5 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.
Through the machinations of Abner, David is presented to Israel as their new king. Until this point David was only recognized as king in Judah, so 11 of the tribes of Israel didn’t recognize him as king. Benjamin, the tribe of Saul, outwardly fought against him, even though Abner, the shadow leader of Israel, already knew that David was anointed by God. Once Israel’s choices were reduced to David, only then did they accept him as a leader.
This is a problem with people in general. Most people will live their life outside of following God until that life is in peril. Once the options of life are removed, and Christ is the only choice, many finally see Jesus.
The people of Israel realize a few important things about David:
1. We are your own flesh and blood: They recognize that he is a fellow Israelite. 2. You were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns: David has always been dedicated to the people of Israel. 3. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler: David is anointed by God. Whether Israel knew this from the beginning is troubling. Were they adamantly opposed to God for a period with Ish-Bosheth?
David is officially anointed king over Israel too. This is an important function, an official public decree that David ascends to the throne. Even though he is anointed by God, he must also be sealed by the people, not unlike a presidential inauguration. It allows the country to turn the page on that last presidency (or kingship) and turn to the new.
Verse four lays out David’s complete reign over Israel. In 1 Samuel 16:12-13, David is anointed to be king of Israel. This is during the reign of Saul. But because of Saul’s indifference and outright opposition to God, Saul is rejected by God. David was probably near 15 when he was anointed. Often times God employs a training period for those who are to do His work. In the case of Nehemiah, he had to pray diligently until God opened a moment for him to go in front of a favorable King Artaxerxes. Queen Esther had a similar tract; she knew that going before the king and pleading for the Jews could mean her death. So she asked for the Jewish people to fast and prepare until she went before the king. It is no different for David. A good 15 years elapsed and in that time David both succeeded and failed in his relationship with God until it was the right time for him.
If we are truly to seek a relationship with God and desire to follow his rule, we must understand that God must prepare us, through triumphs and failures, until he moment is right for us to do his will. This looks different in each life, but we are trained, sometimes for days (as was Esther’s case), sometimes for months (as was Nehemiah’s), but often times years.
David’s 15-year training before he took the throne of Israel includes 7 years as leader of Judah. 33 more years as the king of Israel rounds out his mission time. 40 years is also a significant biblical number. Many of the numbers in scripture hold a symbolic value.
3 is symbolic of perfection and completion. 10 is a symbolic number for earthly government. 12 is symbolic for perfect government or spiritual authority. 40 is symbolic for a period of trials.
There are many more. For a larger list of biblical numerical symbolism check out this list:
40 denoted a period of trials and growth for both David and Israel. Saul had the same number of turbulent years in his reign.
David Conquers Jerusalem 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.
David’s first campaign as the king of Israel is to recapture Jerusalem. 400 years earlier, when the Israelites were tasked with invading the Promised Land and capturing it for themselves, Jerusalem proved difficult to capture. In fact, the Benjamites could not capture it and ended up living alongside the Jebusites there (Judges 1:21). Jerusalem had never been retaken by the Israelites. There is something else important here. It is termed that the Jebusites lived there. The Benjamin influence is completely gone. This is what God warned about when taking the land. This was why it was important to drive the Canaanites from the land. Because of the corruptive nature of the people of the land. Now we see, 400 years later, that the people there are entirely Jebusites.
Jerusalem was a tough city to invade because it was defended so well. Not only was it walled but surrounded by deep valleys. It had a precious natural spring right under the city and was centrally located on trade routes in Israel. But the spiritual reason is far more profound: this was the city that God chose as Israel’s heart and the place where the temple would one day be built.
The capture of Jerusalem would be a striking victory for David, for the place was seen as impenetrable. Yet, David went into the springs and up through the water shaft which brought him and his men inside the walls. This famous water shaft is real and available to see today, in Jerusalem. It is called the Warren Shaft. Although there is debate as to if this is the exact shaft that David and his men used to enter Jerusalem, it certainly tracks with scripture that one of the shafts was used into the city for its capture. https://www.seetheholyland.net/tag/warrens-shaft/
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. 14 These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
This passage tells us something about the corrupt human heart of David. Remember, David is aiming to build his kingdom as one centered on peace. He has recaptured Jerusalem and renamed it. And he has a palace built from the finest wood and stones in the known world.
But he is creating inroads with pagan leaders. Although this may seem pragmatic, it is also troubling. Creating alliances with the pagans in the Promised Land was one of the first ways that the Israelites got in trouble (Judges 1:22-26).
Second, we see that David is adding wives and children to his kingship. In the ancient world, this was a cultural way to display power and wealth to those around him. But it defies Deuteronomy 17.
David Defeats the Philistines 17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.” 20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim. 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off. 22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
David had spent much of his years of training in the land of the Philistines. He acquired power and friendships while there. When the Philistines hear that he is king of their old enemy Israel, they come out in droves to squelch him. David’s approach here is key: he asks God if he should attack at all. This shows us that David is trusting God with his steps, even though his human side is sinning along the way. This is one of the great conflicts of David: trying to do God’s work while engaging with his human flaws. God continues to bless David however. But as we will see, David’s actions against God causes a series of judgments on him that show us not only David’s flaws, but the flaws that lie in all of us.