Read 2 Samuel 5:1–16
Questions from the Scripture text: Who came to whom where (2 Samuel 5:1)? What did they say they are? What had David done when Saul was king (2 Samuel 5:2)? What did they know Yahweh had said to David? Whose arrival at Hebron does 2 Samuel 5:3 specifically mention? What did David make with them? Before Whom? What did they do to David? How old was David when he began to reign (2 Samuel 5:4)? How long did he reign? How long in Hebron (2 Samuel 5:5)? How long in Jerusalem? Who went to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 5:6? Against whom? Whom did the Jebusites say would repel David? What did they think? Nevertheless, what did David do (2 Samuel 5:7)? What way did David say to climb up there (2 Samuel 5:8)? What did he say would be done for the one who defeated the Jebusites that way? What did David call the hill when it was taken (2 Samuel 5:9)? What did he build? What did he become (2 Samuel 5:10)? Who was with him? Who sent messengers in 2 Samuel 5:11? With what three gifts? For what purpose? What did David know (2 Samuel 5:12)? What had Yahweh done to David? To His kingdom? For whose sake? What did David take to himself in 2 Samuel 5:13? With what result? Where were these born to him (2 Samuel 5:14)? How many sons total in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:14-16)? What were their names?
The Lord’s own purposes stand behind the rise and advance of His kingdom, even against all opposition external and internal.
It’s been seven years of the eleven tribes not acknowledging David as king (2 Samuel 5:5). Were they not his bone and flesh all that time (2 Samuel 5:1)? Had they had military history amnesia for seven years, somehow forgetting the exploits that they now recall in 2 Samuel 5:2a? What the Spirit presents to us, even on the people’s lips, is that it is not the people’s relationship with David or recognition of David that is in control here. Yahweh had said “You shall shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over Israel” (verse 2b).
So all the opposition of Saul and sluggishness of homage of the eleven tribes could not stop 2 Samuel 5:3–5 from coming. They may have anointed David king over Israel in 2 Samuel 5:3, but the anointing that sealed it all took place all the way back in 1 Samuel 16:13—and really, even further back in the eternal purpose and plan of God Himself.
We have the same message in 2 Samuel 5:6-14, where the nations come to bow to God’s anointed king—one way or another. Based upon the historical timing of the taking of Jerusalem and the rise of Hiram to the throne of Tyre, these events are much later than anything else in the chapter. So why are they here? To illustrate, again, that the kingdom is not merely a sequence of historical events with various political and military causes, but the fulfillment of God’s purposes and promises.
The Jebusites were a tiny little clan (with an overinflated ego, 2 Samuel 5:6) inhabiting one hill in the entire land of Canaan, but they were included in a more prestigious list in Genesis 15:21. Why? So that when we come to 2 Samuel 5:7–8, we don’t say so much, “Ah, what an ingenious military plan by David!” But more, “Ah, what a faithful fulfillment of promise by Yahweh!”
Hiram came to power around 25 years after 2 Samuel 5:3, but with Abrahamic promises in the background, the international acclaim of David in 2 Samuel 5:11-12 hearkens back to Genesis 12:3—God cursing those who curse His people, and blessing those who bless His people, and David’s recognizing in 2 Samuel 5:12 not only that it was Yahweh who had established and exalted His kingdom in David, but especially that this was “For the sake of His people Israel.”
Genesis 15. Genesis 12. Promises that come from the eternal, saving purpose of God and will not rest until Christ has come to save His people. And come again, with His saved people finally all gathered in and perfected. Promises that control the rise to power in 2 Samuel 5. Promises that control what is going on in the world today, and in your life this week, dear believer.
Promises that overcome even our folly and sin. 2 Samuel 5:13-14 resume (“more,” verse 13) list that began in 2 Samuel 3:2–5. And just in case we hadn’t caught the wickedness of it, the one who really stands out in this list is, “Solomon.” Many point to the fact that the birth of so many sons is a strengthening of David, building upon the theme of the rest of the chapter, and use this fact to justify the multiplication of concubines and wives.
But isn’t the point just the opposite? Can you really read the rest of 2 Samuel with a “positive” view of the morality and consequences of the Bathsheba incident? The point here is not that David was justified in what he did, but rather that God is glorified in extending mercy and in accomplishing good, even in such folly and wickedness as 2 Samuel 5:13a. There is no glory unto David in the glory of David. There is only glory unto God!
Such a God whose mercy and power overrule the sin of those who belong to Him in Christ is surely worthy not of carelessness that presumes outcomes but rather love and zeal in obedience and service that respond to Him and to His promised outcomes! Shall we not also trust Him and respond with such love and zeal in obedience and service?
What promises did God make to Abraham and David that have already come true? What promises did God make that have not yet come true? How are they coming true in today’s world and in your life?
Suggested songs: ARP2 “Why Do Gentile Nations Rage?” or TPH459 “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
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