Between the covenant and the crisis, three quiet chapters. David’s armies win on every border — Philistia, Moab, Zobah, Edom, Ammon — and “the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.” And in the middle of it, the king remembers a promise made years earlier to a dead friend, and sends for the one crippled survivor of Saul’s house to eat at his table for the rest of his life. Kindness for Jonathan’s sake.
A study in 2 Samuel 8-10 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
The LORD Preserved David Whithersoever He Went
“And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”
2 Samuel 8:14-15
The refrain of these war chapters is not “David conquered” but “the LORD preserved David.” He is at the height of his power now, the promised borders from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates nearly reached, and the narrator keeps the credit where it belongs. Verse 15 is the line the whole reign is measured against: “judgment and justice unto all his people.” It is exactly the standard he will fail three chapters later.
“Heretofore David’s record as a ruler had been such as few monarchs have ever equaled… His integrity had won the confidence and fealty of the nation.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 719
Is There Yet Any That Is Left
“And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?… Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.”
2 Samuel 9:1-3
Years before, hunted and homeless, David had sworn to Jonathan that he would never cut off kindness from his house (1 Samuel 20). Kings of that era did the opposite — they wiped out the previous dynasty. David goes looking for someone to bless. And notice the phrase in verse 3: not merely “kindness” but “the kindness of God” — mercy with God’s own character stamped on it.
Such A Dead Dog As I Am
“And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?”
2 Samuel 9:7-8
Mephibosheth arrives expecting execution — he is the rightful claimant to Saul’s throne, lame, defenceless, and taught by Saul’s old partisans to hate David as a usurper. What he gets is his grandfather’s estates back and a permanent seat at the king’s table “as one of the king’s sons.” He can only ask why anyone would look twice at “a dead dog” like him. It is a small, bright picture of undeserved welcome: a lame heir of a fallen house seated with the king’s sons, for the sake of a covenant he did nothing to earn.
“Through reports from the enemies of David, Mephibosheth had been led to cherish a strong prejudice against him as a usurper; but the monarch’s generous and courteous reception of him and his continued kindness won the heart of the young man.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 713
Let Us Play The Men For Our People
“And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.”
2 Samuel 10:11-12
The Ammonites humiliate David’s ambassadors — men sent on an errand of sympathy — and hire a huge Syrian coalition. Joab, caught between two armies, splits his force and says the sentence that sums up Israel at its best: fight hard for your people and the cities of your God, “and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.” Do your part with courage; leave the outcome to God. The victory is complete. And then, with the Ammonite war not quite finished, chapter 11 opens: “at the time when kings go forth to battle… David tarried still at Jerusalem.”
