2 Samuel 8:3-8 (ESV)
David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.
Obviously we can see that David had a secret weapon. David had God on His side. The above line in the above paragraph states that wherever David went, he had victory. Imagine that formula for us today. Imagine that we can have victory wherever we go. Business and industry would love that. Politicians would love that. Athletes would love that. Parents would love that. Yet, these positions or categories are not what is guaranteed success. It is those who follow God. This phrase will be repeated of David in a couple more verses:
2 Samuel 8:14 (ESV)
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 had victory because David followed God. As long as he did that, he could know he had victory. There is going to come a time in this book of 2 Samuel that this will not be true. But that is because he will, later in this book, fail to follow God. Our formula for victory, as a believer is very simple: Follow God and we will have victory. It was said this way in the first psalm:
Psalms 1 (ESV)
Book One
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
David, himself, said this way in Psalm 15:
Psalms 15 (ESV)
A PSALM OF DAVID.
O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
who does not put out his money at interest
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
We can claim victory before we even fight if before we even fight we are walking with God.
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