Hear the word of God:
Some time afterward, David attacked the Philistines and subdued them; David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
He also defeated the Moabites and, making them lie down on the ground, measured them off with a cord; he measured two lengths of cord for those who were to be put to death, and one length for those who were to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
David also struck down King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah, as he went to restore his monument at the river Euphrates. David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for a hundred chariots. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans. Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David and brought tribute. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. David took the gold shields that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. From Betah and from Berothai, towns of Hadadezer, King David took a great amount of bronze.
When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to greet him and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. Now Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze; these also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah.
David won a name for himself. When he returned, he killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and equity to all his people. Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were priests.
2 Samuel 8:1-18 – NRSV
Philistines. Moabites. Syrians. Arameans. Amalekites. Edomites.
This is the Who’s Who of the enemies of Israel. Against one enemy after another, God sends, David attacks, God delivers, David dedicates, God lifts up, David worships, and then God sends all over again. Because of David’s faithfulness, even when his obstacles seemed overwhelming, God starts this cycle of success in the life of David.
Yet being a good king involves more than winning battles; the statement is so subtle that we might miss it at first. “David administered justice and equity to all his people.” The true marker of David’s reign over the people of Israel was not the use of his military power, but the use of his power for justice and fairness.
Human beings tend to glorify the use of military power, yet in the Christian scheme of things, physical force is one of the lowest forms of power. Frequently, the side effects of physical force outweigh the benefits. Still, sometimes it is tempting to take the action just short of violence: intimidation, which is nothing more than an implicit or explicit threat of force.
The calling of the king, though, is to give up the use of power for his own benefit, and to use his power in order to bring justice to his people: the outcast, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the poor. The calling from our king is the same.
Power. How do we use it? For what purposes? For or against whom? To what end?
Think about it. Pray about it.
Grace and peace,
Ron
