“Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.”-2 Samuel 8:3
Today, I wanna connect Scripture with Scripture.
Verse 3 tells us that David’s goal was to expand Israel’s borders up to the Euphrates River.
This is directly connected to the promise God gave Abraham in Genesis 15.
”That day ADONAI made a covenant with Avram: “I have given this land to your descendants- from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River-”-Genesis 15:18
Next, David took his army north and east, heading straight for nations that had no plans to join Israel—at least, not without a fight!
One of his biggest enemies was a guy named Hadad’ezer, the top general of a nation called Tzovah, near Damascus in today’s Syria.
His name meant “Hadad is my help” because Hadad was their sun god.
But guess what?
Hadad couldn’t help him this time!
Hadad’ezer’s army had tons of horses and chariots, but David’s men crushed them and took everything.
Afterward, we see that David obeyed God’s commands as outlined in Deuteronomy 17.
Instead of keeping all the horses, he saved just enough for 100 chariots and disabled the rest so they couldn’t be used in battle again.
Here’s the Scripture reference.
“In that event, you must appoint as king the one whom ADONAI your God will choose. He must be one of your kinsmen, this king you appoint over you- you are forbidden to appoint a foreigner over you who is not your kinsman. However, he is not to acquire many horses for himself or have the people return to Egypt to obtain more horses, in as much as ADONAI told you never to go back that way again.”-Deuteronomy 17:15-16
So, here’s the takeaway for today.
David, as God’s chosen son at this time and a forerunner of the Messiah, demonstrated one of the key traits of a true messiah:
Obedience to God’s Torah.
His decision to follow Deuteronomy 17, even in victory, shows that a king after God’s heart submits to His Law.
This aligns perfectly with Yeshua’s words in Matthew 5:17, when he said he did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.
In contrast, 2 Thessalonians 2 warns us about the anti-king who is called “the man of lawlessness.”
The bottom line?
The ultimate test of whether a man truly stands by God or not is based on one thing.
Is he faithful to God’s commands or not?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them.”
– Matthew 5:17
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way,
for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs
and the man of lawlessness is revealed,
the man doomed to destruction.
He will oppose and will exalt himself
over everything that is called God
or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up
in God’s temple,
proclaiming himself to be God.”
-2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
“Many will say to Me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in Your name, cast out demons
in Your name, and do many deeds
of power in Your name?’
Then I will declare to them,
‘I never knew you; depart from Me,
you workers of lawlessness!’”
-Matthew 7:22-23
Thanks Richoka
Power will always expose or tell the true character of a man
Only few people attained the corridors of power and remained humble.
Here; the caution goes to all of us.
If any king want to enjoy his kingship, for eternity; submit your rule to God and it shall all be well.
Shalom
Absolutely! Amen!