For the past 7½ years David has ruled over the tribe of Judah. There has been civil war in the land as Judah followed David while the rest of Israel followed Ish-bosheth, the surviving son of Saul. David's forces have been increasing in size while those of Israel have been waning. But now Ish-bosheth has been killed, the victim of assassination. And so, David becomes king of a united Israel.

There is an interesting parallel between how David became king of Judah and how he now becomes king over all Israel.

It has been theorized by modern scholars that the 40 year reigns ascribed to Moses, to Eli, to David and to Solomon are merely to be understood as a long, undetermined number of years. But this passage gives a breakdown of what comprised those forty years.

Up to this time, David had been reigning in Hebron. Hebron was centrally located in Judah and would always be associated with that tribe. If the other tribes were to accept the concept of a unified nation, it would be necessary to have a capital city which had no former associations. Jerusalem was such a city.

Jerusalem was a city of the Jebusites. They had been living here city before the days of Abraham. One of their kings had been Melchizedek, a priest of God. But now it was merely a Canaanite city. The Israelites under Joshua had been unable to drive out the Jebusites (Joshua 15:63). And even though the Israelites had captured and burned Jerusalem early in the days of the Judges (Judges 1:8), the Jebusites had returned to rebuild and refortify their city.

The old city of Jerusalem was built upon a high ridge and was surrounded on three sides by steep ravines. An approaching enemy would have to climb to the top of the ridge and then would find himself facing high fortifications with no room to maneuver.

Furthermore, Jerusalem had its own internal water supply. A tunnel had been carved into the mountain leading down to a pool which was in turn fed by a natural spring.

The boast of the city was that, even if these fortification were manned by blind and lame, they would be enough to keep out any enemy.

The word "Zion" seems to refer to a "high place" or a "place of protection." The term is rare in the historical books.

Located on the east side of the city is the Gihon Spring. It is the city's only local source of fresh water. Unfortunately, the spring is located at the bottom of the ridge upon which the city was built. The Jebusites resolved this problem by excavating a tunnel through the bedrock which went beneath the city walls and then down a vertical shaft to the spring.

The shaft was discovered by Captain Charles Warren of the British Engineers in 1867. He and his sergeant entered the Gihon Spring, followed the narrow tunnel into the mountainside, and came upon a vertical shaft rising nearly 40 feet straight up. It was possible for the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stand at the top of the shaft and drop a bucket with a line attached and draw up water.

Apparently, this was the route used to capture the city of Jerusalem. David's forces would have crept in through this route to come up inside the city gates.

Jerusalem now became David's capital city. Because it was in previously unoccupied territory, it was considered to be free of any tribal associations.

The "Millo"was the original fortification around which the city was built (the word means "to fill"). Its exact location remains uncertain.

The Phoenicians were the great sea power of that day (they were the only sea power of that day). They also had a great natural resource in forests of cedar trees - this resource of lumber had contributed to making them the sea power which they had come to be.

The major cities of Phoenicia were Byblos (from which we get our word "Bible"), Sidon and Tyre. As powerful as the king of Tyre was, he still saw the need of an alliance with David. And yet, David was not carried away with his fame and good fortune.

Success and power always bring temptations which are difficult to resist. I have seen time and time again the specter of a successful man who develops an over-inflated ego, leading him to sin. The key to resisting such temptation is the realization of the sovereignty of God and the fact that we owe any success to Him.

The Philistines had won a great victory at the death of Saul. Now they saw their military advantage being threatened. They were all too aware of David's military capabilities. And they wanted to stop him before he became too powerful. They determine to make a pre-emptive strike.

There is a principle here. It is that Satan only attacks when there is a perceived threat to his authority. The Philistines didn't bother with David when he was a fugitive. To the contrary, they went so far as to give him one of their own cities. But when he was crowned king, they immediately attacked.

Satan does the same thing to us. If we are not committed to the cause of the Lord, Satan will often leave us alone. But when we begin to get serious about serving the Lord, Satan pulls out all the stops.

The Philistines came up in two separate attacks again David. Both attacks came through the Valley of Rephaim to the west of Jerusalem.

The eastern end of the Valley of Rephaim (mentioned in Joshua 15:8) abutted the Valley of Hinnom on the west side of Jerusalem. The Philistines evidently followed the route of the Sorek Wadi in an attempt to take David at Jerusalem.

The attack came in two stages and both times David inquired of the Lord as to what he should do.

David's obedience to the Lord's instructions result in his victory over the Philistines. There is a principle here - simply stated yet profound in its results. Follow the Directions!

Our problem is rarely that we do not know what we ought to do. Our problem is not in the area of knowing but in the area of doing.

The ark was a wooden chest overlaid with gold. It had a top of solid gold on which were mounted the figures of two cherubim - two angels perched as an honor guard. The ark represented the throne of God. It was the place where God was said to be "seated above the cherubim."

The ark had been lost at the Battle of Ebenezer (1 Samuel 4). The Philistines had taken it and had placed in one of their pagan temples. But then they found their idols falling apart and plagues breaking out in their city. They had moved the ark from city to city and had experienced this same phenomenon in each city into which they brought the ark.

Finally, the Philistines had returned to ark to Israel. But the Israelites had no better luck. Some Levites had taken in upon themselves to look inside the ark and a number of men had died.

The ark had now sat in the house of Abinadab for nearly 70 years. Saul had not sought to change its place of residence. But David did. And by so doing, David demonstrated a care for the things of the Lord.

a. The first bringing of the ark.

b. The death of Uzzah.

c. David's anger.

d. David's fear.

e. The second bringing of the ark.

Michal had once helped David to escape death by lowering him out a window. Now she looks at him "out of the window" and she despises him.

We need to understand that this was not an immodest scene. Rather, it was a shirt-sleeve scene.

David had been wearing a linen ephod (6:14). This was the type outer garment worn by the high priest. It was an outer coat. And David had taken off his coat to dance before the Lord.

Michal thought that a king ought to look more kingly. She remembered what her father was like - head and shoulders above the rest of the nation. And she was more interested in prestige and in what the maids might think than how the Lord might feel.

Is your heart like David's or like Michal's? What is your main concern when you come to the house of the Lord? Your answer will determine whether you are seeking the Lord's kingdom or whether you are really trying to establish your own.

David's reply is to point to his own humility. Unlike Saul, he was content to be humble before the Lord and to realize that the Lord was the One to be given the greatest honor. Rather than lower his status in the eyes of the nation, this would result in his being distinguished.

Because of her sin, we learn that Michal went childless for the rest of her life. To be barren and without child was considered the worst possible state of a woman. Such a condition would leave her unfulfilled and worthless.

In the same way, a Christian who bears no fruit is worthless and unfulfilled. The good news is that Jesus tells us that, if we remain in Him, we WILL bear fruit (John 15:5). On the other hand, we are warned that if we do not abide in Him, we will be spiritually barren.

Although chapter 7 does not use the word "covenant," it is commonly recognized that the Lord here establishes a covenant relationship with the house of David.

a. Quest for a house.

b. God promises a house for David.

The first part of verse 14 ("I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me") is quoted twice in the New Testament.

The implications of this are striking. This passage refers, not only to Solomon, not only to Jesus, but also to US. We are a part of the house of God which He promises to establish.

The Moabites were descended from Lot's incestuous union with one of his daughters.

We are not told why David chose to attack Moab. David's relations with the Moabites had previously been friendly. When he had been a fugitive, he had relocated his parents to the land of Moab. Jewish tradition has it that the Moabites turned and murdered his parents. If there is any truth to this tradition, then it may explain David's actions.

The exact location and identity of this kingdom is unknown. Saul had fought with them in his day (1 Samuel 14:47) and they were evidently located on the northern border of Israel.

This was the ancient name of the place we know today as Syria. The Aramean capital was the city of Damascus.

The Arameans in David's day had attained to the rank of a super-power. They were organized into a number of small city-states. One Aramean king had even taken the throne of Babylon.

These were the descendants of Esau. They were located in the desert lands to the south of the Dead Sea.

Then David said, "Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" (2 Samuel 9:1).

David had made a covenant with Jonathan that "the Lord would be between" both them and their descendants forever (1 Samuel 20:42).

It was the custom in that day that when a king came to a throne he would put to death all members of the previous dynasty and thereby negate any threat against his reign.

The conditions of David's covenant forbade such an action of vengeance upon the house of Jonathan. But David wishes to go beyond this. He wished to act, not merely out of mercy, but in grace, showing actual kindness to the house of Jonathan.

By consulting with Ziba, a former steward of the house of Saul, David learns that there is "a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet" (9:3).

The account of how this crippling had taken place was given back in chapter 4.

Mephibosheth had become a cripple on the same day that his father and his grandfather had died. In a single day, he had gone from prince to pauper. As a cripple, he would be unlikely to be considered for the throne.

The name "Mephibosheth" means "he scatters shame" (note the similarity to "Ish-bosheth," the "man of shame").

Lo-debar was located in Gilead to the east of the Jordan River. These were lands which had gathered under the banner of Ish-boseth.

I'm certain that it was with no small trepidation that Mephibosheth came into the presence of the king. He knew what was the normal custom of execution of families of the king's enemies. And he knew how both Saul and Ish-bosheth had fought against David.

There is a beautiful picture here of what Christ has done on our behalf.

The Ammonites had in the past been enemies of Israel. At the beginning of Saul's reign, he had led Israel against the Ammonites and had defeated them. In spite of this past history of warfare, David now determines to "show kindness" to the Ammonites.

Nahash had been the king which Saul had defeated in 1 Samuel 11. What is not recorded in Scripture is what way Nahash had showed kindness to David. Evidently, Nahash had sought to befriend the enemy of Saul. David resolves to send a funeral delegation to the Ammonites to pay their respects to the dead king.

To have one's beard shaved was a mark of shame. A beard was a mark of honor (slaves were often restricted from having beards). The cutting of the garments was accomplished in such a way as to expose their loins - an obvious abasement. This was an overt act of war. And it was to bring about a swift retribution.

There is an interesting parallel in this chapter between David and the Ammonites as opposed to the Lord and mankind.

This outrageous insult to the Lord's ambassadors was to bring about open warfare. Knowing that they could not withstand David alone, the Ammonites hired mercenaries from the Arameans to the north.

The Aramean military machine was state-of-the-art. The Arameans had survived conflict with their Assyrian neighbors and they were well-versed in the arts of war.

David's reaction was swift and sure. He seized the initiative and invaded the lands of Ammon. Two separate campaigns are described.

As a result of these victories, the Arameans made peace with Israel and did not again ally themselves with the enemies of the Israelites in David's lifetime.