King At Last (2 Samuel 5)

Did David have to wait 14-15 years after Samuel anointed him king? Must we also learn to patiently wait on God’s timing? Were David’s marriages a blind spot? Have we ever discovered any blind spots? Let’s look at 2 Samuel 5.

Was David finally anointed king for the third time, over all Israel? How long was his reign?

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a leader over Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the Lord in Hebron; then they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. (2 Samuel 5:1-5 NASB)

Did God give David victory over Jerusalem and the Jebusites who lived there? Did he move his residence from Hebron to Jerusalem?

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)

Did a neighboring king build David a palace? Did David take more wives and concubines to himself?

Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. (2 Samuel 5:11-16 NKJV)

Did David ask God’s advice at the first attack by the Philistines against Jerusalem?

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he went into the stronghold. The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim. So David asked the Lord, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied to David, “Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you.” So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. “The Lord did it!” David exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” So he named that place Baal-perazim (which means “the Lord who bursts through”). The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David and his men confiscated them. (2 Samuel 5:17-21 NLT)

Did God give David a different strategy the second time the Philistines attacked?

The Philistines came up yet again and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of Yahweh, he said, “You shall not go up. Circle around behind them, and attack them in front of the mulberry trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then stir yourself up; for then Yahweh has gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” David did so, as Yahweh commanded him, and struck the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:22-25 WEB)

Is the biggest battle that we all face, our own flesh? How can we have victory?

So I find that, as a rule, when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me. I gladly agree with the Law on the inside, but I see a different law at work in my body. It wages a war against the law of my mind and takes me prisoner with the law of sin that is in my body. I’m a miserable human being. Who will deliver me from this dead corpse? Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I’m a slave to God’s Law in my mind, but I’m a slave to sin’s law in my body. So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 7:21-8:2 CEB)