8 we have David’s conquering the nations around Israel

• Remember, under King Saul there is a LOOSE CONFEDERATION of the Twelve Tribes of Israel

• Now, David is uniting the tribes and establishing a KINGDOM

• David is defeating all the nations around them

• That is how David is establishing himself as a KING and Israel as a KINGDOM

• That is MASSIVELY IMPORTANT

• Remember yesterday we learned the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings are written somewhat close to the events that are depicted

• Chronicles is written AFTER THE FACT, FAR INTO THE FUTURE, after the Babylonian Exile, most likely by Ezra the Scribe

• So in Chronicles Ch 10-11 is the story we heard before, the death of King Saul and the defeat of his sons

• We also see in Ch 11 the anointing of David as King of Israel, which we heard at the beginning of 2 Samuel

• Now KEEP THIS IN MIND

• It is not REPEATING THE SAME STORY OVER 

• It might be repeating some of the same events

• But if you pay close attention to the reason and motivation why Ezra the Scribe is recapping what happened

• You will see that it is because he is proposing to the people a VISION FOR A FUTURE

• Ezra is writing about the past so that they can have a clear sense of “Ok God is present with us now. And He can build up. He can establish. He is leading us to the  place where we are going to have a KING. Where we are going to have TEMPLE WORSHIP.”

• Ezra is a “vision caster” and he is casting this vision by REMINDING THE PEOPLE WHERE THEY CAME FROM, their PEDIGREE

• He is also reminding them that David did not do this on his own

• David had his “merry men” 

• Later on we will read about Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite

• We will read about the Mighty Three

• One of the mighty men of the armies is Uriah the Hittite

• He is here and we are going to find out more about him in the days to come

• Uriah the Hittite was married to a woman named Bathsheba

• In 1 Chronicles, Uriah the Hittite was named as one of the MIGHTY MEN OF KING DAVID

• In 2 Samuel, we will find out that Uriah was the husband of the woman that David committed adultery with

• David ultimately arranged death of Uriah the Hittite, one of his mighty men

• WHOA FR. MIKE NO SPOILER ALERT WARNING??? 🤓

• So we see these lines crossing

• We see these paths as they unfold in our story

• As we follow the story, keep in mind, EVERYTHING that is happening in The Bible is NOT JUST ARBITRARY

• It is NOT INCIDENTAL

• It is FOR OUR DIRECTION

• It is FOR OUR EDUCATION

• It is FOR A VISION FOR THE FUTURE and HOW TO LIVE RIGHT NOW

• That’s what we’re doing right now, right?

• We are receiving a VISION FOR THE FUTURE as well as HOW TO LIVE RIGHT NOW

• Keep trucking along and give God praise

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and we do know that with you we can do valiantly. Without you we can do nothing. If we remain in you then all things are possible. If we remain in you then we can bear fruit, fruit that will last. And yet if we remove ourselves from you, if we remove ourselves from your presence and from your power and from your help and from your holiness, then there is nothing that we can do. We can bear no fruit and we can make no difference in our lives. So we need you, God, not only for our existence, but also for perseverance. We need you not only for fruitfulness but also for faithfulness. So please, Lord God, help us to be faithful and fruitful. Help us to persevere and to be yours forever. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”