Here’s a pic with my ministry colleagues, Tim and Jacob, in 2016 in a remote village in Malawi, Africa 
2 Samuel 8

The Davidic Covenant in chapter 7 is a monumental passage in the Bible. David arose from this revelation from God with a humble confidence. Seemingly contradictory words but in fact describe very well the appropriate response we should have to the grace and blessings of God in our lives. God made big promises to David. He knew he didn’t deserve them (humility) but he believed and accepted these promises because they were from God (confidence). And he went out and acted with confidence. Lord, help me respond the same way.

A time of great blessing for David

He applied his confidence in God here in chapter 8 by boldly going forth and subduing and conquering foreign nations who opposed God’s nation, Israel. In verses 6 and 14, the text says, “and the Lord helped David wherever he went.” David is in a period in his life when God, for His purposes, is granting David earthly success. It hasn’t always been like that. For many years, David was a fugitive; hated and chased. He cowered in caves and lived in the wilderness with a few faithful followers. In both cases and during both periods of His life, God loved him and never forsook him.

Caution

As a side note, be careful how you use God’s Word to claim promises from a passage that is historical narrative, such as 2 Samuel. Case in point, this important phrase, repeated twice here in chapter 8, “And the Lord helped David wherever he went.” Some might pull this verse out and write a devotional about how God could help you always if you pray it and claim it. However, that’s irresponsible to the context and to handling God’s Word faithfully. God’s Word is not a collection of isolated phrases that we can pick and choose at our own will. Always consider the context, both immediate context as well as larger context and then use common sense. Be careful to draw out direct promises for yourself from a biblical passage of historical narratives. First, simply seek to understand what God is doing in this time period and in this case, through David. First, be a history-buff. Then pray about the principles that you could learn from this historical narrative. You see, when Paul says in his epistle to the Ephesians, God…”has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…” you can claim that for yourself. It is directed at all Christians. When 2 Samuel 8 says “the Lord helped David wherever he went” that applies to David in history and has context, but it is not a direct promise to you with an absolute guarantee.

Teach us

Now, knowing what God is doing in and through David in this chapter, what principles might God be teaching us? That’s our prayerful thought to be repeated as we read these narrative passages. Lord, please teach us the truth of your Word, what it means and your purposes for writing it down through the biblical writers. Once you teach us the truth of these passages, please then teach us how we should then live. Amen!