2 Samuel 7:18-8:18

2 Samuel 7:18-8:18

David’s humility and servant heart is seen even more in the closing verses of 2 Samuel 7. After God made all these promises to him about his future and the future of his family, the first thing David asks is “why?” He does not get excited and dance around. He does not accept God’s gifts and go on with his life. David sits in the presence of God and humbly asks why it is that God would bless him and his family. He knew that he is insignificant in the grand scheme of the world for he is only one man. He also knew that God could have accomplished all that had been done through his life with anyone else. God did not need David, for all the great things that had happened were done by God alone.


This understanding of God’s power led David into a spirit of worship. He praised God for all that He had done and all that He was going to do. He thanked God for who He was and declared that there was no one or nothing like Him. All of David’s prayers, whether in the form of questions or praise, were completely directed toward God. It was as if he had not yet realized all that God had promised to do in his life. Those things did not matter to David because he was amazed by God. Then once he realized all that God had promised, He asked that God come through. Yet even in this request, David was not selfish. He did not want to have a great family and great fame for his sake. He asked that God do all that He had promised so that He might be glorified for it.

David exemplifies what it means to follow God. He was humble, willing to serve, obedient to God’s commands, and did not want to take any of the glory for Himself. He praised God in the hard times, like when he was being pursued by Saul, and in the good times, such as God’s promises to him in 2 Samuel 7. While we have yet to see David’s mistakes, showing that he was indeed human and struggled with sin just like the rest of us, David was truly a man after God’s own heart.

As a result of his faithfulness to God, God continued to give David victories over his enemies. In 2 Samuel 8 we see David heading back out into battle, first taking on the Philistines. Everywhere David went and against all who pursued him, God gave David victory after victory. During the reign of Saul, David became well known amongst the people of Israel and the Philistines. They all knew that he was a strong opponent and how successful he had been. Then, during his reign, his fame spread to the surrounding nations as God allowed him to conquer more land. But even in these victories, David did not want to keep the fame to himself. Instead, he dedicated the battles and the victories to God, giving the credit to him. David knew that it had been God who had allowed him to be victorious. 2 Samuel 8 ends by listing some of the men that worked closest to David.

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