Let's open up our Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 5. As we are studying the Old Testament and the history of the nation of Israel and the kings of Israel, the lessons for us are truly multifaceted. For one, we learn from the actions of the people We learn both the lessons of their examples, sometimes for good and sometimes as a warning to us, how their disobedience at times led to their destruction and trouble, how in obedience we learn from those lessons. We learn the lesson from David and other heroes of the faith, both from their good actions and the ways that they served and followed the Lord, and also in ways of warning from when they went astray. We also are learning about a real history that upon which foundation is built the precious truths of the gospel that we hold. These events were not only written as examples for us, but they're also telling us the history that led up to the birth and entrance of Jesus Christ into this world according to the flesh, For it is His people, from where He came, of whom we're reading. It is His forefather, according to the flesh, King David, who reigned upon the throne of Israel before Him, that we're learning about and reading about. It is the city in which he went to to be crucified that we read about David conquering and making the center of his kingdom. It is events that are tied so closely with and laid the foundation for the gospel accounts that would come later in about 1,000 years after what we're reading about here. And then, also incredibly important for us, we see in the types and foreshadowings we see Jesus figured to us in the things that came before. The Bible is presented to us and the events happened and the scriptures are written in what are often called types or sometimes shadows or foreshadowing. That is, they are images, they are pictures that present comparisons to us of a greater fulfillment yet to come. So it's like if you're looking out at the shadow of the tree and you look at the ground and you see the shape of it, but you don't see the fullness of it until you lift up your eyes and you see the fullness there. Well, God often revealed his truth to his people in these kinds of foreshadowings. And David is a great example of that. David is a foreshadowing of the one who, a thousand years later, is called the son of David. That is the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled what it means to be a faithful king of Israel. So the events in the history of Israel that are unfolding here also give us a picture of what it means to follow the true King of Israel, the King of Kings. In fact, Jesus himself, Jesus is himself not only the true king of Israel, but Jesus himself is the true Israel. He is the fulfillment of what Israel was called and designed to be, that is to be through them all the nations of the earth would be blessed. In the Old Covenant, they are referred at times to a vineyard or to a vine that God set apart and ordained to bear fruit, pleasing to Him and a benefit to the world. And they did not fully live up to or fulfill this calling in their days until the coming of Jesus, who would say, I am the true vine. And He would speak about abiding in Him. It is only by abiding in Him that we bear fruit. And so these things are not just about events 3,000 years in our past, but they are pointing us to the very source of our salvation that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Though often through shadows and pictures and examples and comparisons, And when we think about those comparisons, sometimes it's a way in which this figure, like a king, like David, exemplifies the qualities of Jesus. And sometimes it's a contrast. Sometimes it's a way in which Jesus is faithful, where David or Solomon or Hezekiah or the other kings fell short. So with that, let's go ahead and begin a reading here in chapter 5, 2 Samuel chapter 5. Very significant event here in the history of Israel. 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 was 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. In Hebron he reigned over Judah 7 years and 6 months, and in Jerusalem he reigned 30 and 3 years over all Israel and Judah. So here we have, and we might say, finally, or at last, we have David being crowned king over all the tribes of Israel, this united kingdom. For seven and a half years, he had been reigning as king over the tribe of Judah. But now all the tribes come together. They're united. They're in one heart together to make David king over all of them. And here is going to begin the rest of his reign, the last 33 years of his reign, it described, where he will reign over all the tribes of Judah, and at last they'll be united again as one people, as one brotherhood, serving the Lord together under one king who God had chosen over them. And this is the moment this has come to. And David has been through much to arrive at this point. from being a shepherd in the fields of Israel, tending his sheep, and God coming through the prophet Samuel, coming to anoint him when he was just a young man, maybe 15 years old, and God appointing him out and saying that he was going to be king because Saul had been unfaithful and God was removing him from being king. But David would go through many trials between then and now. Many trials that God would use to shape him and prepare him to be the king that he would be. He would have to fight many enemies and be victorious in those battles and depend on and rely upon the Lord. He would have to be persecuted, mistreated. He would have to have his life sought by Saul. He would go and he would hide out among the Gentiles. He would go through many things before he came to this moment. But now it says, all the tribes of Israel, they come together to David unto Hebron. And Hebron was where he reigned over the tribe of Judah thus far. But when this moment comes, he's now going to have a new headquarters to his kingdom. He's going to reign in a new place, in a new city. And that is going to be in Jerusalem, which we'll learn more about in the verses that follow. But first, they come together. And this is a glorious moment, a glorious time. And it's described in more detail in the book of Chronicles. And so I encourage you to read that sometime. First Chronicles, chapters 11, 12. It describes the same events, but it describes how these tribes, they came and they came with thousands of their warriors and they all came together in this place. And it said they were of one heart and they were of one mind in doing this. and they were not holding back in making David king, which was a wonderful thing because for a great space of time the tribes had not been united under David. It was only after the death now of Saul and Jonathan and Ish-bosheth and Abner and all that had transpired that finally the tribes come together. And they come together, and they appoint David king, and they give three reasons why he was the man to be king over them. And the three reasons they give are, first, that he was of their brethren. They say, we are thy bone and thy flesh. they recognize an important truth that they were really one people. These 12 tribes, they were brethren. They were brothers and sisters. They were part of the same family. God had called Abraham and Isaac and then Jacob, and these were from the 12 sons of Jacob, the tribes, and they were of one people. And so David, even though He had not yet been king over all of them. He was their brother. He was of their flesh and of their bone. And that language reminds us of the marriage language back in Genesis. That you have a oneness, a uniting together. And they recognize David as belonging to the same people as them. And then, so that's the first reason they give. The second reason is they see in the past David's work. in delivering them from their enemies in the past. Also in time past, verse 2, when Saul was king over us, that was he that led us out and brought us in Israel. So they remember that when Saul was king, David was the one that was out there leading the people into battle, bringing them back home from battle, leading them in their victories. And so they can look to their past deliverance at his hand. And I would just draw an analogy to us of when we remember the faithfulness of our King, of our God, when we remember His faithfulness in the past, of how He has delivered us in the past from our enemies, how He's delivered us in the past from our sins. We can call our minds back to that and gain strength and encouragement. to renew our loyalty to Him as our King, to recognize that He is worthy and right to be our King because of the past deliverance that He has wrought in our lives. And they see that. They say, it was you. Not to say that David was positioning himself to overthrow Saul or to be king, but just to acknowledge that You have all along been the one that's led the people against their enemies and you let us out and brought us in Israel. And then third reason, And the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. And so they also recognize third, and most importantly, the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord about David, that the Lord was the one that appointed him. So somehow they are aware of this. They know of this. And it seems to be common knowledge among Israel. And we saw that Abner was aware of it. We saw even that Saul was aware of it. And now we see that all the people are aware that the Lord has said, you're going to be the one that's going to feed Israel and the one that's going to be captain over Israel. And in those words, we also see the truth about what the nature of the true king after God's heart of Israel is. A king after God's heart of Israel. is not just a king like the kings of the world. It's not about the king being the most powerful or the most wealthy. It's not about the king having the most the dynamic dynasty, but it's about being the captain, fighting for them, delivering them from their enemies, and it's about feeding them. The king is a shepherd of the people of the Lord. And that points us again forward to, we can draw that comparison with our Lord Jesus Christ when he came. He came and there was so much confusion and misunderstanding about what it meant to be the anointed of the Lord, the Messiah. And it defied people's expectations in so many ways because He came and He was meek. And he was humble. And when he came and entered into Jerusalem, he came riding on a donkey, coming in, and the people were singing his praises. But he didn't come with this vast army of carnal weapons, but he came in meek and humble. And he defied their expectations. But in many respects, we can see how he fulfilled what ought to have been the expectations of a king after God's heart. As he said, I am the good shepherd. He was the one that came to feed God's people, to lead God's people, to lead us to living waters where we could drink and satisfy the needs of our souls. to lead us into battle against our enemies, the most important enemies, not just the carnal enemies of this world, but against sin and the power of the devil over our lives, to deliver us to peace and rightness with God, and to deliver us into a land flowing with milk and honey. And so they recognize in David the fulfillment of God's Word. Now, we can't help, I think, but notice, if we've been paying attention through everything that's unfolded, that this is, by the tribes of Israel, this is truly an obedience. An obedience to David as king, and an obedience to the word of the Lord. But, it's a delayed obedience. And there's both an example and a warning to us in this. And we ought to take this lesson to heart about delayed obedience. Beware, beware of delaying our obedience to the Lord. Never say in your heart, never say in your heart, I will obey God later. I will do what God tells me to do tomorrow, or next year, or ten years from now, or in their case, seven and a half years. Now, it worked out, in the end, it worked out well in some ways for them, but here's the problem with delaying our obedience. First of all, We cannot ever say for sure that we will still have opportunity when the time comes to obey the Lord. We may not be given that second chance. So we ought not to delay for that reason. But also, not only that, there is great cost to delaying the obedience. In their case, what cost did they endure by not uniting under the kingship of David seven and a half years earlier? What was the cost in the bloodshed and the loss of life among these tribes? Asahel, and Abner, and the 12 men on each side that were slain in the battle between Joab and Abner's men, and then the hundreds that died in the battles that followed, and the civil war that raged on for years after this. So this is a wonderful time. This is a joyful time. This is a celebration at last of crowning David King and the tribes coming together. but there was great cost in delaying their obedience to the word of the Lord. And so we can learn from that lesson too. If we know what we ought to do, if we know what God is telling us to do, then the time to obey is now and not to wait and think that we will have the opportunity later. Also, though, we learn that. The other side of that is, if we have neglected to this point to obey, and we still have opportunity, then we see the graciousness and the mercy of God. We see it in David's example, and you'll see this in more detail if you do read in the passages in Chronicles, but we notice how magnanimous David was as these tribes came. The tribes all gather, hundreds, thousands of their warriors come, they come to David, and what does David do? David receives them with open arms, and he unites them together and he receives them. He doesn't say, well, you didn't follow me for the last seven years, so you're going to suffer this and that. He receives them, he's magnanimous, and we see in that an example as well of the mercy of God. God is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that we should come to repentance. And when we come to repentance, God is merciful in receiving us to him. And God had mercy on Israel in spite of all that had gone on. He had mercy on them up to this point. It then goes on to tell us how they came together, they made a league, and they anointed David king over Israel. It's the third time that David's been anointed. First by Samuel, then by the tribe of Judah, and now by all the elders of Israel. And then it telescopes out because it gives us a look into the future. We're going to see the details that unfold in the chapters that come. But it says, he began to reign when he was 30, and he reigned 40 years. So his reign, his entire reign, was over the space of 40 years. First of all, seven and a half years that had already transpired when his headquarters was in Hebron, and he reigned over the tribes of Judah. And then 33 more years where he will reign in Jerusalem, which we haven't really heard much about yet at this point, but he will then reign over all the tribes from Jerusalem. Now Jerusalem was mentioned earlier in the Bible. The first place that I recall that it's really mentioned, and it also speaks to its significance, was way back in the time of Abraham. Abraham was David's forefather, Jesus' forefather, and he was one that God called out after the nations had been divided in the events of the Tower of Babel, and God had divided the world into 70 nations, and all these nations went their own ways, serving their own gods. And God, in the midst of that, for His purpose in blessing and saving the world, He chose out a man from worshiping idols named Abram, and He called him to follow Him and worship the true God. And after one of Abraham's Abram, who was later named Abraham, which means father of a great multitude, speaking about how he, though he was childless until I think his 90s, and by a miracle had a son, Isaac, at that time, and Ishmael before that, He was called Father of a Great Multitude because that was God's promise and purpose to him. And after coming out of one of his battles, he's met by this mysterious individual by the name of Melchizedek, which means King of Righteousness. And it says he came to Abraham and that he, Melchizedek, was a priest of the Most High God, And Abraham gave him tithes, and this Melchizedek brought bread and wine out to Abraham, and he blessed him. And it's said that he was the king of Salem or Jerusalem, which also means peace. He was the king of peace. And so this city had a significance historically going back generations. That was one of the reasons, perhaps, it became significant for David. It was also in its location and its elevation. It was a well-fortified city on a hill that could be well defended. And so it's going to become the headquarters of David's kingdom. I think maybe there's another reason as well that it would. Though Joshua, when Joshua came into the land generations before, and they conquered and drove out most of the Canaanites, there was one city that had never fully had the Canaanites driven out of it. And that was the city of Jerusalem, which was known as Jabez, because it was the Jebuzites, who were left over from the Canaanites, that still were there to this day. And so perhaps one of the reasons Jerusalem was chosen was that it was a city where David, at last, would drive out the inhabitants of it. It had not been conquered up to this point. And it shows by that that David was, in essence, greater even than Joshua before him. He was a greater Joshua. He was a greater leader of the people and was able to complete what the people of Israel had, up to that point, been unable to do. In fact, it was the Benjaminites, the tribe of Benjamin, whose job it was, back in Joshua's time, to drive out the Jebusites, but they failed to do it. So David's going to accomplish what they could not. Well, let's go on. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither, thinking David cannot come in hither. Now, here's what seems to be going on. They say this weird thing about taking away the blind and the lame. And what was going on here is they believe their city was so well fortified and so well defended that even the blind and the lame soldiers could defend it and couldn't be taken. So they would literally put out these lame and blind soldiers up on the ramparts as the defense of the city, as a taunt to David, as an expression of their pride and their haughtiness to say that our city is so fortified that you can't take it even though it's defended by blind soldiers and lame soldiers. And so they were expressing their pride in doing that. And they were mocking David, but worse than in this, they were ultimately mocking God. They were mocking God and they were expressing their pride. And in the Proverbs it says, of pride, it says, pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. And we ought always to be wary of pride. Pride in the Bible is one of the worst and most destructive kinds of sins. Pride is a kind of sin where we exalt ourselves up against God. And here they're taunting David and they're taunting ultimately the God, the Lord of David and his people. And they, they ought to have known, but They thought David can never come in. They thought this can never be defeated. And they weren't without reason in thinking this, because for generations, even though the Canaanites as a whole had been driven out of the land generations ago, they were able to remain. They were able to keep their stronghold. But, verse 7, nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, the same as the city of David. Zion being another name for Jerusalem or for the stronghold in Jerusalem. And he would ultimately build his palace there. build his house there where he would dwell and from where he would reign over all the tribes of Israel. And then it gives us a little detail about how he did this. It says, and David said on that day, whosoever geteth up to the gutter and smiteth the Jebusites and the lame and the blind that are hated of David's soul, speaking of those the Jebusites really as a whole, as they were signified by this lame and blind soldiers that they put out to taunt and to mock David and the Lord. He says, and the blind that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain, wherefore they said, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. So David dwelt in the fort and called it the city of David, and David built roundabout from Millo and inward. Now there's something really interesting that's not told us here, but it's told in Chronicles. David makes this call to his men. Here's this almost impenetrable fortress, and David is not deterred. David is going to take it. David is going to conquer it. And so he says whoever can go through the gutters, go through these water courses, and basically pierce through the defenses of this city, and smite the Jebusites, and take this city, he's going to be the chief and the captain. In fact, you'll notice in the printing of your Bible, he shall be chief and captain is in italics, which means that those words aren't in the text here, but they're supplied for meaning by the translators. And they're actually taken from in Chronicles where it describes this. Jesus, sorry, David is saying he'll be chief and captain, whoever can basically lead this charge in here. And who was David's captain of his host before? It was Joab. And David has had problems with him. And we don't know what David's reason is for this, other than he wants to take the city. Whoever's bold enough and strong enough to do it is going to get a reward. But maybe he also has the ulterior motive. Maybe he'd like a reason to put somebody else in the place of Joab. But then what happens is Joab is the one that takes the city. And Joab becomes, again, cemented in his position as captain of David's host, chief and captain. So thus, they take the city. And again, you can read more about that in 1 Chronicles 11. So David dwelt in the fort and called it the City of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. And there in verse 10, we have really what's of central importance in David's reign was that the Lord was with him. And the Lord here is called by his title, the Lord God of hosts. That is the Lord, the name of God, God speaking about his divine nature and then of hosts or of armies as God is often titled. He is the Lord of hosts, because God commands a great heavenly host. The hosts of angels of the heavens serve and follow the Lord. And that is an expression of God's majesty and his glory that innumerable companies of angels attend to him and worship him and serve him. And it also expresses and shows his great power. We have earthly kings, and they've got their armies, and their armies are an expression of their power. And ultimately, so many things in earthly kingdoms come down to who has the most powerful armies. Really, that's often the central thing. That's the most important thing. I mean, you could say it was wealth, but if somebody has a stronger army, they come and take your wealth. You could say it was your reputation as king or how much the people love you. But if somebody else has stronger armies, they can come and depose you and conquer you. Well, God's heavenly armies are of the utmost power and majesty. And the thing about them is that they are most of the time invisible to us. And I think of the servant of the prophet Elisha when he was surrounded and they were going to capture him and put him to death. And he's not afraid, but his servant is all worried because they're surrounded by these enemy armies. And he says something like, you know, there's more with us than are with them. And the servant is confused about this. And the prophet prays and he says, Lord, open his eyes. And he's able to see for a moment. God opens up his eyes to be able to see the angelic hosts all around. and it sees what we often are unable to see. But it's not just as real as the physical, visible world that we see. But it is just as real and just as, and in many ways, more important often than what we see with our eyes. And God, through that, delivers him, delivers the prophet, even though there were just two men up against armies. And God gives them the victory. And so, that ought to give us encouragement in our lives. You know, whatever you are up against, you might feel like you're outnumbered. That you're against things that are more powerful than you. That you're against powers that have more means than you. That have more resources at their disposal. That you don't have the ability to face these things. But all that really matters when it comes down to it, is whether the Lord is with you or not. If the Lord is with you, it doesn't matter what's against you. And so it would say in the Psalms, it says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help. in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Or it says, we shall not fear. God is my helper. I shall not fear what man can do unto me. We don't have to fear man. We don't have to fear natural disasters. We don't have to fear even if the earth itself is removed. if God is with us, if God is our refuge and our strength. He's a very present help in trouble. It says also in Psalm 46, that same Psalm, it says, there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. It says God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that, right early. We see the help of God. If the help of God is with us, then we can do anything. And so it was with David. As flawed and imperfect as David was as a man, The fact that the Lord was with him meant that he was going to triumph in what God called him to do. And much of that is described here. He went on, he grew great and the Lord God of hosts was with him. A few more things here from this chapter, just to point out. So we see What David perceives here is, it's insightful. David sees what God is doing, and he understands it. The Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom, not just for David's sake, but for his people Israel's sake. David understood that his kingdom, it existed for the sake of God's people. Solomon would come to understand that early in his reign as well. And he drifted away in many respects. He fell away from God later in his reign. But at the beginning of Solomon's reign, when God comes to him, and he says, Solomon, I'll give you anything you ask. He says, give me wisdom because it will require great wisdom to rule so great a people that you've given me. And he understood that the reason for his existence, the reason that he was king, was for the good of God's people, not just for his own glory. David perceives the Lord established him king over Israel, not just so David could be great, but for the good of his people. And in that, David exemplifies the kind of spirit that Jesus would teach His disciples to have when He would say that, He that would be great among you would be the servant of all. And He would use Himself as an example. He'd say, I being your Master and Lord, wash your feet. I came not to be served, but to serve. And David understood that to be a leader of God's people, it wasn't to just get glory and service to himself, but it was in so many ways to lay down his life for his people, to fight for them, to lead them for the good of Israel, for his people, Israel's sake. And also seeing that They are His people. That is, they are God's people. They aren't just David's people, aren't just David's servants. One last thing, and then we'll close off this part for today. We also see, interestingly, just this brief mention, but a significant one, that we also see now the involvement of the Gentiles through this alliance that David's making, that the building up of Jerusalem, the building up first of David's palace, and the center of his kingdom, is going to be contributed to by the gifts and alliance with a Gentile king, with Hiram, king of Tyre, who would be a friend and ally to David. And later on, he and or his son after him would be an ally and friend to Solomon and would be involved in the building of the temple. and providing wood, cedar trees, providing the materials through which the house, the palace, was going to be built up. And we have, I think, in this an example of the way that David reigned, that he saw Israel's mission in the world was not just for their own glory as a kingdom, but they were designed to be a blessing to all nations. and that where possible, where he was given opportunity, he was making alliances and friendships with the Gentiles around them and even having the contributions from Hiram, king of Tyre, with the cedar trees and the carpenters and the masons to come and to build the house of David. And through that, he was strengthening his kingdom And he was increasing it in its way and ability to be a blessing to the nations and the kingdoms of this world. And in that we have foreshadowed also the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and how in the building up of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the materials that he uses to build up his house, to build up his kingdom, come from all the nations and peoples of this world, that are loyal to him, that come and unite around his kingdom. And through that, he builds up the kingdom of the Lord.