2 Samuel 6:18
“After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.”
David was a very different kind of king compared to Saul. Saul was of the type God warned them about. In I Samuel 8 it says he would take the best of their sons and daughters for his service. He would also take a tenth of their fields and so on. David was a man after God's heart (I Samuel 13:14). Saul took from the people for his ends, while David was giving to the people the ways of God.
David sought after God and was leading the nation to do the same. That's how David was raised and he influenced others to do the same. It was mainly by being vocal about his faith. He was jealous for God when Goliath taunted Israel, 'Then David said to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and rids Israel of the disgrace? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to defy the armies of the living God?”' (I Samuel 17:26). That is bold, courageous faith. He wasn't talking tough, he asked about stepping up. This is inspiring. It encourages others to be bold for God.
When David was living on the run from Saul, he had hundreds of men and families that followed him. He had his own army. When they were pursuing an enemy some were exhausted and had to stop while the rest of the army went on to fight and gain the victory. When it came to divide the spoils, those that finished the task were going to give the weaker ones a limited amount. But David stepped in and said, no. We will divide it evenly. He made it a law amongst them. He was being godly by looking out for the weaker ones.
David also knew that these victories were from God, so to reward the most valiant is giving the message that they were responsible for it. David knew better. This act of dividing the spoils as he did is giving the message that God gave them the victory.
This is a counter culture message. Our culture doesn't acknowledge God. Quite the contrary. They teach much that is opposite of God's ways. God established the order in Genesis. One such order is that man was to rule over the animal kingdom. They were to be subservient to him. I heard a college professor call this speceism; to claim that one specie is greater than another. Our culture goes in different ways than God's Word. Help us to bring You to others. Open doors to do so and give the boldness to speak.
Lord, thank You for David and how he sought to glorify Your name and to bring Your ways to the people.