2 Samuel 8: More = Better?

“He placed army garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. In fact, the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.” 2 Samuel 8:14 NLT

Does anybody else feel like they’re reading a highlight reel today? It sounds amazing right.  Battles fought, battles won, more territory, more subjects…more, more, more.

David defeats the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Arameans… Everywhere he turns, there’s success, gaining more power and with the power there is expansion.  I feel like the Bible makes it clear—the Lord is the one giving him these victories.  However as I sat with this verse today, I couldn’t help but wonder… what else came with all that winning?

It says “all the Edomites became David’s subjects.” That means people from different nations, cultures, religions, and belief systems were now living under Israel’s rule. That’s a lot of people. —It’s exposure, it comes with influence and eventually...foreign influences. At what point does the bad outweigh the good and take a toll on the Israelites. On David?

I’ve walked through seasons where it felt like everything was growing. Influence. Opportunities. Platform. From the outside, it looked like a win. Every bit of it looked appealing on the outside, but internally? I was worn down. My capacity was thin. The more I added, the more fragmented I felt.

Some of it was good. A lot of it was good. There were so many good things in that season, but not all of it was was good. It certainly took its toll.

Again not all the temptations that came with it were “bad” things. Sometimes they were good things I’m learning sometimes even good things over time can steel from the best things. 

The older I get, the more I find myself wanting to simplify. To downsize. To be intentional with what I say yes to—because I’ve learned that expansion without boundaries doesn’t just cost you time. It can cost you your peace, your focus, and spiritual health.

David was a man after God’s own heart. We know this…some of the compromise that began in his reign showed up in full force in the next generation. Just because God gives you a victory doesn’t mean you don’t need discernment to know how to handle it.

Questions I consider these days:

Is it feeding my soul or fracturing it?

Am I stewarding what I have with intention?

Am I striving to hold it all together?

Is God FIRST? 

Am I at or over capacity? 

One of my favorite things about reading the Bible daily is it really helps me stay near hearing the Lord.