”David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates. David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots. When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went. And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. Also from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.“ II Samuel 8:3-8 NKJV
a. As he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates: The king of Zobah (a Syrian kingdom) ran into David on his way to capture territory near the Euphrates. David’s dominance extended all the way to the Euphrates River.
i. “The border of Israel was carried to the line of the Euphrates, so that promise made by God to Abraham was fulfilled: ‘Unto thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.’” (Meyer)
ii. “Then there was Syria, the great heathen nation to the north, divided into two groups with capitals at Zobah and Damascus. They united together for protection but found themselves helpless against the might of David.” (Redpath)
b. David hamstrung all the chariot horses: This was military necessity instead of mere animal cruelty. David could not care for so many horses while on a military campaign and he could not give them back to the enemy.
c. He spared enough of them for one hundred chariots: That David kept such a small number shows remarkable self-control and trust in God. David obeyed the principle of Deuteronomy 17:15-16 and absolutely refused to trust in horses as military weapons. His trust was in God instead (Psalm 20:7 and 33:16-17).
d. David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer: David took what was the glory of the enemy and transformed them into trophies of the power and goodness of God. Those shields of gold were set in the temple and testified to God’s work in and through David.
i. God loves to take people and things that are “trophies” for the devil and make them trophies to His power and grace. (Guzik)
Trophies!
We all have trophies in our lives but the question arises, are “trophies” for the devil or are they trophies to His power and grace?
Yesterday during our weekly bible study instead of doing a study everyone discussed what they went through during the record ice storm to survive and what we did to help others in need.
You could say we used our trophies to His power and grace.
”If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.“ James 2:15-17 NKJV
Does our faith have works?
Blessings
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