II Samuel 5:17-28 – The Philistines
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
II Samuel 5:17-28 – The Philistines
"Welcome to the Living Word with Chuck Davis" 2 Samuel 5, 17-28 - The Philistines When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David, but David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. Now, the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Refram. David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go up against the Philistines?" "Will you give them into my hand?" And the Lord said to David, "Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand." David came to Baal, Parazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood. Therefore, the name of that place is called Baal, Parazim." And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away. The Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of the Refram. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up. Go around to the rear and come against the opposite, the balsam trees." And when you hear the sound of the marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself. "For then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines." And David did as the Lord commanded him and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gizaire. David's royal identity starts to take forward, and we begin to see that as king, he's going to have to roll religiously, socially, and politically. And politically means still being engaged in tribal warfare. The military role of kings in that day was essential. These were their main enemies, especially the Philistines, and once again, it comes before them. This is going to be a moment for David to exercise a level of strength that will give people confidence in his leadership. You have to remember that there are tribal categories in David's time related to holy war. And so in this text, it's pointing to the fact that the true living God is winning against false gods. Baal, as mentioned several times, and the idols are taken away would like to hear that they just simply destroyed them, but we don't know what they did in taking them away. But there's an overturning of the religious system. David inquired of the Lord, and the text says David did as the Lord commanded him. As long as David operates with those few words, he's going to have success. Only do as the Lord commands. The Lord tells them that when he sees the wind in the trees, the balsam trees, he is to know that the Lord has gone before them, and that victory is coming. I think it's interesting, the imagery of wind since Ruach or breath wind is also spirit. And the spirit of the Lord goes before David to grant him success in his endeavors. It's not David establishing his throne, it's the Lord establishing his throne. And so David's staying on track with that is very significant. The so what in this passage for me is this is a picture of David's last battle with traditional enemies. It's not going to happen again for another 10 chapters. But as the outer battle is going to shrink, we're going to see that the inner enemy is looming. David's fall is not going to come from without necessarily, but it's going to become from within when his heart is bent in the wrong direction. The now what of the passage is again to take a check in our lives and to be alert to what are the places that are susceptible, inner weaknesses, places in our own armor that have chinks, and so that we're not cut off by the enemy of our soul. And so Lord today, we give ourselves to you. We pray that you will keep us alert, knowing when the enemy is coming against us, you'll keep us alert, knowing when the systems of this world are moving against your ways. But also keep us alert to our own fleshly desires that we would not succumb to them in the day of battle. We give ourselves to you in Jesus name. Amen.