June 10, 2024 | Be God's Light
David Becomes King over all Israel
Scripture: 2 Samuel 5:1-13 (NIV)
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 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.’”
3 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.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
6 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.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
8 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.”
9 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. 10 And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 12 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.
13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
Devotional
In the previous reading of 2 Samuel 2, we saw that the Israelite people split in two. The northern portion was known as Israel, with Ish-Bosheth as their king and Abner as their military commander. The southern part was called Judah, with David as their king and Joab as their commander.
Seven years later, Abner defected to David, then was put to death. Ish-Bosheth was murdered on his own bed (2 Samuel 3-4). This left Israel without a king or military commander, so they came to David and anointed him to be their king. Now the entire nation of Israel was united under King David.
One of David’s first acts was to conquer Jerusalem, known as Zion, the City of David. Since that day Jerusalem has been the epicenter of Jewish conflict, as well as blessing. David built the royal palace there, and his son Solomon built the temple. In Psalm 68:16 David called Mt. Zion “the mountain where God chooses to reign.”
A thousand years later, Jesus would cry out, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). A few days later they crucified Jesus on Mt. Zion.
Today, Jerusalem is divided into the Jewish, Christian, Armenian, and Muslim Quarters. The Muslim Dome of the Rock is built on the site of Solomon’s temple. Jerusalem is still a place of both conflict and blessing.
Take some time to pray for Jerusalem. Pray for its people, that they may live in peace with one another.
Poem
Shepherd King’s Prayer
Great Shepherd, Good Shepherd,
I sit before You upon Your Rock
With my heart strings tuned to praise You
Selah!
You have given me eyes keen
To scan the horizons of Your borders
To comprehend the vastness of Your provision
Selah!
You have strengthened my arm
With Your Right Arm
And have given me courage to battle
Selah!
My feet are fleet as they run through Your fields
No stumbling or tripping stone or hole
Will You allow to cripple me
Selah!
These sheep from Your pastures
Strong, weak, close, wandering
You have placed under my care
Selah!
Your rod to defend, Your staff to rescue
Your anointing oil to heal
All in my knapsack
Selah!
Keep me humble in victory
Allow me rest under stars
May Your peace be my blanket
Selah!
