2 Samuel 5:1-25
Good morning!
We continue in 2 Samuel this morning, and our study takes us to chapter 5. A chapter we have been waiting a long time
for. Let’s do a quick review before we get into our passage.
After Saul
was killed in the battle with the Philistines, David’s men rescued his body
from the Philistine temple and gave him a proper burial. His commander-in-chief, Abner, made Saul’s
son Ishbosheth king over Israel. The
people of Judah instead followed David as their king. After a brief civil war, Abner realized that
David was the rightful king and began working to merge the two kingdoms. But before he could really get started, he
was murdered by Joab. Last week, we saw
that Ishbosheth was assassinated by leaders in his military. When the murderers bragged to David about
their deeds, he had them put to death. Let’s
pray and then look at 2 Samuel 5.
All
the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "We are your own
flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who
led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, 'You will
shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.' " When all
the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant
with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In
Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he
reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. – 2 Samuel 5:1-5 NIV
Back in chapter 2, we learned that
Ishbosheth only reigned for 2 years, and David was king over Judah from Hebron
for 7 ½ years. It is very likely that
there was a 5 year gap between the assassination of Ishbosheth and the people
coming to David to make him king over all Israel. 1 Chronicles 11-12 is the parallel to 2
Samuel 5, and verse 29 of 1 Chronicles 12 tells us that up until this time,
most of the tribe of Benjamin stayed loyal to Saul’s house. For this coronation celebration, the 12
tribes sent over 340,000 military men to Hebron to show their allegiance to
David. During the 5-year gap, Israel
realized that David was a great leader and that he was the rightful king over
Israel.
Notice that the people were the ones to
initiate. David, even though he had been
anointed king many years prior, did not exert his right to the throne. He probably could have proclaimed himself
king over all Israel, but that may have incited another civil war. Instead, he let the people decide for
themselves that he would be their king.
The first 3 verses of this chapter tells us that they based their
decision on his merits. First, He was an
Israelite like them. (Some may have
argued his allegiance since he went and lived with the Philistines for a while
to escape Saul.) Second, He was a proven
leader in battle. Finally, and most
importantly, The Lord had chosen him and commanded him to lead the people.
Does David’s decision to let the people
decide for themselves sound familiar?
There is another rightful King that all people must decide if He is
going to reign or not. As Creator, He has
the right to assert himself as King and impose His will on all of us, but
instead He allows each of us to freely decide if we will submit to Him. We need to submit our lives to Him at the
moment of salvation. And we must also
submit ourselves times throughout the day.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory
of God (I Corinthians 10:31). We must
moment by moment decide if we will submit our will to His. It isn’t easy, and I think that is partly
what Paul meant when he told the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing.” To stay in a constant state of prayer is to
constantly remind ourselves of our need to submit and trust.
Back to our text, David’s first action as
king is to find a more centralized capital.
He chose what we know as Jerusalem.
Up until this time, the city was known as Jebus. It was situated on a hill within the tribal
lands of Judah. The inhabitants, the
Jebusites, are first mentioned in Genesis 10:15-16. They are the descendants of Canaan, who was Noah’s
grandson by Ham. They are related to the
Amorites and the Hittites. They have
been a thorn in Israel’s side for years.
This city had also lingered under Canaanite control despite God’s clear
commands in Joshua to destroy the inhabitants.
David’s Judean capital Hebron was pretty
far to the south in the tribal lands of Judah and was not a great place for a
centralized capital. Israel was about 20
miles farther north. David may have also
been thinking that if the Jebusites have held it for so long, it would make a
great fortress for himself.
The
king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there.
The Jebusites said to David, "You will not get in here; even the blind and
the lame can ward you off." They thought, "David cannot get in
here." Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion--which is the
City of David. On that day David had said, "Anyone who conquers the
Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those 'lame and blind' who
are David's enemies." That is why they say, "The 'blind and lame'
will not enter the palace." David then took up residence in the fortress
and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the
terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God
Almighty was with him. – 2 Samuel 5:6-10 NIV
The Jebusites were so confident in their
defenses that they thought even the blind and lame could defend it. David decided not to take a normal approach
to attacking the city. Jebus sat atop a
rock outcropping with sheer cliffs on three sides. The only gates were on the northern side of
the city. There was a spring running
under the rock, and they had cut shafts through the rock to the spring so they
could draw water up in times of siege. Instead
of besieging the city, David’s men climbed up a water shaft to gain entrance to
the “blind and lame” defenders.
I don’t think the phrase “the blind and
lame will not enter the palace” in verse 8 is to be taken literally. As we will see later, David sought out the
lame Mephibosheth to show him compassion and invited him to eat at the table
with him in the palace. It was probably
meant as a joke that David didn’t want the same type of defenders the Jebusites
had in his new fortress.
Now that David has a new capital and a
fortress, the other kings in the area had two responses: treat him as a friend
and an ally, or as an enemy attack him.
We’re going to see an example of each.
Now
Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters
and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. Then David knew that the
LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for
the sake of his people Israel. After he left Hebron, David took more concubines
and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. These are
the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet. – 2 Samuel 5:11-16
NIV
Hiram decided he would rather become an
ally than an enemy. So he sends David
raw material and craftsman to help build his new palace. David also added more wives and concubines
and had more children. John already
touched on the multiple wives point a few weeks ago, so I will not delve into
it here other than to say that the lists of sons in chapter 3 and 5, David is
up to 17 named sons.
The Philistines tried the opposite
approach from Hiram. They knew that
David was very familiar with their military tactics and strengths, so they
decided to attack early before David could strengthen himself.
When
the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went
up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to
the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of
Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the
Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?" The LORD answered him,
"Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands." So
David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As
waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me."
So that place was called Baal Perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols
there, and David and his men carried them off. – 2 Samuel 5:17-21 NIV
Did you catch David’s response? He inquired of the Lord. Contrast that with Saul. Saul would ask multiple people until he got
the answer he wanted, or he’d seek a medium to call up Samuel, or he just did
what he wanted. David however sought the
Lord. God told David to go attack them
for He had delivered them into David’s hands.
So David met the Philistines in the valley just west of Jerusalem and
defeated them. The Philistines even ran
off without their gods, so David and his men collected them, and according to I
Chronicles 14, had them burned. But again, the Philistines returned for another
attack in the same valley.
Once
more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David
inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle
around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you
hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly,
because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the
Philistine army." So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck
down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. – 2 Samuel 5:22-25 NIV
David may have been tempted to say,
“Well, God let me defeat them last time, so I’ll just go again the same
way.” But he didn’t. He chose to again inquire of God. But, in light of the same problem, God told
David to respond differently. He wasn’t
to meet them head on, but was to circle around behind them and wait for the
Lord’s signal then attack. One advantage
David would have over any attackers in southern Israel was that he spent many
years hiding in the rugged, arid desert wilderness in that area. He knew the terrain and area better than
anyone else.
(As a side note here, depending on the
translation that you are using the type of tree changes. The reason is that no one knows what the
Hebrew word really means. You’ll see
balsam, poplar, or mulberry just to name a few.)
How many times in our lives is there
some circumstance that comes up and we think to ourselves, “I just went through
the same thing. I can handle it the same
way I did last time.” I don’t want to
just allegorize this story and only get the lesson from the allegory. This was an actual even that happened. God actually sent David and his army behind
the Philistine army. He caused the sound
of marching troops to come from the tops of trees. It startled the Philistine army as I’m sure
they expected an attack from a different direction. They couldn’t even run away because David was
behind them cutting of their planned exit route. They chased the Philistines from Gibeon,
which is just north of Jerusalem, to Gezer which is about 20 miles due west of
Gibeon. But again, we need to constantly
be seeking God’s will for every aspect of our lives. Even when an event seems like just a simple
repeat, His instructions may change for the second event.
(Conclusion borrowed from https://bible.org/seriespage/5-place-one-s-own-2-samuel-51-25)
There is, of course, a great sense of
relief and of joy to arrive at this point in David's life. It has been many
years since Samuel anointed David as Israel's king. David has been through many
painful experiences in order to reach this point. There have been the good
times, such as serving in Saul's house as his musician, and becoming close
friends with his son, Jonathan. There was the defeat of Goliath, and there were
promotions by Saul. There was the blessing of marriage to one of Saul's
daughters, making David a part of the royal family. But there were many bad
times as well. There were years of waiting, of hiding out from Saul in fear for
his life. There were those times when David had to seek refuge among his
enemies. Now, all of that has culminated in his reign over all Israel. It is
indeed a joyous moment, a time for celebration.
I
am impressed with David, especially when compared with Saul. Unlike Saul, David
continually seeks God's will and endeavors to obey His commands. When David is
wrong, he repents and seeks to do what is right. Though Saul does not give
Israel victory over the Philistines, David does. Though Saul does not exercise
moral leadership over the nation, David does. Over and over, David sets the
moral and spiritual pace for Judah and the other tribes of Israel. He responds
rightly to the news of Saul's death, and to the wickedness of those who raised
their hands against the Lord's anointed.
Unlike
Saul, David is not just a king who knows nothing other than crisis management,
who seems only willing to “put out fires.” Saul only dealt with the problems he
could not avoid. David dealt with problems that those before him had avoided,
and with some success. The taking of Jebus is one such example of David's
initiative and leadership. David understood God's promise that He would give
over the Jebusites and their land. David sought to obey God's command, though
given to Israel in an earlier day, to defeat the Jebusites and drive them out
of the land. He saw the city of Jebus as an ideal capital, and one that would
serve to unite the tribes of Israel under his rule. He could have chosen to
“peacefully co-exist” with the Jebusites, as others before him had done, but
instead he took the difficult path and prevailed over them. And it was a
victory such as this which gave Israel (and her king) status and respect among
the nations.
To
sum up the entire 5th chapter of
2 Samuel, I believe its unity can be found in one central theme: men's response
to God's king. While Saul, Abner, and others may have resisted David's rise to
the throne, it was the will of God. After Abner's death, the people of Israel
recognized that David should be their king, and it was their leaders who
approached David, expressing their desire for him to be their king. In short,
the tribes of Israel submitted to David as God's king (5:1-5). The Jebusites
opposed God's king, and so it was that God gave David -- His king -- the
victory over the Jebusites (5:6-10). Hiram, king of Tyre, seems to have
recognized to one degree or another that David was God's king, and by his offer
to help build David a palace, he demonstrated his submission to God's king
(5:11-12). In the taking of more wives and the bearing of more children, David
was thriving as God's king (5:13-16). The Philistines, however, would not
submit to David as God's king. They attacked David, seeking to kill him and to
remove the threat that he and a united Israel posed (5:17-25). Not once, but
twice, did these Philistines come against David and the army of Israel. And
twice God gave David the victory over his enemies. Those who received David as
God's king were blessed; those who rejected David as God's king were crushed.
David
is most certainly a prototype of the “Son of David” who is to come, God's King,
who will come to the earth to defeat His enemies, and to rule over His kingdom.
Why do the nations conspire and the
peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band
together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, "Let us break
their chains and throw off their shackles." The One enthroned in heaven
laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies
them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy
mountain." I will proclaim the LORD's decree: He said to me, "You are
my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations
your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them
with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." Therefore,
you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with
fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a
moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. – Psalm 2:1-12 NIV
This
psalm speaks prophetically of the day when God will install His King, the Lord
Jesus Christ, upon His throne. The enemies of God and of good will seek to
unite themselves in order to resist and to overthrow the reign of Christ as
King. It is clear that such resistance is foolish and fatal. When God sets His
King upon His throne, no one will be able to resist or overthrow Him. Those who
seek to do so will be crushed. There is only one wise response to the coming of
God's King, and that is to humbly submit to Him, for in this is great blessing.
David
serves as a prototype of our Lord Jesus Christ as God's King, the King who is
the subject of Psalm 2. Those who opposed David were eventually crushed. Those
who submitted to him were blessed. When our Lord came to this earth 2,000 years
ago, God made it clear that He was indeed the Son of God, God's King. On four occasions, Jesus was declared the son
of God. The transfiguration, His
baptism, the angel to Mary, and by Nathaniel.
After six days Jesus took with him
Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by
themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun,
and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before
them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it
is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for
you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a
bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my
Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" When the
disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. – Matthew 17:1–6
NIV
At that time Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was
coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit
descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my
Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." – Mark 1:9–11 NIV
But the angel said to her, "Do
not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give
birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his
father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom
will never end." –
Luke 1:30–33 NIV
When Jesus saw Nathanael
approaching, he said of him, "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is
no deceit." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus
answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip
called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the king of Israel." – John 1:47–49 NIV
In
spite of all the evidence, many of those in the religious establishment chose
to reject Jesus as God's Messiah. They grasped at straws to prove to themselves
and others that He could not possibly be God's King. But their best efforts
failed. They thought that they had triumphed over Him when they brought about
His crucifixion and death, but when God raised Him from the dead, it was clear
that He had triumphed over them.
Jesus
Christ is God's King. When our Lord Jesus came to the earth the first time, He
added unblemished humanity to his deity. While He was introduced as God's King,
He was rejected and crucified by sinful men. The purpose of His first coming
was not to establish His kingdom by overthrowing Rome, it was to die for the
sins of men, so that they could enter into His kingdom. Those who trust in Him
for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life await His second
coming. It is at this future time that He will defeat His enemies and establish
His throne on the earth. Those who reject Him as God's king will be overthrown,
just as the enemies of David were. There is no more important issue for you to
settle than your relationship with Jesus Christ, God's king. Those who are His
friends will reign with Him. Those who are His enemies will be destroyed. May
you be like Hiram king of Tyre, rather than like the Philistines, who set
themselves against David and against God.
In your relationships with one
another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God
exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. –
Philippians 2:5–11 NIV
At
some point, all of us will have to admit that Jesus Christ is Lord. How much sweeter it is to acknowledge Him now
instead of later! Christian, let’s
choose today to submit our wills to His and to involve Him in all
decisions. His direction for this time
may be different next time, and how will we know if we don’t ask?
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