Graded by God: Turning Your “F”s into “A”s (Part One)

The events in II Samuel Chapter 8 took place after the incident at Ziklag and after the death of Saul. After defending himself against numerous enemy attacks, David received a brief period of rest from God before he went on the offensive, counterattacking. David experienced:
I. Blessings in Fighting
At this point in David’s career he was not a leader who simply sent out men into battle. David was a leader who fought in person.

Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.

II Samuel 8:6

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.

II Samuel 8:14
David’s accomplishments in battle – against the Philistines and against the Syrians – were so spectacular that God gave him:
II. The Blessing of Fame

And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.

II Samuel 8:13
God also gave David:
III. The Blessing of Fairness

And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.

II Samuel 8:15
And:
IV. The Blessing of Family

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.

II Samuel 8:18
Priests were there to make sure David had access to the Word of God. In this way, God gave David:
V. The Blessing of Faithful Friends

And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;

II Samuel 8:17
It is give to have friends who are loyal, but the best friends are friends who are men of faith.
God gave David:
VI. The Blessing of Fear
David feared God, and David’s enemies feared David. Most of the people he conquered became his servants.

And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.

II Samuel 8:2
God gave David:
VII. The blessings of Forgiveness and Feasting

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? And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

II Samuel 9:1-2

Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.

II Samuel 9:11
Mephibosheth was of the house of Saul, the man who had tried to kill David, yet David showed him forgiveness, kindness, and treated him like a member of his own family.
God gave David:
VIII. The Blessing of Favor
David was wealthy, healthy, handsome, talented, smart, strong, loved, respected, and trusted = all in II Samuel Chapter 9 – but only two chapters later, we see David fall into his greatest sin – the incident of his affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murderous cover-up. Was David so blessed by God that he became filled with pride and fell into sin? Or was there something else going on behind the scenes? Stay tuned for Part Two, in which we will delve deeper into what it means to be a good steward of our blessings.

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