DAVID ENLARGES THE TERRITORY OF ISRAEL

PROCLAMATION

“And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them; and David took Metheg-Ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.”  2 Samuel 8:1 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  In the course of time after The Lord God made His covenant with David, he went out and subdued the Philistines and took back control of Metheg-Ammah. (2 Samuel 8:1)  Then David defeated the Moabites, killing two thirds of them and making slaves of the rest of them.  David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, and captured a thousand of his chariots and twenty thousand of his foot soldiers. (2 Samuel 8:2-4)  When the Arameans came to help the king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them and put the rest of them in garrisons and used them as slaves. (2 Samuel 8:5-8)  Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer and he sent his son Joram to greet and congratulate David and brought him articles of gold, silver, and bronze.  All of these gifts and the plunder from his victories was dedicated to The Lord. (2 Samuel 8:9-12)  David also defeated the eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and he put garrisons throughout Edom and made them his slaves. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. (2 Samuel 8:13-14)  The remainder of the chapter listed the names and titles of the officials who served with King David. (2 Samuel 8:15-18)

 

APPLICATION

The Lord God was with King David and he expanded the borders of Israel to the northeast (into Syria), the southeast (into Moab), and the south (into Philistine).  The Mediterranean Sea was the western border.  The Lord God can enlarge our territory today and expand our sphere of influence.  If we are doing His will and pursuing kingdom building efforts, He can increase the effectiveness of our soul winning activities and increase the reach of our efforts to spread His Holy Word.  The Bible says the harvest, the world of lost souls, is truly great, but the laborers are few. (Matthew 9:37 and Luke 10:2)  If we are willing to work for Him, He can use us.  Each of us has a God-given gift, talent, or ability, the question is: are we using it to glorify God?