2 Samuel 5 Commentary
David becomes king over Israel. The chapter records two critical battles with the Philistines, which David wins.
The capture of Jerusalem and its subsequent occupation are important as Jerusalem becomes the city of the king. It would become the city of the King as the temple would be built here.
The King of Tyre sends materials and labor towards the building of David’s palace. We are off to a good start!
These victories and the goodwill of the king of Tyre must be seen from within the context of the history-long blessing. The LORD had given this same land to Abraham and his descendants. After several hundred years, Israel is still fighting to establish itself. The instruction to ‘go and possess’ is miles away.
It should be strange that we are celebrating David’s conquest of Jerusalem. At what point was this city repossessed by the Jebusites? We know Joshua had conquered and ‘totally destroyed’ everything there. And Israel occupied it. Victor, victim – victim, victor. This cycle would go on and on, endlessly.
They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled – The LORD Jesus Christ, in Luke 21:24.
The seesaw story of Jerusalem is very interesting. It represented Israel as a settled nation in the land of promise. It also represented Israel as a nation under bondage – Remember the blessing of Issachar!
In the meantime, we can sit back and bask in the victories. We have a resemblance to normality here for Israel. Their oppressors are defeated on two critical occasions. The power of the throne is the power of the nation.
“He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” Deuteronomy 17:17.
David takes more wives. Verse 13. He should be in breach of the above law! For now, all seems well, but we shall see how this spirit would go on and multiply itself in his son Solomon.
We shall also read about rape, murder and mutiny within the family. Marrying many women wasn’t part of the script. David is many things to look up to, but not as a model parent.
The Old Testament is a record of human failure. Of course, we find effort at godliness here and there, and we celebrate it. But a hunger remains for more. The more is only achieved by Calvary!
We also see ourselves in these Old Testament characters. Personal effort at righteousness yields nothing different from what we see in these characters – a mixture of godliness and disobedience.
Probably someone erased Deuteronomy 17:17 from David’s Bible!
Calvary becomes more important than ever!
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