Victorious God

David Victory

Christianity Oasis provides this Victorious God and David Victory Bible study on the King David Bible Story. We'll look into that and all aspects of the Bible seeking truth and understanding.


Daily Bread Devotional Bible Study
The Second Book of Samuel
Chapter 8
(Parallel Chapter - 1 Chronicles, Chapter 18)


Victorious God and David Victory

King David Bible Story

Welcome to our Christianity Oasis Daily Bread study program. This is our Victorious God and David Victory Bible study taking a look into the King David Bible Story and how the thought provoking Victorious God and David Victory message affects your be-YOU-tiful Christian walk.

Victorious God and David Victory Truth
King David Bible Story Events

Happy to be here with you to share the next part of king David's history together. In our last chapter, the Lord told David, through Nathan the Prophet, that his descendants would reign forever after him and that his son would build the Lord's temple.

Though David wanted to build the temple himself, he was overjoyed at the honor that God had bestowed on him ... His son would build a house for the Lord and the Lord would build David's house (family). Now let's see what happened next in David's life ...

David defeated the Philistines once again and their city of Methegammah now belonged to Israel. He then attacked Moab, and when he had killed two thirds of them, he made the remaining third his servants and they brought David gifts.

I can tell that some of you are hungry for a little Daily Bread Crumb right about now. This is a Bread Crumb we've had before, but it's been a while. The "gifts" that are spoken of oft times in the Bible, which were given to kings, were actually not pretty packages with fancy bows and surprises inside, or anything of that nature, but were actually taxes that were imposed on people that they were required to pay.

Victorious God and David Victory Study
King David Bible Story Saga

Hmmmmm, taxes are gifts? Friends, that's a can o' worms that Daily Bread just doesn't wanna open, if ya know what I mean. At either rate, these gifts were also known as tribute. Let me also take this time to remind all of our Daily Bread Heads out there that Daily Bread is supposed to be a supplement to your Bible reading.

It's to help you learn how to understand the language of the Bible because when the King James Version was written back in the 1600s, they had many different phrases that we don't use today, as you know. So be sure to read the selection in your Bible as well as your Daily Bread supplement, and you can compare the two.

This will teach you to be able to pick up your Bible in the future and be able to understand what most of the peculiar language means, having familiarized yourself with it from your Daily Bread supplements.

Now ... Back to the story David also attacked Hadadezer, king of Zobah as he went to restore his control at the border of the Euphrates River. David took 1000 chariots from him, 700 horsemen (1 Chronicles 18:4 says 7,000 horsemen), and 20,000 soldiers there. He cut the leg muscles of all the chariot horses, except for 100.

Mighty and Victorious God and David Victory
King David Bible Story Concern

Why, you may wonder, didn't he keep all? Wouldn't they come in handy in battle and isn't it better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them? That sounds practical ... But remember, there's no logic in faith. David placed his faith in the Lord, and the Lord's commandment concerning the king of Israel was:

Deuteronomy 17:15-16

15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

You may also remember in a story from the Book of Joshua, Chapter 11, that this area of Israel had several kings of that particular area, with countless chariots and chariot horses that gathered together against Israel, but with the hand of the Lord, Israel was victorious over them in a battle that any logical person would have positively predicted to be a massacre upon Israel.

Now, why was it that David had to go there in the first place? Well, Zobah was an area about 200 miles north/northeast of Jerusalem, also known as Aram-Zobah. The Euphrates was another 150 or so miles further north of that. Hadadezer, the king of Zobah was the son of Rehob, and back in the days of the conquest of Canaan:

Judges 1:31-32

31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

Victorious God and David Victory Discussion
King David Bible Story Message

Remember, God promised in the last chapter that He would keep Israel safe from their enemies. Since David learned that his son would be building the temple of the Lord, he did everything he could to assist in assuring that it would be a time of peace, so his son could commit all of his attention to such an important project rather than have to concern himself with the threat of any kind of unrest in the land.

So God helped David defeat these cities that were enemies of Israel. In Genesis 15:18, God made a promise to Abraham that Israel would be given the land from the river of Egypt all the way to the great Euphrates River, and as always, we see God stand by His promises. Israel would have enjoyed every bit of this land without all the war they endured, had they only driven out ALL of the enemies from the start, as God commanded, but remember, because they didn't, God told them that they would forever be as a thorn in the side (pain in the neck).

Another thing to always keep in mind, in our own lives, is that a promise is a promise, and God has made promises to us, but those promises can be rendered void if we make choices (this is known as free will) that oppose God.

It's a lot easier to understand the fairness of this when you're the promise maker rather than the promise receiver. Ponder on that sometimes, especially when you face a time in your life that requires a virtuous decision. Ok then, back to the story.

Victorious God and David Victory Questions
King David Bible Story Answers

When the Syrians of Damascus came to rescue Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. Then David put garrisons (army bases) in Syria and the Syrians became servants to David and brought him gifts (paid taxes). The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. He took the gold shields that belonged to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them back to Jerusalem. He also brought back a lot of brass from the cities of Hadadezer's region.

About 60 miles north of Zobah was a region called Hamath, whose king was named Toi. When Toi heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's men, he sent his son Joram to congratulate David and bless him because of his victory. Toi and Hadadezer were previously enemies of one another.

So Joram brought David silver, gold, and brass and David dedicated it to the Lord along with all the silver and gold he acquired from Zobah, and the other nations that he defeated during that period of time which were Syria, Moab, Ammon, Philistine, and Amalek.

Uh oh, we're coming up on another one of those parts that has discrepancies when compared to other verses of the Bible, so let's take a look at all of them and you may decide for yourself what to conclude.

Victorious God and David Victory Facts
God's Chosen King David Bible Story

2 Samuel 8:13

And David gat him a name [earned respect] when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.

Psalms 60:1

To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.

1 Chronicles 18:12

Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.

Victorious God and David Victory Hope
King David Bible Story Promise

Obviously this was three different accounts of the same event, written by three different authors. You must admit however, no matter how you slice it, Joab got robbed, only getting credit for twelve thousand!

The valley of salt, as one would imagine, was at the south end of the Salt Sea, also known as the Dead Sea, about 4 or 5 miles west/northwest of Zoar.

You know, sometimes we miss the reality of the wars in the Bible because we know that usually the hand of the Lord was with His people and when that was the case, they won. But that doesn't mean it was all peaches and cream. Take a good slow read of Psalm 60, and through David's words, you can get a better feeling of the actual reality that those men faced each time they went into battle.

Now, here comes a really cool thing. You're about to see prophecy fulfilled here, because as a result of this victory, David put garrisons throughout all of Edom and they became his servants. The Lord delivered this prophecy to Rebekah before Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) were even born, and Isaac told this prophecy to both Jacob and Esau before he died.

Victorious God and David Victory Research
King David Bible Story Actions

Genesis 25:21-23

21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Genesis 27:29

Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Genesis 27:37

And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

David reigned over all of Israel and was righteous to all of his kingdom. These were his VIPs:

  • Joab - commander of the army
  • Jehoshaphat - recorder (historian)
  • Zadok and Ahimelech - priests
  • Seraiah - scribe (secretary)
  • Benaiah - over the Cherethites and the Pelethites
  • David's sons - chief rulers (princes or principal officers)

Victorious God and David Victory Summary
King David Bible Story Conclusion

Got a little Daily Bread Crumb for ya! Who are these Cherethites and Pelethites? You'll hear about these guys several times throughout David's reign. Not to be mistaken for the Cherethites mentioned in 1 Samuel 30:14 or Zephaniah 2:5, these guys were also in the "right hand man" category of David's VIPs. According to Strong's Concordance, the Cherethites were life guardsmen or what we today would call body guards. The Pelethites were couriers or official messengers of the king.

We sure are learning a lot! Can't wait to share more Daily Bread with you next time as we continue our study of The Second Book of Samuel ... Until then, God bless!

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