2 Samuel 5 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: 2 Sam 5:1-5

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 shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall 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 for forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

A. Find Out:

1. Who came to David at Hebron? v.1a
2. What did they acknowledge? v.1b
3. What 2 further things did they acknowledge? v.2
4. What then happened? v.3
5. How old was David & how long did he reign? v.4
6. How was that reign split? v.5

B. Think:

1. What 3 things stated here made David acceptable as king?
2. What additional factor probably prompted this at this time?
3. How must David have been a man of patience?

C. Comment:

      The fact that Ish-bosheth has been killed and Israel is without a king probably prompts the action in today’s verses. The word would have gone round Israel for a number of years that David was there in Hebron, anointed king over Judah. Some would have remembered how David had been a valiant commander in Saul’s army. Some would have heard of the prophetic word that had come through Samuel about David being raised up by God as the new ruler over His people. And yes, he was a Hebrew, he was from the tribe of Judah and that was part of the whole nation of Israel. All these things helped contribute to what now takes place.

      It would have been the elders of each of the tribes of Israel who would have come down to Hebron and there with David’s consent they make him king over all Israel.

      When we consider the time scale for David’s life we realise the patience of this man. God’s word came to him about becoming king over all Israel, a number of years pass while Saul is hunting him, another seven and a half years pass while he waits as king over Judah alone, all the while trusting God that He would fulfil His word and bring him to kingship in His time and in His way. What an example! David, in al this goes through a process to produce a king. It is long and protracted.

D. Application:

1. Can we rest in God’s timing for our lives?
2. Can we leave it to God to “promote” us?

Passage: 2 Sam 5:6-16

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 inwards. 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.

A. Find Out:

1. Where did David go next, with what aim in mind? v.6a
2. How did the occupants respond? v.6b
3. Yet what happened and how? v.7,8
4. What did David then do? v.9,10
5. What did Hiram do with what result? v.11,12
6. What did David subsequently do? v.13-16

B. Think:

1. Read also 1 Chron 11:6. Who helped David defeat Jerusalem?
2. Why do you think David wanted to take the city?
3. What seemed to happen after its capture?

C. Comment:

      Jerusalem (possible meaning, ‘city of peace’) had never fully been taken by Israel and the Jebusites, original occupiers of the land, were still there. As such it was a monument to Israel’s failure to fully take the land, and as such it becomes David’s immediate focal point as soon as he is made king. ‘Zion’ possible means ‘prominence’ and it was probably simply a fortress on a high point. So secure was it apparently, that its occupants felt that it could be defended by the lame and the blind.

      Yet Joab seems to have taken a raiding party and infiltrated it by climbing up a natural water shaft into the city. The result is that it is now the ‘city of David’ and so the name has remained. We aren’t told why Jerusalem is chosen as his city; presumably it was simply the city of God’s choosing.

     Once he had taken the city, David enlarges and strengthens it and even builds himself a palace with the help of Hiram of Tyre. It is obvious (stated twice) that the Lord is with David. What is sad is that David took both concubines and more wives. Monogamy was not commanded by the law but polygamy was certainly not a wise state, and later tensions will arise between the children and different wives. David may be a man after God’s own heart, but he is still a fallible man.

D. Application:

1. God’s blessing may come in abundance, but remember your frailty, you can be righteous but frail!.
2. God’s blessing is not a sign of our perfection, but of His grace.

Passage: 2 Sam 5:17-25

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 enquired 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 enquired of the Lord, and he answered, ‘Do not go straight up, but circle round 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.

A. Find Out:    

1. What did the Philistines do and how did David react? v.17
2. What did David do when they came, with what reply? v.19
3. So what happened? v.20,21
4. Yet what happened again? v.22
5. So what did David do, and with what reply? v.23,24
6. So what happened? v.25

B. Think:

1. Who initiated these conflicts?
2. What was David’s response each time?
3. What was the key to his successes?

C. Comment:

      The Philistines were always a thorn in the side of Israel, a neighbour always out to cause trouble. Hearing that David has been made king and knowing of him from their past experiences (see 1 Sam) they presumably think they can easily defeat him – yet they do bring their whole army, so perhaps they aren’t quite as confident as they might make out. Rather than take them on in his own land where all his people are he moves into the mountainous rugged area to the southwest where he was familiar with the terrain and with fighting.

     When the Philistines arrive, we see David seeking the Lord for direction. We don’t know how the Lord spoke to him, but the guidance was clear: “Go for it”. So David defeats them. It is as simple as that. However, the Philistines are not deterred and return, so again David seeks God for guidance. This time the Lord gives him specific instructions as to how to proceed and again David defeats them.

     How much more the Lord is involved in this latter battle is not clear but there is an indication through His instructions that the army of the Lord was also involved. David’s basic example needs to be followed. There are 2 keys: first, seek God for guidance and, second, obey what the Lord says.

D. Application:

1. When we have confrontations with the enemy in difficult circumstances, is our first response to seek God?
2. Do we obey the Lord when He does give us guidance?