II Samuel 5:1-16 – King of Israel
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
II Samuel 5:1-16 – King of Israel
Welcome to the Living Word with Chuck Davis. 2 Samuel 5, 1 to 16, King of Israel. Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who let out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.' So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years. At Hebron, he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over Israel and Judah 33 years. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land who said to David, 'You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off, thinking David cannot come in here.' Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David. David said on that day, 'Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up, the watershed to attack the lame and the blind who are hated by David's soul.' Therefore, it is said, 'The blind and lame shall not come into the house.' And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. David built the city all around from Milo inward, and David became greater and greater for the Lord the God of Host was with him. And here on King of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David. And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem, Shamua, Shobab, Nathan, Salomon, Dibhar, Elisha, Fege, Jafia, Eleshama, Eleada, Elephaled. Here we have David finally coming to the place of being recognized as king over Israel. And the text were reminded it's the Lord who established him as king over Israel, but there were stages of them realizing it. There's been a level of vindication that's being put out by the author to show that David hasn't taken the throne unjustly. Remember back his first anointing was in front of his brothers by Samuel in 1 Samuel 16. His second anointing is by the elders of Judah in 2 Samuel 2, that was 12 to 18 years later. And this is the third anointing where all the elders of Israel, seven and a half years after the one in Judah. Yesterday I mentioned the idea that David was a praying, waiting and trusting man, and this we get to see in him even becoming king. He doesn't force even the prophetic word to come into existence. The shepherd imagery is used here. God and leaders, this is a conventional metaphor to speak of them leading well. David was shepherd of literal sheep as a young man, and he's going to become the keeper of people. Verses 6 to 8 have some very difficult passages to interpret this whole idea of the blind and the lame. The best I can take from it is if there's a level of sarcasm here where David is kind of like after he's taken Zion kind of giving this taunt back. So the lame and the blind were going to keep me out. I'm not quite sure everything to it. The whole point of the text is now Jerusalem becomes the city of David. And he's going to rule there for 12 years. He's going to rule for the sake of the people. This is what makes David unique among all the kings of Israel. He doesn't use his power for his own benefit except that one time that we're going to come up on real soon. There's a warning in the text though. There's a bit of a slide happening in David's life. This is the man who waited on God and it feels like he's grasping at power, at least putting out the appearance of power. Remember kings in that day had many concubines and wives. Now, having these set up alliances with other nations, it provided kind of a reliable economic order to the rest of the nation. But we're going to see that David's expansion of power will lead somewhat to his downfall. The soul of this passage is a reminder that even the most noble are subject to vices and can begin a slide. And it's important that we cut off the slide very early. The now what is an alertness in my own life that there's not a bending of the rules and a winking of the eye, but putting myself before God in fresh ways to honor his process that he is the one making a name for us. And he is establishing his kingdom through us. So Lord, we give ourselves to you today. If there's any twists within us, we would cut it out now in Jesus name and we look forward to what you will do in making a name for us in Jesus name. Amen.