Marching to victory
2 Samuel 8: God gave victory to David wherever he marched.
David is now firmly established as king of Israel. He undertakes the great mission of retaking territory that has been lost and subduing or destroying their enemies. War isnโt pretty and the best I can do here is to simply read the historical account and see it as descriptive of what David is able to do by the power of the Lord. These events are distant from me in time and culture. For David, this is about making Israel safe, secure, and firmly established. The lesson here is not that God will help me inflict pain and death on my enemies, but instead, that God will help me live in victory over those things that would destroy me.
Take Away: By the Lordโs help I can defeat all that would defeat me.