Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 8-11.

Today’s passage starts out with the wars David had with the neighboring countries soon after he became king.  I like to look at this to see if I can understand why David went to war against these various nations.  Actually, we don’t really know what led David to go to war against any of these nations other than the Philistines and the Ammonites.  David did not exactly “go to war” against the Philistines so much as retaliate after they attacked him.  And, he went to war against the Ammonites after they humiliated his ambassadors and raised an army by hiring mercenaries.  Actually, the war which I have the most trouble wrapping my head around is David’s conquest of Moab.  The king of Moab had sheltered David’s parents while he was on the run from King Saul, so one would think David would be kindly disposed towards Moab.  Yet, not only did he go to war with them, but he appears to have killed two thirds of their men.  Having written that, I am convinced that David’s wars were intended to secure control of trade routes.  When we see later on the good relations which David, and Solomon after him, had with the Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon, it suggests that he had a similar view of trade to them…and that the nations he went to war with were less benevolent when it came to trade passing through their territory.

When I started writing this I really thought there was more to exploring King David’s wars in this passage than what I wrote.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.