All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 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.’”
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.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
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. (New International Version)
“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.”
Robert F. Kennedy
A sense of satisfaction and gratification comes with a job well done. Whenever we have an inner sense of accomplishing something important or fulfilling a purpose which was long in the planning, there is a settled feeling we have lived into God’s intentions for us.
David experienced success because the Lord was with him. He was careful to do all that God intended for him to do. King David lived into his anointing and demonstrated that he was of a different cut than the previous king, Saul. David was the person equipped by God to lead all Israel and Judah.
Using his newfound position and authority, David took the initiative to do the Lord’s will. This was a long time in coming. David had a sense, because of close walk with God, of when to be patient and wait, and when to take charge and act.
There was an extended patient wait for the Lord’s timing in David becoming king. Although anointed by the prophet Samuel as king while Saul was still in his reign, it took years for David to be enthroned as the actual king. David had several opportunities to make himself king by killing Saul (who was trying to kill David) but he allowed God to enthrone him in God’s own good time.
In fact, rarely does anything the Lord promise come to fruition immediately. We must wait patiently for deliverance from painful trials of faith and the return of Christ. God makes promises. Then we persevere until those promises are fulfilled.
All of David’s waiting finally dissipated into kingly action. Before there were kings, judges ruled in Israel. And before that, Joshua led the people into the Promised Land. They had a mandate to expel the Canaanites. Those instructions from God only partially happened. There were still remnants and pockets of resistance. The Jebusites, ensconced in the city of Jebus (Jerusalem) were the most stubborn.
Part of the reason there were Canaanites still living in the land was the former King Saul’s failure to take up the Lord’s plan. One of the first acts of King David was to finish and fulfill the complete takeover of the land.
David was willing to attempt something nobody else could do, and that no one believed could be done. If we were a fly on the wall during discussions about this, I can imagine a coterie of people saying to the king, “We tried that before. It won’t work. You cannot get rid of the Jebusites. This is a fool’s errand.”
Pessimism and passivity certainly do not dislodge anything, and the people had fallen into a cynicism that believed they needed to put up with the current situation. Whenever a group of people fall into this kind of thinking, criticism is rife because folks are not working together toward shared goals and solutions. Instead of addressing problems, there is merely complaining about the problems.
On the other side of it, the Jebusites were smug in their self-confidence, showing their bravado through being blowhards. However, they had not yet faced David. If they thought another king like Saul was coming along, they were in for a big wake up call.
The Lord almighty was with David. And that is what made all the difference. King David did not accept the status quo. He worked toward accomplishing the Lord’s will, as he understood it. And his faith always led to effective action.
God almighty, ruler of heaven and earth, may we your people never lose the way through our self-will, and so end up stuck in our souls with nowhere to go. Help us to never abandon the struggle so that we may endure to the end, and so be saved. May we never drop out of life with you but press forward to the goal of our high calling. May we not choose the cheap and easy way of getting things done but always remember that sweat is the price of all things, and that without the cross, there cannot be the crown. So, keep us and strengthen us by your grace. Let no disobedience nor weakness or failure stop us from being faithful in all the changes and chances of life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
*Above statue of King David, outside his tomb in Jerusalem
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 