2 Samuel · chapter 5 of 24
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2 Samuel 5 tells how all the tribes of Israel come to Hebron and anoint David king over the whole nation. David captures the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem and makes it his city, Hiram of Tyre sends materials for his house, and David defeats the Philistines twice in the valley of Rephaim by following the Lord's instructions.
After years of civil war, 2 Samuel 5 is the destination of David's rise: the shepherd anointed by Samuel is recognized as king by all Israel. The chapter brings together three decisive achievements, the unity of the tribes, a new capital and victory over the Philistines, and stresses that it all happens because the Lord of hosts was with him.
All the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron and tell him they are his bone and flesh. They remind him that even when Saul was king it was David who led Israel out and in, and that the Lord said he would shepherd his people and be their prince. The elders make a covenant with him before the Lord and anoint him king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign and reigned forty years: seven years and six months at Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three at Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah.
The king and his men march against Jerusalem, inhabited by the Jebusites, who trust that their stronghold is impregnable. David captures the stronghold of Zion, which is called the city of David from then on; he builds around it and grows ever greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. Hiram, king of Tyre, sends messengers, cedar timber, carpenters and masons to build him a house. David realizes that the Lord has established him as king over Israel and has exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people. The sons born to him in Jerusalem are listed.
When the Philistines hear that David has been anointed king, they come up to find him and spread out in the valley of Rephaim. David asks the Lord whether to attack, and the Lord says yes. He wins at Baal-perazim, meaning the Lord breaks through, and the Philistines abandon their idols. They return to the valley, and this time the Lord tells him to circle around and attack from behind, opposite the balsam trees, when he hears the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. David obeys and strikes down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The elders of Israel recall that David already led them in Saul's day and that the Lord said he would shepherd his people and be their prince. Israel's king is presented as a shepherd, not only a military chief.
The elders make a covenant with David before the Lord at Hebron and anoint him king over Israel. David's reign is born of a mutual commitment and is established before God, not by force alone.
David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. The text credits his growth to God's presence, not to his talent.
David asks the Lord whether he should go up against the Philistines and whether he will give them into his hand, and the Lord answers yes. Even after becoming king over all Israel, David keeps consulting God before every battle.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: At Hebron, after making a covenant with him before the Lord. — 2 Samuel 5:1-3
Answer: He was thirty years old and reigned forty years. — 2 Samuel 5:4
Answer: From the Jebusites. — 2 Samuel 5:6-7
Answer: The city of David. — 2 Samuel 5:7
Answer: Hiram, king of Tyre. — 2 Samuel 5:11
Answer: By circling around and attacking from behind when he heard the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. — 2 Samuel 5:23-24
The chapter shows that true authority is born of service and dependence on God. David becomes great not by his own strength but because the Lord was with him, and he knows it. A Sunday school leader or ministry worker can ask to whom they credit the growth of their work and whether they keep consulting God at each stage.
The second battle against the Philistines teaches that yesterday's method does not always serve today. God gave David a different strategy because he chose to. In our prayer and service it helps to ask him again, rather than assuming that what worked before will work the same way.
2 Samuel 5 consolidates David's kingdom with a united people, a capital and a defeated enemy. The next step is bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, which 2 Samuel 6 narrates with joy and with a moment of great fear.
It lay between Judah and the northern tribes and belonged to none of them, which helped unify the kingdom. It was also a natural fortress on a hill. Later it will be the place where the temple is built and where God puts his name.
The Hebrew text is difficult. The Jebusites mocked David, saying even the blind and lame could defend the city, and David answered with an order to attack them. Scholars debate the exact meaning and how David entered the city, so it should be read with caution.
It means lord of breakthroughs. David explains it by saying that the Lord broke through his enemies like a flood of water. It is a reminder that the victory came from God and not from David's weapons.