David’s Victories

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

1 Samuel 8

13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
14 Then 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.

David made a name for himself.

Yet a passage just prior to this small set of verses, David dedicated all the spoils to the Lord, all the silver and gold from all the nations he subdued.

11 These also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,

This difference brings to light a verse that shocked me when I first sat down and considered the ramifications of what Paul was saying.

2 Corinthians 6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Paul had the audacity to claim that he and his team were working together with God.

Together!

At the time I “tripped” over this verse, I was in a church that emphasized the immutable will of God, the undeniable full predestination of every action of all souls on earth. How then could Paul say he was working together with God? If my understanding was correct at the time, I would have to correct Paul, and tell him he was to say he worked FOR God.

To say “together” smacks of teamwork, cooperation, fellowship, discussion and a pliability within the team. That cannot be applied to the eternal God, the One who planned all things out prior to the foundation of the world, even every persons choices and decisions. It was ultimately uber confusing for me.

In our passage this morning, the Scriptures teach that the Lord provided all the victories, and that David ascribed the victories to God, providing the spoils to Him as witness of this truth. Yet David made a name for himself.

All of these victories brought influence to the throne of David, and as David confessed of God’s power in the victories, David’s influence also grew.

It is as if God and David were “working together” to bring about the theocracy the nation of Israel entered into at Sinai. A willing king and our powerful God working together to overcome obstacles, consolidate the kingdom, extend God’s influence and make His name known among the nations

Notice that though David made a “name for himself”, the last phrase of our passage indicates God’s favor continuing on David.

…And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

It is an amazing fact that the Ruler of the universe, the Creator of all, the Redeemer of lost sinners, and the Lord (Master) of not only the Body of Christ, but of all creation, would willingly enter into a cooperative team environment with broken, crippled up and blind sinners.

When I think of it, as the One over all, as the Lord over all enters into this cooperative environment with His servants, this willingness reinforces the image of One who is leading by loving, serving by sacrificing and exhibiting a humble meek character.

It is beyond all imagination that our God is of a meek and gentle heart, and to think that after all the victories He provided to David, He allowed, (or better said) was pleased that His servant made a name for himself.

What type of God do we know? He is much more than we can think or even imagine

Yes, Jesus is better! Better than we can imagine!

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