2 Samuel 10:15-19: a reflection

15When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head. 17David was told that; and he gathered all Israel together, passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Syrians set themselves in array against David and fought with him. 18The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers of the Syrians and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the captain of their army, so that he died there. 19When all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the children of Ammon any more.

After an initial defeat, the Syrians regroup, gathering reinforcements from beyond the River for a fresh assault on Israel. David meets them, and God gives a decisive victory: the Syrians flee, their commander is killed, and their army is broken. And notice the result: all the kings who had been allied with the Syrian king, seeing they were defeated, made peace with Israel and served them, and the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore. The defeat did not just fail; it dismantled the whole coalition against Israel.

Notice what happens to the opposition. It was not merely that Israel won a battle; the entire alliance arrayed against them collapsed. The vassal kings switched sides, made peace, and served Israel; and the Syrians, chastened, withdrew their support from Ammon. The network of enemies and allies that had stood against God's people came apart, its members making peace or pulling back. God did not just give a victory; he dismantled the coalition.

There is quiet encouragement here about the opposition we face. Sometimes what stands against us is not a single foe but a network, a coalition of difficulties, adversaries, and the support propping them up. And God is able not only to give us victory in a particular battle but to dismantle the whole array against us, removing the alliances and support behind our opposition. When you face what feels like a coalition arrayed against you, remember that God broke the alliance against David so thoroughly that its members made peace and withdrew. He is able to dismantle what opposes you, not just defeat it in a single encounter. Trust the God who can take apart the whole array against his people.

Lord, when the Syrian coalition rose against Israel, you not only gave David victory but dismantled the whole alliance, so that its members made peace and withdrew their support. When I face what feels like a coalition arrayed against me, a network of difficulties and adversaries, remind me that you can not only give victory in a single battle but take apart the whole array against your people. Help me trust the God who dismantles what opposes me, and removes even the support behind it.