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, those working for The Lord, 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?
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