David Anointed King of Israel

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 5:1-5
1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh.
2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’”
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David 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 began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

He is King. He has been accepted by the nation after what seemed like a never ending time of persecution by the very people who now come before him. He who persecuted him has been defeated, and the previous kingdom has been vanquished, even though a puppet king was installed. Those who troubled him have seen the error of their ways, repented and made covenant with the King appointed by God.

I am speaking of David in this instance, but in this short passage, it seems foolish to ignore this picture of Jesus being crowned by God and yet persecuted by the people. Jesus, King of all and owning all authority, yet being chased and persecuted in His church, by the very people He came to serve and save. Though David’s reign is an extended reign, speaking of a test being passed, (for 40 is often associated with testing in the Bible), how much more can we imagine the eternal victory and reign of the Savior, for He passed every test, every temptation, every trial to become the perfect and all righteous King of all.

Back to the text.

The elders came to David and the first thing out of their mouth was this identification of sameness, of being of his bone and flesh.

This seems to be such an obvious point to make that almost seems redundant. Of course David and the Israelites were of the same “bone and flesh”. But let us think about this for a moment.

David was ruling in Hebron, and the tribe of Judah had received him as their king. Eleven other tribes had remained with Saul and his throne, even after his death. Let us remember that David was of the tribe of Judah, and this direct connection could be proven and utilized to justify his reign over Judah. The connection was very direct, personal and in the mind of those in the other tribes, able to be leveraged to prioritize Judah over all of the other tribes.

The northern tribes had to find a connection to being parity before the King and his “favorite” tribe. And hence the claim of same “bone and flesh”. The leaders of the eleven tribes hailed back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, claiming – rightly so – that the King of Israel is over all the tribes, that each and every tribe had an equal right to their king.

Though he be but a human, the King was to rule over all the tribes.

I can’t help but to turn back to the image displayed in this passage regarding our King, the eternal King Jesus. Though He initially came for the people of a nation to submit to Him, in their rejection, He has accepted all others also into His Kingdom.

No longer can some claim a “bone and flesh” ownership to the True King. No longer may this be used to include or exclude others from His Kingdom, for He has partook of the “same things” of all creation, not of one or any other group or tribe, nation or people group.

Hebrews 2:14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

He became human to rescue lost humans, and though a Jew by nationality, this identification was never His end focus. He rightly sought and gained the throne over all, not just one nation out of many.

True subjects of the Kingdom, those who understand Who the King is and His incredible mission to draw those subjects to Him, will worship Him in spirit and truth, not lean on physical associations, such as “bone and flesh”. How limiting and divisive!

John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

David was about to rule over the nation, bring it to the brink of greatness, dominating his enemies and producing a fighting force that was unstoppable.

A great king was on the move! A Greater King is currently on the move! Watch for His hand in your life, and listen to His counsel, for He wants to guide us.

Let us be willing to come before Him.

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