Second Samuel 8. Now, after this, it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. And David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines. He defeated Moab and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground. And he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute. Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his rule at the river. David captured from him seventeen hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for one hundred chariots. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 Arameans. Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. David took the shields of gold, which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. From Betha and from Barathi, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze. Now when Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, Toi sent Joram, his son, to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. For Hadadezer had been at war with Toi, and Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. King David also dedicated these to the Lord with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued, from Aram and Moab and the sons of Ammon and the Philistines and Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. So David reigned over all Israel, and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. Joab, the son of Zeruah, was over the army, and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahalud, was recorder Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests, and Sariah was secretary. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Cherithites and the Pelethites. And David's sons were chief ministers. Join me in prayer. Our glorious King and our Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight and we Praise You, Father, we are glad that we can come. And as we've just sung, Father, we come from everything that should be left behind to everything that's in You. And Father, there's such a fullness in You that when our hearts are turned toward You like they should be, God, everything that we would want and desire is found there. And there is never a lack We never come and find the cupboards empty. We never come and find that we've drawn too much today or this week, and we need to wait. But Father, You are always gracious. You're always glad to give us what we need and to Hold before us the promise of more as we come. We thank you, Father, that while there are oceans of fullness in you that we sang about, there are streams on earth that we've tasted. And God, while we look forward to the ocean fullness and the glory that will be seen and experienced in heaven, God, we are grateful for the heart that we see now and the aspects that we know now. Father, we praise you for your rule and your reign. We praise you, Father, that now there's such a graciousness about your reign. You are inviting and you are patient. And God, we are glad that you're patient with us and we're glad that you're patient with those who are yet strangers to you. And God, we ask you to be patient still. God, we also see and understand it. While for your children, there's an eternity of bliss and joy with you, that there is an end to your patience for those who remain rebels and put you off and hold you at arm's length. God, we ask that you would make every hiding place that they would run to betray them and that they would look to you and see that you are pursuing them with love and that there is forgiveness with you. There's life with you. Father, for those of us who have come to you and through Christ, we pray, God, that you would help us to live upon the fullness that's in him. God, we pray that our eyes would not be drawn away by the temptations of the world or of the corruption that's still in our flesh. God, we ask that more and more the beauty of Christ would hold sway in our hearts and God, that when we we are lured away that it would be for shorter and shorter time and that the return would be quicker and quicker, that we would not find any contentment in those empty cisterns, but God, that our hearts would long for the full wells, the springs of life. Father, as we end this day and as World turns on its axis and another day approaches. We ask God that you would help us to. Go to sleep, remembering that it is you that keeps us in safety and that in the morning we will awake because you awaken us. And that all through the night you give to your beloved, even in their sleep. God, we ask that our hearts would rejoice in you. You are our father. You are the giver of every good thing that we have and know. You are the shepherd who spreads a table for us in the presence of our enemies. God, we ask for your help tonight. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Sometimes when a person tells a story, they rearrange the details, not in a way that is deceptive, but in a way that puts information out of sequence, maybe to hold our attention or maybe just to make a point. And the writer Samuel does that often, and he does it here in 2 Samuel 8. 2 Samuel 8 verse 1 begins with, now after this, there's a question about after what? There are things that occur before chapter 8 that biblical historians are pretty sure actually occur after chronologically. And there are things that happen afterwards in the writing of the book that historians are pretty sure occurred before. So, for instance, in 2 Samuel 10, there's another battle with Ammon and Aram where there is a battle and that very well may be the battle that's described in summary in chapter eight. And so chapter eight is given to us. It's information that is not necessarily in chronological order, but it's given to us to make a point. And what is the point then? Why then disinformation given to us now in this way? Well, if you look at the two side by side, I think it becomes pretty apparent. In 2 Samuel 7, there's this promise that God makes. And in 2 Samuel 8, you have this summary of all these battles, but it's also a summary of God beginning to keep promises that he made to David in chapter 7. Promise made, God begins to deliver on the promise. So in chapter 7, the promise comes in two parts. There's the part that David will experience in his lifetime. Then there's the part that will come after he dies. Verses 8 through 11 of chapter 7 describe portions that will come, have already taken place or will take place during David's life. And so God says to him, to David, now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant, David, thus says the Lord of hosts. I took you from the pasture from following the sheep to be ruler over my people, Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone and have kept off all your enemies from before you. And I will make you a great name like the names of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for my people, Israel, and will plant them. that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly. Even from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you." And then he begins to talk about the things that will occur after David dies, after he lies down with his fathers. So, In the earlier verses, here are some things that will happen during David's lifetime. Chapter 8, those things begin to be fulfilled. These promises that are being kept and we see a description of them in these battle sequences in verses one through six and in verses 13 and 14 particularly. And as these promises are being kept, I think it means several different things, depending on your perspective, depending on where you are looking at what God's doing. So for David, this meant something. Again, promises made, God begins to keep the promises. He begins to fulfill them, and David begins to see these things unfold. So while he's had some victory and some success, Israel as a whole has not known rest from their enemies, but God has promised that. God now begins to give them that. As enemy after enemy is subdued, defeated, driven out of the land, and enemy after enemy, many of whom had previously at various times subjugated Israel and drawn tribute from Israel, now Israel is receiving tribute from them. Now, in showing us this, the Bible allows us a wonderful perspective. It's almost like a look behind the scenes, and we see the faithfulness of God written down for us in black and white. God promises, God delivers. But life isn't always that clean, is it? We rarely see so clearly, we rarely read promise and next thing in our life is, oh, there is the promise being kept in such a way that we look and say, oh, that's it, I see it. There are perhaps occasions when God is kind to us in that way and we see that. But I don't find that I always put A and B together so cleanly as chapter seven and chapter eight put it. But do remember as we read this, don't be, Don't get the wrong idea. Again, events are not chronological, so they don't all occur in a day, and maybe not even in the course of a couple of years. These are perhaps events across David's lifetime in rule as a king. And so they're all put together, again, in this summary form. They're almost in bullet points. David defeated this one, David defeated this one, David defeated this one. And there's not a lot of detail, but just these bullet points. And so they're given to us in a fashion so that we do have this perspective, and we get to see this in a way that David perhaps didn't get to see. I'm sure that there were times when David did understand that God was blessing him. And there are references to that. We saw it in chapter five, where David understood that God was the one who was doing those things for him. But he didn't see that all day, every day. And there are examples that we can see that tell us he didn't. For instance, when he was in the wilderness running from Saul, there are times when he doubts and he wonders if God is providing and protecting him. So we see that that's not always David's perspective. But it does not change the reality that's laid out for us in these two chapters put together here. And that is that God is faithful to his promises. God promised David that he was going to accomplish these things, and God is accomplishing them. Some of them would not be accomplished for many years after David was dead. There are aspects of that for which we still wait. But some of them we see occurring during David's lifetime, and they're put together in this way David surely is encouraged somewhat as he recognizes some of them. And we are encouraged as we look and we see these two things right here together. God has promised. God has kept his promises. But there is another perspective, and it is one that is worth noting, and that is the perspective of these nations. The God who was faithful to bless David by beginning to fulfill the promises that he made to David was also faithful to perform his promised judgments on these nations that refused to repent and to submit. The extension of David's rule represented the extension of the kingdom of God. And not everyone was happy about that. Most people were not happy about that. And so we have a list of enemies And they are mostly a list of enemies that are being subjugated by might, not gladly coming and submitting themselves. So we have, for instance, in verse 1, the Philistines. These are natural enemies of Israel. They have been a troublesome neighbor to Israel throughout the books of Samuel. Saul was to deal with them and did not. David has driven them out of the territory of Israel. But there's still a problem. But now David drives into their territory and takes territory from them and conquers the city of Gath in such a way that while they're not eradicated as a people, the Bible never again mentions the Philistines as a serious threat to Israel after the days of David. So they're dealt with. Now, a quick textual issue here, in case you're reading something other than what I am. Verse 1 for me said that David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines. Some of you will read something like this, David took Metheg-Ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. Metheg-Ammah, if your translation says that, then they're taking that as a place name. And it well might be, but there's no record of such a place anywhere else. And so there are some who don't think that it is a place and they have translated it differently. Literally, it means control or bridle of the forearm, bridle of the forearm. So I've got he took control of the city. You can see where they get the idea of control from bridle. Where do they get city from forearm? Well, a forearm is also a cubit. A cubit was a unit of measure about the length of a man's forearm. And so control of the cubit, control of the area, kind of extrapolate from that. So that's where they get the idea. I'm not going to go beyond that, except to say that First Chronicles 18.1 says the city is Gath. And so Methagama might be an area around Gath or an outlying area from Gath. or it just might mean Gath. Either way, David takes this chief city, it's one of the cities in which one of the lords of the Philistines ruled from, Akish had ruled from there, but now they are subjects of Israel and pay tribute to Israel. Number two, in verse two, we find the Moabites. This is a group with familial ties. David personally had ties to the Moabites through Ruth. Ruth was his great-grandmother. While David was running from Saul, he had the Moabites guard his parents. We see this in 1 Samuel 22. But now David treats them in what looks like a ruthless way, measuring out the people, having them lie down and measure them out with some kind of a measuring line. And he takes two lines and kills them and leaves one full line. And these people are left bringing tribute and that's that's code for they've been subjugated. There's now subservient and they're paying David not to come fight them anymore. What's going on? Well, the Moabites were descendants of Lot. And as descendants of Lot, they were recipients of much mercy. They had received more light than many of their neighbors, and yet they remained enemies of God by choice. So here are people who are familiar with God's people, hang around God's people. And yet, though even some part related to them, they remain strangers to the covenant and strangers to God. They are unwilling to repent and unwilling to submit. And though they had received much mercy, there was an end to that mercy. God had prophesied through Balaam back in Numbers 24. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob. A scepter shall rise from Israel and shall crush through the forehead of Moab and tear down all the sons of Sheth. And that day had come. They had waited and waited and put off and put off. And now God had sent judgment that had been. Announced a long time before, but had been withheld for a long time. The former mercy that they had received and the greater light that they had in comparison to many of their neighbors did not save them, it only made them more susceptible to judgment and all the more inexcusable for their unwillingness to repent. They should have viewed the kindness of God to Abraham and to Lot and even to themselves as reasons to run to God themselves. But instead, they hardened themselves and faced God's judgment. And in this, they did not act ignorantly. Any ignorance was a willful ignorance. Third, there are the Edomites. See this in verses 12 through 14. Now, another textual question. I have Aram, A-R-A-M. Apparently Aram and Edom in Hebrew look very much alike. And Psalm 60 and 1 Chronicles 18 both indicate that this is probably Edom. If it's the Arameans, there's still other places where he mentions the Edomites. For instance, in verse 14, he put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom, he put garrisons and all the Edomites became servants to David. So he deals with the Edomites. The Edomites are the descendants of Esau. During the days of Esau and Jacob, you remember, they're twins. Esau was born first. As firstborn, he should have received the birthright and the blessing. And yet through both the trickery of Jacob and also the promise of God, Jacob receives the birthright and the blessing. And as Their father blesses them. It's made clear that Esau will serve Jacob. Many, many years have passed between then and the day of David as he fights and subjects the Edomites. How many years? I didn't stop and figure it out, but it was a lot. There are a lot of years between Esau and Jacob and David. But how many years are those to God? Just a few days, right? Thousand years is like a day. Halel, is 30 years old, is that old to you? Yes, 30 years is, whoa, I can't believe that. Ron, is 30 years old to you? Your perspective changes a lot, doesn't it? I remember, I was thinking back a while ago about some of my teachers when I was in school and thinking about how old I thought they were. And it's not just that I'm older than they are now. It's that I realized they really weren't that much older than me then. There's a perspective changes how we view that. We can look at the many, many years that passed between Esau and Jacob and David, between the pronouncement that Esau will serve Jacob and them being subjugated here and think, that's a long time. But if you are an infinite God. That's nothing. And the Edomites should instruct us and we should pay close attention If God utters a warning, if he makes a threat, if he pronounces judgment, you understand he's not like our politicians. He's not a politician who makes promises that will never happen. When he says something, he will do it. And even if it takes a long time, even if it lasts beyond our lifetime, you would do well to tremble. Because He will do everything He says He will do. The promises of blessing, He will keep. But the promises to curse, He will keep those also. Every one will be fulfilled. Don't flatter yourself and think you're special. Don't flatter yourself and think that your case is different or that you will somehow escape judgment. There's only one escape from judgment, and that is in Jesus Christ. And if you are outside of Him, you will be judged. There is no escape. But church, church, don't be astonished if it appears that God's judgments are slow and He's taking a long time. If you live and die without seeing it here on the earth, it does not mean that God is unfaithful to His promises. He is not slack. He is patient. He is extremely patient. He is long-suffering and yet there is a day when his patience runs out and every promise will be fulfilled. We see the Ammonites mentioned in verse 12. When Israel first entered into the land, they passed through the territory of the Ammonites. We see this in Deuteronomy 2. And there they were told not to bother the Ammonites. They did not have an inheritance among the Ammonites. Leave them alone. But in 1 Samuel 11, Nahash the Ammonite attacked Jabesh Gilead. Do you remember? He lays siege to the city and he tells them, I'll let you go. But it's on one condition, that is, I gouge out every right eye. Saul comes to their rescue, it's the first time Saul acts in a kingly fashion, his first act as king, we might say. And God does rescue them through Saul, but evidently there's still an ongoing problem with the Ammonites. And so God deals with them here through David. And now they pay tribute to Israel. The Amalekites in verse 12. Another example of God's long suffering nature is these wicked people are allowed to live in the land for a long time until the cup of wrath was full and it was time for them to be wiped out. And then suddenly God brought judgment. Verses three through eight talk about the Arameans. These are also known as Syrians, Syrians of Damascus. David goes to war with King Hadadezer, and he fights him all the way to the river in verse three. And the river, 1 Chronicles 18.4 tells us, is the Euphrates. This is way north of the territory of Israel as it had been at that time. But it is another example of God's covenant faithfulness. So Israel up to this point had not occupied territories so far north, but God had promised Abram way back in Genesis 15, 18, to your descendants I have given this land from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. And so, a lot of time has passed, the people have lived in the land for quite some time, but that aspect of the promise to Abram had not yet been fulfilled. But God had not forgotten it. And here, God expands their territory all the way to the Euphrates. And that aspect of the promise is kept. Again and again, God keeps his promises, his promises of blessing. Yes. His promises of cursing. Yes. But God keeps them all. He does not forget any of them. But other than the fact that we might find some encouragement from that fact, what does this mean for us? There are some other things worth noting. First is that this is a kingdom expansion. Territories being taken, battles are being fought, and God's rule through his kingdom is being extended. And it is not, again, it is not being extended through popular demand. It's not because people are lining up and saying, me too, me too, you know. But it is by might, but it did expand. You and I are charged with proclaiming the gospel. the good news concerning Jesus Christ. It's also it's the gospel of the kingdom. And within that announcement, there's the command to those who hear to submit and to repent, to come to King Jesus. And like David, we'll find varying responses, we'll find people who are wicked, I don't mean the sense that everybody's wicked, but people who are wicked and who want nothing to do with this God and stand off and curse him. And they will. Eventually, they will be subjugated. But we will also find people who hang around the edges of Christianity and who know a lot of information about this God, have a lot of light, more light than many of their neighbors, and yet never submit themselves to the rule of this king. And they will, in the end, be subjugated. They will submit, even if it's by armed might. It would be depressing. Except there are other examples, like in verses 9 and 10. In verses 9 and 10, we find a man named Toy, T-O-I. Toy sees what's going on, sees David rolling over these nations. He sees him defeat Hadadezer. Hadadezer has been fighting with Toy. And Toy sends his sons with gifts. And he is willingly submitting. Now, I don't know that this means in this example that Toy is now a believer. I don't think it probably does. But he is an example of a response to the king and he is submitting to this king. He's not waiting to be rolled over. And there are those who hear the proclamation of the good news and they hear the call and they submit. And they would rather have this king as their king willingly than to put him off and rebel until the day when he will subjugate them. It is a battle. Most people are not lining up waiting to hear this or wanting to hear it. Most people actively reject it, would rather not hear it. In Romans 1, 18 is the Bible talks about the wrath of God being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. It speaks of people who suppress the truth. It is an active suppressing. It is trying to push down, to keep down, not to let it see the light of day. It's like being in a swimming pool with a ball and you try to push it under the water and you can't just push it and let go. It pops right back to the top. You have to hold it down. You have to actively hold it down. And our hearts are naturally inclined to suppress the truth. I don't want to be confronted with that. But you and I, believer, we must confront people with that truth. We don't go onto a battlefield with a sword or a spear. And yet the nature of the conflict remains the same. God calls creation to submit to his king and much of creation remains in rebellion. One day Jesus will return and most people and most nations will not rejoice, even as they do not now long to embrace his reign, but live to resist him. He will establish His reign, but it won't be by a vote. We won't go to the ballot box. Psalm 2, God says to His Son, ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware. Or in Isaiah 11, verse 3, And he, talking about Christ, will delight in the fear of the Lord. And he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear. But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. And he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Also, righteousness will be the belt about his loins and faithfulness, the belt about his waist. Now, if you think, well, those are Old Testament passages and probably not really talking about anything related to us, one, you're wrong, but two, here's a New Testament passage. Second Thessalonians one, the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. He will establish his reign. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. And church, even now. The church is the instrument by which God judges the world. There's a future aspect of that. We see it in First Corinthians six, verse two, when Paul says, Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? But there is a present aspect of that. Second Corinthians, chapter two, we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? And so by our words, but even by our lives, they create a dividing line around which the world is judged. And when we pray, thy kingdom come, This is part of what we're asking for. And so what does it mean to us? Well, it speaks of the kingdom and the expansion of the kingdom and the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom, the battle that's going on in the kingdom. It relates to us in that way. But another way. There is a sense in which we look at particularly verse one, and there's the idea of for the believer, perhaps, of conquering old friends. Let me explain. In verse one, David conquers Gath. And there was a time, twice, when he ran to Gath for refuge. One time he finds refuge there. He lives there for 16 months in one of its outer cities. Those were days of worldliness. and compromise for David, of doubting God's promise and doubting God's protection. And yet God delivered David not only from Akish, the king, but also from David himself. And now David goes back to this place. And Gath is conquered. There's not a picture here of fighting to overcome the temptations and the backslidings of the past. For the believer, there's no area that can be roped off so that we say this, you know, those sins were more hateful to me than these, as if some were better than others, as if all of them are not hateful to God. But this one was kind of friendly. And so we don't get to take it easy on certain sins. All of them must be dealt with, they must be cut off and they will be cut off. There is no area, no sin that can have dominion over the Lord's people. The matter is so serious that, as you well know, Jesus says that if our eye causes us to stumble, to tear it out. Romans 6, 14, sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. And so we see, I think, portrayed here an example of this kind of conquering. One other thing. This is not a bloodless battle. John talked about Sunday, how it's an ongoing battle. There are no periods of rest. We don't get to take time off. It's not a bloodless battle either. I don't mean literally blood, but it's not bloodless. It is a battle. It is a conflict. The arrangement of material in chapter eight is interesting. There is an emphasis on David's activity, even as the Bible in chapter eight makes very clear that God is the one who's accomplishing these things. But there is an emphasis on David's activity. Just the first few verses. Look at verse one. David took control of the chief city. Verse 2, he defeated Moab. He measured them with a line. He measured two lines to put to death. Verse 3, David defeated Ptidesur. Verse 4, David captured from him. David hamstrung the chariots. Verse 5, David killed 22,000 Arameans. And all through the chapter, you see this. There's an emphasis on that. At the same time, these are, again, bullet points. There is an economy of words. And so there's nothing in here to puff David up and say, look at what a mighty warrior he is. You know, there's no battle detail. There's no description of events like that. You know, just fact. And an underlying that there's the twice repeated. The Lord helped David wherever he went, verse six and verse 14, both end with those words, and the Lord helped David wherever he went. And so it is God who gives him the victory. It is God who deserves the praise for the victory. But the people had to go fight. David had to go fight. The same thing is true for us, isn't it? Any victory worth having in this conflict, God must give it. They are spiritual conflicts. The glory is God's. And yet we do not have any excuse to sit back as if it will all be done without us. You know, we can't be fatalist. We can't act like God's going to accomplish all of this without us when he has clearly said that the means that he has provided to accomplish these things often is the church. He will work through his people to accomplish his ends. He's created us in Christ Jesus for good works. And so we must begin the battle, and it will be a fight. One more. This chapter is full of fighting. Again, we're spared the details, but the defeats that are mentioned here, they're not forfeitures. You know, David doesn't come up to the edge of the territory and everybody says, we quit, I give up. It's a fight. Again, it is. But the battles were not battles as an end in themselves. The battle was for the sake of the kingdom and to bring to the children of Israel the inheritance that God had promised them. We don't struggle for the sake of struggle, even against sin. We're not to be people walking around with a chip on our shoulders, looking to pick a fight. Rather, we are to make it our ambition to lead a quiet life and to attend to our own business. We're to pray that we have peace in every circumstance. But there is opposition, there is strife and there is evil and there is sin that must be warred against, even though our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against powers, etc. And the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful. So we fight for the sake of the kingdom. The spiritual battle and to enjoy the spiritual inheritance that God means for us to have as we wage war against sin. Seeking to put it to death and to pursue God in holiness. Pray with me and we'll close. Father, we pray that we would not overlook what is pretty simple to look at it and to read, and maybe doesn't feel very impactful. But God, what a wonderful reality is laid before us here. As we see your promises kept, some of them evidently pretty soon, as you make promises to David in their lifetime, they're fulfilled, but some of them, God, So many years had passed, promises to Abraham just now being fulfilled. God, I ask that Your faithfulness to Your Word and to Your people would grip our hearts and that we would be encouraged to look to you and to hope in you and to not lean on our own understanding, knowing that you will keep every promise. God, for others, I pray and ask that they would be gripped by the reality that you will keep every promise. You will not overlook sin and you will not be forgetful. And they are not special cases. Every promise will be kept. God, I pray that you would bring many more willing subjects to Christ Jesus. I ask in Christ's name, Amen.