2 SAMUEL 8 (SUMMARY OF A READING)
2 SAMUEL 8 (SUMMARY OF A READING)
The key to 2 Samuel 8 lies in its connection with chapter 7, for it is “after this it came to pass”. The chapter speaks of the victories of a spiritual man, and their results for God in what is dedicated to Him. My impression is that while David is often distinctly a type of Christ, he is more often a type of what is spiritual in saints. His psalms are, as we well know, often the personal utterances of the Spirit of Christ as developed in saints — particularly in the remnant. Solomon is the seed, Jehovah’s son, in chapter 7, and David worships as in presence of the counsel of God established by Him. In one sense Christ can be spoken of as the great Worshipper, singing praise to God, but it would seem that He sings as identifying Himself with the praising company, all of whom praise as having His Spirit. If He identifies Himself with them He must necessarily be in their midst as the pre-eminent One, undoubtedly the Chief Singer. The saints as a praising company constitute His house.
But we come in chapter 8 from the sanctuary to the region where overcoming is needed, and David is seen as the great overcomer. The Lord’s last word to His own before going forth to the garden was, “In the world ye have tribulation; but be of good courage: I have overcome the world”. He was the great Overcomer, and His saints have to be overcomers; the thing true in Him has to be true in them, so that it is not easy in the types to draw a very sharp line between what sets forth Christ and what sets forth actions or victories which are true, or which may be [p. 36] true, of His saints. It is certain that if we came from the sanctuary we should be overcomers, and it seems to me that is the thought suggested in 2 Samuel 8. Here we find the Philistines, who had come up again and again, subdued, and the power of the capital taken out of their hand. They are effectually brought under, and I do not think they appear again until the time comes that David has weakened, so that in conflict he becomes exhausted (chapter 21). Here the bridle or curb is taken out of their hand; they are deprived of control. “The capital” means the influential place. The Philistine represents what is in the land — that is, it is professedly christian but it is hostile to divine thoughts. It is a great thing when its influence is entirely broken.
Then David measures the Moabites with a line. They represent, as we may gather from the prophets, the pride and arrogance of man. But the power of the kingdom is known now by ability to subdue that which is contrary to God, so that it may become serviceable to Him. The measuring with a line would seem to be that all are brought down to a common level — “making them lie down on the ground” — so that they are subdued to whatever line of dealing God may be pleased to take with them. “He measured two lines to put to death”; God has taken two ways to measure men, first by the law, and then by the prophets, but both bring men to death. They show the hopeless state of men when measured by God. But “one full line to keep alive” would have in view the “full line” of what God is as known in grace, which, when applied to men in power keeps alive. So that even Moabites become David’s servants and bring gifts. Men as subdued turn to God to serve Him.
Then we find in verses 3 and 4 how David recovers his dominion by the river Euphrates. The king of Zobah, and the Syrians who helped him, seem to represent what man [p. 37] is in his natural state as fallen. He would resist the establishment of David’s power, but as subdued he becomes tributary. The promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 is “to the great river, the river Euphrates”. It represents the wide dominion of David — “Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me ...”, 2 Samuel 22: 44 - 46. “The Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts”.
Then we get the prowess of David recognised by Toi, king of Hamath, and he brings vessels of silver and vessels of gold and vessels of bronze. He represents persons not of Israel but not marked by definite hostility; they are thankful for the benefit which accrues to them as the result of David’s victories. There are people who are glad when what is of God gets ascendency; they feel that it is beneficial to them, and they become tributary. They have not had to be subdued as enemies; they get relief from the gospel. They have been harassed and perplexed by the evil that is in the world, and they are glad when what is of God gets the upper hand. I have no doubt there are many who are of that class; they contribute what can be dedicated.
Then the Edomites have also to be subdued. They represent those who have an assigned portion from God but who despise what is really the best He has to give. Such are sure to become adversaries in the long run to the kingdom rights of God, and of His Anointed. But as subdued they become servants to David. What marks David all through this chapter is power to subdue all things to himself, and to make all kinds of people tributary to the service of God. It raises the question as to whether we have been so subdued to Christ as to be tributary?
Psalm 60 and Psalm 108 are to be noted in this connection. Psalm 60 comes in when God has cast off His people in His displeasure, but He gives a banner to them that fear Him that it may be displayed because of the truth, that His [p. 38] beloved ones may be delivered. Then He claims His right, not only to His own people, but to Moab, Edom and Philistia; He claims all to be serviceable to Him. It is God acting in a day when He has had publicly to cast off His people. So that it applies in a very definite way to the present time in the ways of God. But in Psalm 108 it is a fixed heart that learns the mind of God to claim His rights. It is one, we might say, calling upon the Lord out of a pure heart. It is persons of that kind who get the banner. The louder we sing the more God will assure us of His rights, and He will assert them in His own way. In the sense of this, we want all His beloved ones to be delivered.
The things which would hinder us from standing by the banner are set forth in Moab and Edom and Philistia, but they are all to be subdued to God. No one who fears Him or loves Him need give way before them. God has spoken in His holiness; He will assert His rights even where they have been most disregarded. It is something like the Lord saying to Philadelphia, “I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that I have loved thee”, Revelation 3: 9.
“And David made him a name when he returned, after he had smitten the Syrians in the valley of salt”. Salt is a figure of the principle of faithfulness in the soul which will not spare anything that is opposed to God. It is a good valley to fight in, but we have always to remember that the fighting in this chapter is not to destroy but to subdue. Our object in following the true David is to get all His rights asserted by every one over whom He has rights. The last four verses of the chapter show His rights in exercise: everything is ordered in the kingdom in a beautiful way.
It is to be noted that while Jehovah spoke to David in 2 Samuel 7 of David’s house and his kingdom, when David spoke to Jehovah he dwelt altogether on the thought of the house and never mentioned the kingdom. He had evidently [p. 39] seized the divine thought that the house was the greater of the two. In the presence of God and for His worshippers the house idea predominates. For the house of David is the praising company Godward, as I understand it, and this is the inside place with God. But we have to come out and deal with enemies here, so that they may be subdued and become tributary to the service of God. We have to follow the lead of David in this matter also; if we follow his lead in going in we have to follow his lead in the subjugation of all adverse elements. We obtain distinction as we do so, for I believe we see David here in a character in which we have to follow him. It cannot be simply that we see the true David doing it, but how will His Spirit in us act in having to deal with elements adverse to the rights of the kingdom? All through the chapter it is what David did. We are told that he reigned over all Israel, and there cannot be a doubt that “the host” (verse 16) was with him in all these military exploits.