2 Samuel 5:7
“Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).”
After taking the throne and ruling over all of Israel, David focused his attention on three crucial areas that would help to guarantee a long and successful reign.
First, he established Jerusalem as the capital of the nation. Jerusalem was centrally located and easily defendable. Although Shiloh housed the Tabernacle, Israel had lacked a central political capital. Choosing Jerusalem as the capital made a statement of a new beginning for the nation. They would not be continuing on as they had been for so many years, but would be starting fresh. This is one of the greatest benefits of becoming a child of God. Paul wrote, “. . .behold, all things become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We do not have to carry around the baggage of the past when we come to Christ. We can lay it at His feet and have a fresh start at life.
Second, David addressed the Philistine problem. Saul’s approach seemed to be to respond whenever the Philistines attacked. David chose to address them head on. After carefully seeking the Lord, he began a campaign to rid Israel of the Philistines, once and for all. Often, we deal with sin only when it becomes a problem, instead of planning ahead to ensure we have built up safeguards that will make it difficult to stumble. We all have “easily besetting sins” we must guard ourselves against if we are not going to be defeated by them. Perhaps it is time to drive some things out of your life, before you find yourself defeated by them once again.
Finally, David chose to bring the Ark to the center of the nation. Later we will read of his desire to build a Temple, to both house the Ark, and provide a place of worship for the people. Although David will struggle with the “how to” and move the Ark in an inappropriate way, he is showing his desire for God to have center stage in his life, and in the nation. Too often, we give God the back seat, or perhaps even “shotgun,” when we should be giving Him the driver’s seat. The rightful place for Jesus in your life, is sitting on the throne as Lord. Instead of letting Him be a part of your life, you should let Him be Lord of your life. If you make a mistake like David did, look into the Word and see how He wants you to live and “Just do it!”
Pastor Jim
King Ishbosheth’s officers could see that the kingdom was collapsing; Abner, the head of the military had joined forces with David and Ishbosheth was so depressed he spent his days lying in bed. Baanah and Rechab saw this as an opportunity to make a name for themselves. Thinking they would be richly rewarded, they decided to kill the king and bring his remains to David. Their thoughts and behaviors were a clear violation of the Word of God, and of the heart of king David, yet they convinced themselves they were serving God.
Abner is an interesting case study in human behavior. He was the commander of Saul’s armies. After Saul’s death, he became the commander of Ishbosheth’s army. In many ways, he seems to be a very good man, and had even earned David’s trust. If there is one word that sums up the life of Abner, it is loyalty. Webster defines loyalty as “unswerving allegiance.” In other words, Abner was a man of commitment. We might say his word was his bond. When he committed to something, he saw it through to the end. In many ways, this is an admirable character trait. Abner’s folly was in putting his allegiance in the wrong place. By his own admission, he knew God had called David to be king, yet he found himself committed to Ishbosheth, refusing to allow David to sit upon the throne.
Some confusion has arisen from the two seemingly contradictory records of the death of Saul. 1 Samuel closes by recording the incident, and explaining that a wounded Saul, no doubt fearful of being captured, tortured, and brutally killed, fell upon his sword, taking his own life. Now, as 2 Samuel begins, we read that in agony, Saul pleaded for a young Amelekite to end his life. The law of contradiction is not broken by joining the two accounts, and concluding that when Saul fell on his sword he did not die immediately. So he pleaded with the young man to end his suffering. However, based upon the account in 2 Samuel there seems a more likely conclusion. This young Amalekite was something of an opportunist, and lied about what actually happened.
Jim Gallagher 