if you don't have a copy of the outline, there's some in the back, Lessons from the Life of David. We're picking up, we've sort of been off and on a little bit this summer with Lessons from the Life of David, but it's important to learn about the life of David. It's more important, that is the history of David. I mean, he's an important character in the Bible. It's important to know something about David, but it's more important May I say that we take those lessons, the material that we learn, and we apply them in our own life. Hence the title, Lessons from the Life of David. It's not just enough simply to know the scripture. We must live the scripture. And as we left off last week, I called the, well, two weeks ago, we called the, we were interrupted by a small hurricane there. But we're in, I say small. Yeah, interrupted. But we, I call that lesson David at the Divide. And we saw that in 2 Samuel chapters 1 through 5, David was indeed sort of at the midpoint of his career, if you want to call it that. He was, he had his time of being persecuted and exiled was over and it was ready for his time of exaltation and his time of rule. But there was a period in between where David was sort of in the middle. Seven and a half years David was king over Judah. Judah alone, one of the 12 tribes had recognized David as king. The other 11 continued to rebel with, I say rebel, rebel against God himself, because the Lord had anointed David king over Israel, and the other 11 tribes refused to recognize that for seven and a half years. They followed Abner and Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, that they had found him and made him king. His name means a man of shame. He was not deemed worthy to be out in the battlefield, and yet he was good enough to be king. And reflect just for a moment, though, on God's providence by way of introduction, lessons from the life of David. His coronation day is what we'll be looking at today in 2 Samuel 5. But let's reflect just for a moment on the providence of God on David's behalf. Of course, there's many aspects of providence we could consider, but I just want to consider one. That's David's path to the throne, his path to the throne. All of his principal opponents had been removed. Saul, who was king prior to David over Israel, and David had refused to take Saul's life or to take any action against Saul, deeming that he was the Lord's anointed. And so it was the Lord, up to the Lord to decide. Well, Saul took his own life. And so Saul was out of the picture. Jonathan, was his natural successor. And surely the people would have recognized Jonathan as king if he had been alive, but he had been killed in battle. And then Ishbosheth, Saul's remaining son, was tragically murdered in his own bed, the final successor. All the obstacles had been removed. And note that David's path through the throne was by bloodshed. by bloodshed. All three were killed, died unnatural deaths. Saul committed suicide. Jonathan was killed in battle. Ish-bosheth was murdered, marked by bloodshed. And it's just another reflection that all of the essential features in David's life reflect those of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, except his failures, accepting his failures. All of the essential features in David's life reflect those of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We also noted that during those seven and a half years when David was king over Judah, he made no attempt to seize the throne. He had a formidable fighting force, and yet it seems that he sent most of those fighting men home. He only kept a small force reserve on hand and he offered nothing more, it appears, than a defensive resistance. against Abner. Two weeks ago we read one of the skirmishes that occurred, a very small skirmish between Abner and David in 2 Samuel chapter 2. David waited patiently for God's timing. We've also noted that lengthy delay, seven and a half years, I postulated that was likely the result of David's personal choices, his personal choices. He was missing God's best and taking, while he was in Hebron, many wives. He already had two when he came to Hebron. And when we see him in Hebron, he's got six. And then seven, when he takes Michelle back, he demands that Abner return him, his first wife. So it's not just speculation. I mean, it is a part speculation on my part, but I have had some support from scripture. In 2 Samuel chapter two, David's many wives, the noting of his many wives in Hebron comes immediately after the declarative statement in verse one in chapter two concerning the long war. There was a long war and then juxtapositioned right next to that is the statement that David took many wives, boys in Hebron. So we see David, lessons from the life of David. The introduction, we see first of all David's coronation. Chapter five, verses one through four. Chapter 5, 2 Samuel, Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leadest out and broughtest in Israel. And the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king, to Hebron, and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years. Verse five also, in Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned 30 and three years over all Israel and Judah. And let's look for a moment at David's That's described here in verses, very briefly, in the first five verses. David's coronation, it says in verse one, then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron. For seven and a half years, seven and a half years, Israel, the 11 tribes, had followed this unknown and untested son of Saul. He was actually preferred over David, preferred over David. But now everything has fallen apart. It's come unraveled, so to speak, at the seams. And now, now this 11 tribes, they're willing to acknowledge their errors. and their need, willing to acknowledge their errors in the need. Then after all the seven and a half years passed, then came all the tribes of Israel unto David, unto Hebron. For seven and a half years, they followed this man of shame. And I want to talk about, first of all, coronation precedes Sorry, conviction, point 1A, conviction precedes conversion. Conviction precedes conversion. And not just simply refer to David's coronation, that is when the people recognize David as king, but referring to when we, each of us, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I trust there's been a time in your life, a day in your life, when you recognize, acknowledge Jesus Christ as king. over your life. It was, in a very real sense, a coronation day, a coronation day. So we'll step back and look at this from a more, the David's coronation, from a more spiritual perspective to extract a few lessons from it. Conviction precedes conversion. It's something that I might say is missing for much that passes as modern evangelism. Conviction precedes conversion. There was first, within Israel, before they acknowledged the 11 tribes, before they acknowledged David as king, there was first a dissatisfaction with the old master. Ishbosheth. It says he only reigned two years. So out of those seven and a half years, Abner was presumably behind the scenes ruling over the 11 tribes. There was a dissatisfaction with the old master, the man of shame, Ishbosheth. It's not recorded that he did anything of note, of worthiness. But there must first be a dissatisfaction with the old before There'll be a desire for the new. It seems simple when we think about it, but it's so often neglected in evangelism. Israel was made here to feel the bitterness of their old life, seven and a half years. Now, I blamed it on David, partly. I said, David, the delay was David's fault. in part, but the delay was also used by God to show Israel their insufficiency in this man that they had chosen themselves, Ish-bosheth. Israel is made to feel the bitterness of their old life, the futility, the endlessness of it, the wretchedness of the cruel bondage before there is a longing to be freed. Men must be brought, in other words, to realize the bitterness of sin. before there can be a hungering and a thirsting after righteousness. Conviction precedes conversion. You see, there's no real lasting satisfaction in the service of sin. To use perhaps a modern analogy, the service of sin is simply one fix. after another. There's maybe a moment of satisfaction, but nothing that's lasting, lasting. The sinner must be made to groan under the taskmaster in Egypt. Before, they're ready to start for the promised land. It says, then, then, after all this seven and a half years, then, that word is very important there, then came all the tribes of Israel to David, unto Hebron, and now they are willing to acknowledge their heirs, Conviction must precede conversion. You know, it's simply stated there must be a turning away, there must be a turning away before there can be a turning toward, right? That's what repentance is. There must be a turning away before there can be a turning toward. It seems obvious. but it's at odds with much of modern evangelism. They view salvation as a rational choice, a rational choice, implying the sinner simply must be taught. If they're taught, then they will believe. But that's not what scripture teaches us. It teaches us that conviction precedes conversion. And conversion then requires complete surrender, point 1B in your outline. Conversion requires complete surrender. Again, another aspect of salvation that modern evangelism has overlooked, ignored. Salvation, you see, is not simply believing certain facts. The devils, believe certain facts. The rebel must surrender his arms, must throw down his arms. You know, if you think of a terrorist group who is marauding, marauding about Houston in their, their garb, maybe their headbands and their, their, their jackets and their guns, they carried over their shoulder. And now they surrender. but they still have the same garb on. They still have the same headbands, the same jackets, and the same guns. Have they surrendered? No. The rebel has to throw down his arms. Then it says, Israel came to David and said, it said, behold, we are now thy bone and thy flesh. And they said, thou, verse two, thou shalt be a captain. over Israel. Thou shalt be our captain. In times past, we served Saul, and then we served Abner and Ish-bosheth. But now, no longer, the old master's gone, and we receive you as our captain. We lay down our weapons of rebellion. We surrender all to Lord Jesus, complete surrender. Israel humbles themselves before David. We see their plea. We are thy bone. and thy flesh," in verse one. We are thy boat. That means, hey, we're your relatives. We're all Israelites. We're Israelites. We're your brothers. Please forgive us and receive us. They praise David for his past service. They also recognize his divine appointment in those verses we read. And they're determined to put themselves under his protection. David's counterpoint in history is indeed our Lord Jesus Christ. He indeed is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. The word was made flesh. And he is mighty, mighty, able to save unto the uttermost. then they come unto God by him, Hebrews 7.25. The Lord Jesus Christ is our counterpoint in history. Conviction precedes conversion. Conversion requires complete surrender. And then surrender, I noticed, also in the same passage you read, is voluntary. Surrender is voluntary, point one C in your outline. David's adversaries, their hands were not forced. at his conversion. They did not come there under guard, at spear point. They came voluntarily. Then came all the tribes of Israel to David. They came voluntarily, willingly. They were not driven before the sword, but they're drawn by a savior. Not driven before the sword. You won't find that in Christianity, where we force conversions at the point of a sword, but rather they're drawn by the Savior. Then they came to seek out David. David was already king. They came to acknowledge him as king. He was God's anointed and they came to acknowledge him as king. They asked David to be their king. They forsook and forgot all the abuses, their abuses of the past, forsaking their abuses of the past, David in effect became a constitutional monarch before the people. He was chosen. He was chosen. He must choose the Lord Jesus Christ and his powers. were limited. David's powers were limited as a monarch. The result was this solemn public inauguration. David made a league with Israel. It said, verse 3, so the elders of Israel came to the king, to Hebron, and King David made a league with them, a covenant A covenant was sworn. It was before the Lord with God as their witness. It says they anointed David king over Israel. David obligated himself, as part of this covenant with the people, to lead in battle and to judge in peace. David obligated himself to lead in battle, to judge in peace, and the people, for their part, they obligated themselves to follow and to obey. As we see David's coronation, now we see David's conquest. David's conquest, beginning in verse six. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, I quote, except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither, thinking David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless, verse seven, David took the stronghold of Zion. The same is the city of David. Insolent defiance, Jebusites, insolent defiance, point two A in your outline. We see them, David, after being crowned king, that was the beginning, all right? That wasn't the end. David was made king and now there was a work to do. There's a work to do. The real work really starts with salvation. Salvation is not the end. Salvation is the beginning. The real work starts with salvation. So also with our Lord Jesus Christ. His work, in a sense, began at the cross. His life on earth, His death, His resurrection was a foundation. For the work he's doing now, the Lord Jesus Christ, his work is not over because all of his enemies have not been laid at his feet yet. There's much to be done. Christ's reign has commenced. He must reign till he hath put all enemies to death. under his feet, 1 Corinthians 15, 25. Christ's reign has commenced and it continues and so with King David. David, the newly anointed king over all of Israel, sets to work. Day one, sets to work. At once, he captures Zion. We'll read about that in a moment. He establishes a royal city of Jerusalem. He vanquishes the Philistines in two marvelous battles that are also in chapter five. He's concerned with providing a place of honor and rest for the Ark. We'll look at that, Lord willing, the week after next. And he's concerned about a temple. a temple of worship. And David, Jerusalem was David's first goal, to capture Jerusalem, the city of Jebusites. It's probably, there's some speculation on this, but it's probably the same city as Salem. The word Mekelzadek was king. I believe it was, in fact, Salem. The same city had been there for centuries, the city of Jerusalem. It had been captured by Joshua twice, I believe. The city of Jerusalem lies in the territory of Benjamin. But the Jebusites, the sneaky Jebusites, they had snuck back in. Twice the city had been captured, but twice the Jebusites had snuck back in and held the city for hundreds of years throughout the times of the judges. The Jebusites, that city had sat there defiant, insolent. To Israel's disgrace, the city on a hill was occupied by the Jebusites. Well, they've been commanded after all by Joshua to eliminate, but they had not. David could not have acted any sooner than he did, because Benjamin was part of Abner's kingdom. It wasn't part of Judah, it was part of the kingdom of Ish-bosheth. So David could not have moved any sooner, but now, As soon as he could, his first aim was to capture Jerusalem. He knows the insolence, the utter contempt of the Jebusites in verse six, except I'll take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither. So confident they were the impregnability of their stronghold. Some have speculated that on the walls, they even posted some blind people. posted some lame, lame watchman, you know, the watchman could hardly, it was in a wheelchair. I don't know if they had wheelchairs back then, but the watchman, you know, you look at the city walls, so confident where they were of their defense, they said, you know, the blind could beat you off. Nevertheless, David's stunning success point, 2B in your outline, David took the stronghold. It doesn't tell us how. It says, nevertheless, verse 7, David took the stronghold of Zion, the same as the city of David. Zion was a hill. It was occupied by these military Jebusites, and it was a brilliant a brilliant military success. Perhaps it was a surprise attack. David said, I'm sure it was, David said, on that day, whosoever get it up to the gutter and smited the Jebusites and the lame and the blind that are hated of David's soul shall be chief and captain. Wherefore, they said, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. The gutter. What is the gutter? Well, it's perhaps a well, a water channel of some kind. When Sue and I were there, we went to the city of David. Now, it's not necessarily the same area, but we went to what's called the city of David now. And we saw Hezekiah's water tunnel. Of course, that was centuries after David. But there may have been some water tunnels or areas for refuge. go out and David snuck up into Jerusalem through them, an underground waterway perhaps. Job leads the attack. He reestablishes his position as David's captain. Remember, Job had been disgraced. David had not been happy with Job because he had murdered Abner. So Job had been disgraced, and David was going to make Abner king. That's why Job murdered him, because he got rid of the competition. So Job leads a group up there. I think that's actually in the other parts of scripture. And having disposed the enemy of the stronghold, the castle, David takes it as his own, his abode, his royal abode. The city of David is established, verse nine. So David dwelt in the fort and called it the city of David. And of course that became the name for all of Jerusalem. And David built roundabout from Milo and inward. And David went on and grew great. And the Lord God of hosts was with him. David proceeded to build. And he prospered. He calls the fort on Zion, the city of David. And the reason for success is clearly noted out in scripture. It says, the Lord God of hosts was with him, was with him. The tide of fortune had turned for David after so many years of running. Of course, the Lord was always with David, but now after so many years of running, the tide of fortune has turned. The once despised fugitive now waxes great in power, reputation, wealth, and honor, subduing his enemies, enlarging his kingdom, remembering always that the Lord was enabled. None of us can accomplish any good without his activities. And then in the remaining verses, well, not remaining, but verses 11 through 16, David's activities are noted, and we won't read all those for the sake of time, but David builds a royal palace. That's gonna be described, it's sort of summarized here, but that's described in more detail in the following chapters. In verse 11, he establishes his government, verse 12, And then in verses 13 through 16, we note David enlarges his family as verse 13, and David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem after he was come from Hebron. And there were yet sons and daughters. born to David. David took him more, more wives. David already had, coming into Jerusalem, he had seven wives. And they were named already in 2 Samuel chapter two, seven, including Michelle or Michael. So David took more concubines. He already had seven. And now, now he takes more. And he has 11 more sons. that are born to him in Jerusalem, they're named there. Matthew Henry, I won't belabor this point, since I already have at some point, but let me just read what Matthew Henry says about this. Matthew Henry says, shall we praise him for this? Shall we praise David for this? Matthew Henry said, we praise him not, we justify him not, nor can we scarcely excuse him. Matthew Henry's words, we praise him not, we justify him not, nor can we scarcely excuse him. David had many wives and many concubines, and yet that did not keep him from coveting his neighbor's wife and defiling her, referring to Bathsheba that we'll cover sometime in the future. And then Matthew Henry goes on to say, for men that have broken the fence will wander endlessly. men that have broken the fence will wander endlessly. We tend to think of David's sin, perhaps with Bathsheba, as giving in to a momentary temptation. And we see the foundation was laid. David took himself many wives, more wives, more wives and concubines. He was not satisfied with one, two, or seven. He needed to have more. David's conquest, so it's a blemish on David's record there that we'll come back to because it reoccurs all throughout 2 Samuel. But David's command, beginning in verse 17, David's command, but when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David and David heard of it and went down to the hold. The Philistines also came. and spread themselves in the valley of Rephraim. And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand." We see David's command. David, of course, is taking charge now of Israel. He's leading the men into battle. And the Philistines make their advance, point 3A in your outline. The Philistines advance. David's sovereignty as king was no sooner confirmed by his taking of Zion and his expansion of his kingdom than it was challenged by the enemy. Immediately, the Philistines here were the aggressors. They come to seek David. They came right up to David's doorstep, the Valley of Rephraim, which is literally at the doorstep of Jerusalem, and they spread themselves out, like, hey, they're here to stay, spread themselves out. They had been thrown out of Zion, the Jebusites were, part of the Philistines, and now they mount a massive counterattack, massive counterattack. You know, there's lessons to be learned all throughout here, but there's an important lesson to remember here that we can apply to our lives today. Every step, every advanced step that we take for God, may be expected to be opposed by the enemy. Every step we take for God will be opposed by the enemy. It was that way with Abraham when he returned from Egypt to the place of the altar. There was strife. He just had got back with all the loot they'd been given in Egypt and there's strife among the herdsmen. When Joseph received a divine revelation, from God, there's opposition from his brothers. When Elijah triumphed over the false prophets on Mount Carmel, Jezebel threatened his life. There was opposition. And so there is now with David. David takes Jerusalem, he establishes his kingdom, and there's opposition. The Philistines make their advance to be forewarned is to be forearmed. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. You know, there's lessons that we learn from the life of David that we can use immediately. You know, you can say, well, I can apply that right now. I've got a situation going on. There's other lessons that we need to store up for later, for later. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. When you take a step for the Lord by faith, there will be opposition. Satan's counterattacks are pointed and persistent. Philistines come back twice, pointed and persistent. Satan will never admit defeat, so he's gonna be back again. The believer's life, therefore, is one of constant warfare, constant warfare, a life of holy living, is in fact a menace to the powers of darkness. If you're determined to live a life of holy living, which I hope, pray that you are, you'll be a menace. You can expect opposition. David's acknowledgement, verse 19, David inquired of the Lord. David inquires of the Lord. David acknowledges his utter dependence upon God. Praise the Lord. Instead of engaging in battle, David engages in prayer. You think, hey, David, the Philistines are outside. Their camp, they're spread out in the valley. We got to go. David says, no, we need to pray. We need to pray. David engages in prayer. Not once, but twice, David goes back to pray. Victory here is communicated by prayer. And actually, there's two different strategies, totally different strategies. So it's a good thing David went back the second time to ask in prayer. In sharp contrast to the self-confident Philistines who would spread themselves out, who were going to take back the city of Jerusalem, David has a request of God, a twofold request. First of all, concerning his duty, David asks, shall I go up to the Philistines? Shall I go up? David's duty is already clear. In 2 Samuel 3, verse 18, the Lord had commanded David to fight the Philistines. So his command was already clear, but the question was of timing. Shall I go up now? Shall I act now? Shall I go up to the Philistines? That's his first question. It was David's conscience speaking. Shall I go up now? Is this the time to act or is it sometime in the future? But his second question is concerning his success. He says, shall I go up? And the Lord said to David, He says, shall I go up to the Philistines? His first question. Then he says, wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? The second question is one of success. Wilt thou deliver? That was David's prudence speaking. Would God prosper his efforts if he didn't? all was in vain. The Lord wasn't behind him, all was in vain. And the Lord's response here is recorded both times for our instruction, our comfort. It says in verse 19, go up for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. That's recorded for our comfort, our benefit, our instruction. Let us earnestly seek to appropriate and make it our engagement as well, encouragement, that we fight the good fight of faith, that we go to the Lord in prayer, seeking him out, lay hold of the promises that is expectantly plead, the promises before God, and our fight shall be successful. The Lord will bruise Satan. under our feet shortly, Romans 16, 20. We see David's actions, point 3C. David's actions, verse 20, and David came to Baal-Pezerim, and David smote them there and said, the Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me as a breach of water. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-Pezerim. And there they left their images and David and his men burned them. The first battle, David achieves a stunning success and a noble example. He leaves us a noble example. David found the grace here to be humble. He ascribes the victory entirely to the Lord. He says, the Lord hath broken forth upon my enemies as a breach of waters. Ascribing every step forward, every success in service. We must learn to acknowledge, yet not I, but the grace of God was with me. Yet not I, but the grace of God was with me. 1 Corinthians 15, 10. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. Psalm 115, verse one. David does that. David says, the Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies as a breach of waters. I'm imagining that's like a dam that's broken and there's a wave that rushes down 10 feet tall. Knocks down everything in his path. Carries them all away. David explicitly follows God's orders in Deuteronomy 7, 5. Burn their images. Burn their images. What an ironic scene this was in verse 21. They left there their images. The Philistines did, their gods that they had. They were fleeing for their life. You know, and it's hard to flee when you're carrying something like a chunk of a log, a wooden card, wooden log, or a rock, or a stone, or, well, you burned them, so they must have been wood. So, but, you know, if you're fleeing for your life, get rid of that. What an ironic scene that was. The Philistines abandoned their false, their gods, false gods, to save their lives. You know, and now they're burned. without repercussion. I mean, there's no lightning bolts that come down. David and his men aren't fried to a crisp. They just burn them in a big bonfire. Some gods, they were, amen, some gods. The second battle was another opportunity to seek divine guidance. Verse 22, and the Philistines, they're not giving up, and the devil doesn't give up either, came up again, yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephraim. And when David inquired, and when David inquired of the Lord, I mean, it looks the same situation, same battle, same plan, right? Let's go out and attack him. But David said, nope, we need to seek the Lord first. The good thing he did, because it says, when David inquired of the Lord, the Lord, he said, thou shalt not go up. Not a frontal assault this time, David. I mean, the frontal assault is where all the honor is, you know. That's when they blow the trumpets, da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And out of the fortress of Zion comes David and his troops, charging forward with their flags and their banners and their shields. And boom, they hit the enemy. I mean, that's where all the glory is. This was a sneak attack. There's no glory in the sneak attack. It says, thou shalt not go up, but fetch a compass behind them. I mean, sneak around behind them. and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then thou shalt the Lord go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. The second battle was another opportunity to seek God's favor, God's guidance. Go not up. This was a test of obedience for David and his men. The men of action now had to quietly sneak around to the back. And they had to wait. And they had to listen for the sound in the mulberry trees. It was the sound of the spirit, the spirit of God going forth. They had to listen for that sound of the spirit. David observed his orders. He waited for God's motions, and he stirred then and not until then. That's Matthew and Henry. David observed his orders, waited God's motions, and stirred then and not until then. And again, David was granted complete success. God's response is recorded, again, for our instruction, again, for our encouragement. In verse 24, it says, For then the Lord shall go up before thee to smite the host of the Philistines." When God speaks, when the Holy Spirit moves, bestir yourself, act. and obey. And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Geba until they had come to Gezar. And when God speaks, when the Holy Spirit moves, bestir yourself, act, and obey, as David did here." Those are the lessons