seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Samuel 5:1 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.
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.
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.
Here is the link to the commentary I read this morning.
David was thirty years old: This is a good measuring point for David’s life. Samuel anointed David when he was about 15, and he did not take the throne until 30. David spent at least 15 years in preparation for the throne of Israel.
In Hebron he reigned... in Jerusalem he reigned: All told, David reigned 40 years. His 15 years of preparation were not too long compared to his reign. God uses great preparation when the task is great.
The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites: Up to this time Jerusalem was a small Canaanite city in the center of Israel. Some 400 years after God commanded Israel to take the whole land, this city was still in Canaanite hands.
You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you: Because of its location, Jerusalem was an easily defended city. This made the Jebusites overconfident and quick to mock David and his troops.
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion: Despite the difficulty, David and his men took the city. Since the water shaft is mentioned, some think that David sent his men through what is called “Warren’s Shaft.” Whatever exactly their tactics, David and his men persisted through difficult circumstances to defeat an overconfident enemy.
So, I could not figure why they would be talking about water shafts mockingly. I had to google Warren's Shaft and get the rest of the story.Isn't it interesting that Goliath mocked David, and David knocked him down? Now the king of Jerusalem is mocking David, and he's going to send his troops right up the shaft to take him down too? Naturally... right?
Jerusalem sits in the middle of Israel. It was a fortified city. It had walls designed to keep invading armies out. The Structure of the city made it a stronghold against siege.
That's what the king of Jerusalem was saying. From where he was sitting, no one could get into the city.
But there was an entrance. If David and his men, went into the water system, they could get into the town center.
If David had simply laid siege to Jerusalem, it wouldn't have worked. The Canaanites who lived in Jerusalem had plenty of food, and they could get plenty of water because they had a water system. Even the blind and lame could survive mockingly on the inside of the walls, because they didn't need to come out.
But David was not a conventional king. He was a "lowly shepherd" until Goliath came along. He could figure out the natural ways to win a war. After all, only a little stone, in the sling of David, could take down a well-armed, well-trained, soldier.
David found the way in. He went in through the water system. When he conquered Jerusalem, it became "the City of David". Other kings sent supplies and craftsmen and they built his palace there.
And then David got more whores and more wives. [Verse 13]
It's "natural" that a shepherd would follow the water, right?
"David conquers Jerusalem" is the title for these verses in my online Bible.
This is a cool little story.
I'm going to call it... "David goes up a shaft and gets a city, whores, and more wives."
