A New King and a New Capital.

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 led 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 thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three 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. And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David's soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. – 2 Samuel 5:1-10 ESV

“And they anointed David king over Israel.” The great day finally arrived. It had not been without its difficulties and delays. There had probably been moments when David felt like it would never happen. It was in those moments of doubt that David had been tempted to take matters into his own hands and speed up the process. But the will of God can’t be rushed. Our impatience and subsequent impulsive attempts to help God out, will never cause God to alter His timing or the outcome He has in mind. In most cases, it will simply complicate things, making our wait seem even longer and the circumstances surrounding our lives even harder. But the day finally arrived when David was crowned king over all of Israel – all 12 tribes. The elders of Israel, representing the 11 other tribes (because Judah had already anointed David king) went to Hebron and formally announced their recognition of David as the king of all Israel. It is interesting to note that they confessed that David had been the one who had really led Israel, even during the days of Saul. David had been the military leader. He is the one who had commanded the troops and brought about the victories over their enemies. Then they also acknowledged that they had known all along that David had been God’s choice to be the next king of Israel. “And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader’” (2 Samuel 5:2 NLT). In the ancient Near East, the term, “shepherd” was a common term used to describe either a divinity, a king or ruler. So they were admitting that they had known all along that David had been the God-appointed ruler over Israel. But they had never done anything about it up until this point. This awareness on their part helps explain the reaction of Saul to David’s success. He feared David and was jealous of him. It wasn’t just that they sang songs about him, it was that he knew the rumors that David was to be the shepherd of Israel. So, he had set out to kill David.

A lesson to learn from this story is that it is possible to know the will of God and refuse to accept it. We can be completely aware of what it is that God wants us to do and then simply refuse to do it. If they had known all along that David was the God-appointed replacement for Saul, why had they not done anything to see that David was made king years earlier? Knowing God’s will is one thing. Obeying it is another.

But as the old saying goes: Better late, than never. They finally crown David king. The year was 1004 B.C. and David was 30-years old. He had already reigned seven years over Judah and he would reign an additional 33 years over the unified kingdom of Israel. So David would enjoy a four-decades-long rule and he would prove to be the greatest king Israel ever had. His reign would have its highs and lows, its moments of glory and its days of heart-crushing humiliation and defeat. Like any man, David would make mistakes. He would leave behind a legacy filled with all kinds of victories on the battle field as well as defeats in his own home. There was his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. There was the rape of his daughter, Tamar by her half-brother Amnon, followed closely by Amnon’s murder by Tamar’s brother, Absalom. David would prove to be a great king, but not always a great father. His reign would be marked by courage, wisdom and a willingness to serve God. But he would have his moments of self-inflicted pain and suffering because of his own impulsiveness and pride. David was not a perfect man, but he was a godly man. He had a heart for God. He had a desire to serve God. And the one thing that set David apart from Saul and so many of the other kings of Israel, was his heart of repentance. David messed up regularly and sometimes, spectacularly, but he was always quick to repent. He desired to be right with God. He even invited God to investigate his heart and expose anything in it that might be offensive to God but oblivious to himself.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” – Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

This chapter is really a snapshot of the true beginning of David’s reign as king, and it chronicles David’s capture of the city of Jerusalem. The passage rather matter-of-factly states, “the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites” (2 Samuel 5:6 ESV). David was searching for a capital, a city from which to rule over his newly unified nation. He had been using Hebron in the south, but it would prove too distant from all the other tribes to make a good capital. Jerusalem was centrally located and was situated on a mountain top surrounded by valleys, which provided it easy to defend.

But there was something far more important about Jerusalem and the site on which it was located than its natural defensive capabilities. It was located on Mount Moriah. That is the same mountain top on which God commanded Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice (Genesis 22). The city of Jerusalem itself has ties all the way back to Melchizedek, who was the king to which Abraham offered a tenth of his spoils taken in battle. The Genesis account lists Melchizedek as the king of Salem, which was to become the city of Jerusalem. The author of Hebrews would later compare Melchizedek with Jesus:

This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God. – Hebrews 7:1-3 NLT

The mountain on which Jerusalem sits also contains the Mount of Olives, the very place from which Jesus ascended back into heaven after his death and resurrection. It is also the place to which He will return at His second coming. It was also on the very same mountain on which Jerusalem sits, that Jesus was crucified. The very location where Abraham had been commanded to offer up his son, his only son, would be the same place where God would offer up His one and only Son for the sins of the world. Jerusalem had great significance. It was to be David’s capital and eventually the home of the temple, built by David’s son, Solomon. Jerusalem would be where Jesus had His triumphal entry, but also His trials and condemnation to death for claiming to be the Son of God. It would be outside the walls of Jerusalem, the city of peace, that Jesus would be hung on a cross and left to die. Jesus would one day weep over the city of Jerusalem, saying:

“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation.” – Luke 19:43-44 NLT

David was choosing Jerusalem, “the city of peace” to be his capital. But over the centuries, it would know times of peace and times of difficulty. It would contain the temple of God, but many of its inhabitants would act as if God did not exist. Even in the days of Jesus, He would recognize that their love for God had waned and the days of God’s judgment were coming. But Jerusalem still holds a special place in the heart of God and it will be from the city of Jerusalem that the second David, the King of kings and Lord of lords will rule and reign when Christ sets up His kingdom on earth.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Ken Miller