Even in our modern era of world history, we have seen instances around the globe where former dictators or presidents of countries would be ousted, only to return later or to have one of their family come back and claim rights to governmental leadership.

In Haiti, former President Jean-Claude Duvalier – known as “Baby Doc,” being the son of his life-president father “Papa Doc” Francois Duvalier – returned after years of exile in France with hopes of regaining the presidency. It created a mess in the country until he died last year.

In the Philippines in the 1980s, strong-man President Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown by Corazon Aquino – the wife of slain Benigno Aquino, opposition leader. She restored democracy to the land, and the Marcos family was exiled with their billions of dollars stolen from the country. Imelda Marcos, the wife of the late Ferdinand, has now returned to the country and in her mid-80s has even been elected to government, inciting much controversy.

This would have never happened in antiquity. If you were part of the family of the overthrown regime, you were simply eliminated, thus there would be no possibility of any return to “the good old days.”

When Israel was routed by the Philistines in battle on the day that Jonathan and Saul would die, the lone surviving member of that dynasty was Mephibosheth, the infant son of Jonathan. In the haste of running from the Philistines, his nurse fell on him and he was lame in both feet.

Largely forgotten, he grew up in obscurity, which was certainly just fine with him. But David sought out information about any of Saul’s surviving family, and a servant of Saul knew of the location of Mephibosheth. David sent for him; and as he came in before the king, he must surely have expected the worst. The following is the story of what really happened …

David and Mephibosheth

9:1  David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

What a turn of events! What an unexpected outcome, and what grace was shown by David.

But the story of Mephibosheth is our story. Because of sin we are exiles and far from God. There was no way we could stand in the king’s presence. But the true and greater David paid the price for us that we may be reconciled and brought near – adopted as it were into the new royal family as a child of the king. We have access with him, and we may come and eat at his table, even forever.

As it says in Ephesians chapter 2 …

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. … For he himself is our peace … Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Most of us live more like peasants than like Kings.  Life’s daily rituals—however necessary—weigh us down with their lack of excitement.   Television and magazine ads seek to cultivate a sense of dissatisfaction with the way things are, and if we buy enough SUV’s and skin creams than we can finally have it all together.

If you follow Jesus, you might feel the same, even if you spiritualize it.  You may have laid your burdens at the foot of the cross only to wonder: now what?  If we’re not careful, we can be tempted to compare ourselves to others—or worse, compare our own successes to those the world lauds as true “greatness.”  What gets me is the way the Christian community often places emphasis on “dreaming big” or “doing huge things for God,” which is all well and good and all but there’s still laundry to get done, right?

2 Samuel 8 picks up right where chapter 5 left off.  It’s not that the book is out of order—it’s that the promise God gave to David occurred during a time when David and his “transition team” were seeking to solidify power in Jerusalem:

After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.

9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, 12 from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 14 Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

I highlighted two key verses for a reason: they emphasize who the true Victor was.  The puritans had an old saying: “God loveth adverbs.”  By that they meant that sometimes what we do isn’t as important as how we do it.

We see this reflected in the final verses of this chapter, which also serve as summary for this portion of David’s life:

15 So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, 17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary, 18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over  the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were priests.

So we see two extremes: military victory, and political administration.  At first blush, the first section seems far more exciting than the second.  After all, is David the warrior doing “bigger” things than David the administrator?   In his commentary on this section, Eugene Peterson writes:

“Administration is not as exciting as battle, but it is more important and the effects are more enduring….The flash of swords in battle catches most of the headlines, but the headlines do not last; the tedious decision making that takes place in meetings is largely unremarked, but the decisions enter the daily routines of people’s lives and affect the ways we love and care for our neighbors.” (Eugene H. Peterson, First and Second Samuel, p. 172)

Some of us have fairly uneventful lives—at least compared to the bear-wrestling, blues-musician King David.  Commuting to work, folding socks, taking care of the kids—not exactly the portrait of greatness that our culture tries to paint.

But the love of Christ—working in and through us—infuses our work with new nobility.  Whether teacher, astronaut, accountant, parent—each of our vocations becomes an opportunity for God to work through us in every detail.  And if God ennobles our every choice and every vocation (and yes, many Christian thinkers throughout the years include parenthood in the list of vocations), then if we insist on “dreaming big”—that is, thinking God is elsewhere—then we have put God inside of a box, tethering Him too tightly to some spiritualized version of the American Dream.   Both David and Jesus show us that strength can be revealed in patience—in victory as well as vulnerable devotion to life’s everyday details.  And God can ennoble and magnify Himself in the details of our lives if we give Him half a chance.  If we take our eyes off of some idolatrous “big” dream, and find instead the courage to dream small.

There may be many times when we ask God for something irredeemably selfish.  An unscheduled—and unnecessary—pay raise.  The honor and respect of others.  For our neighbor to “change his attitude.”  In those moments, we’re not terribly surprised to hear God say “no.”  But what about when we pray for good things?  When we pray for God to address our singleness, or a season of infertility.  When we pray for someone with a prolonged illness.  Are these not worthy items of prayer?  And yet many times God still says “no.”

David would experience this.  Having now centralized his power in Jerusalem, he desired to honor God through the building of a temple.  What was a temple?  Nearly every major religion—past and present—uses a temple as the physical means of connecting to God.  It was sort of a cosmic crossroads, a place where heaven and earth are thought to intersect.  For years, Israel’s portable structure—the Tabernacle—served this purpose.  But now that David occupied a palace, he rightly grew concerned that the Lord would occupy a lesser place:

Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” 3 And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Samuel 7:1-3)

But the Lord would later speak through Nathan, and give David a resounding “no.”

4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord:  Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep,  that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity,  I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him,  as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.  Your throne shall be established forever.’” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

Why “no?”  First of all, there was no pressing need—the tabernacle had sufficed since the time of the Exodus, so why not wait a generation or so?  Second,  during the time of the judges, God had dealt with his people through these leaders in various regions—that is, without the need for a centralized temple.  And finally, David had been a man of battle.  Necessary though this may have been, God would not permit his blood-stained hands from being the one to build the temple.

But, God’s “no” came with a greater “yes.”  His “no” to David would establish a greater legacy through David.  Sometimes, God chooses to bless His children.  Other times, He chooses to bless others through His children.  This was among the latter.

We call this the Davidic covenant.  What is a covenant?  A covenant is a promise made between two parties.  When such a promise occurs between God and man, it refers to a promise God makes to His people.  Therefore a covenant, in the Biblical sense, asks and answers the question: How do I experience the presence of God in my life?  For instance, in the covenant with Abraham, God’s presence was experienced through the promise to bless the nation of Israel through God’s dealings with Abraham.  The covenant with Moses was an extension of this—wherein God said that the promise given to Abraham came with no strings attached, but, in order to fully experience the joy of this promise, man would now obey God through a codified series of laws.  Now, God is telling His people that they would experience God through His reigning representative—the King.

We can notice five specific features to this king:

• David’s heir would occupy the throne
• David’s heir would build God’s temple
• David’s heir would have a unique relationship with God
• David’s heir would receive punishment for sin—but not be cast off like Saul
• God promises a kingdom that lasts forever

While some of these features have an immediate, obvious fulfillment in David’s immediate descendants, others won’t find fulfillment until the arrival of a true, better King in the person of Jesus.  This is why Isaiah would later prophesy:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. (Isaiah 9:7-8a)

Jesus fulfills all the promises spoken of here to David.  And, what’s more, Jesus would not merely build a temple—Jesus would be the true temple.  How?  By being the person who connects heaven to earth.  Do you want to experience the presence of God?  Then you find God’s presence through Jesus.

David, of course, didn’t understand the half of this.  But still he responded to God with gratitude and admiration:

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God.  You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you?  For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Too often God says “no,” and we sigh with rehearsed contentment, assuaging our disappointment with trite sayings about how “God must have something better for us.”  But the gospel tells us that Jesus is better.  Our greatest hope is not that if we’re good, if we’re patient, God will someday offer us His blessings.  Our greatest hope is that God is a blessing, offering us connection to Himself through His Spirit, and through the provision of His Son’s righteousness.

Is that enough?  When you don’t get that promotion you’d been daydreaming about—is God enough?  When you remain single longer than you’d expected—is God enough?  What if you fail that test, what if you suffer from ongoing depression, what if your kids don’t come home with a happy report card?  What if your kids don’t come home at all?  Is God enough?   All our life we live with a dream that says “My life would be better if_______________.”  The gospel comes along and says that your life is better because of Jesus.

Don’t waste God’s “no.”

If you’ve been to Hallmark lately—or even the greeting card section of your average megastore—you probably found yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices.  First, it probably took a team of Sherpa guides to help you simply locate the “birthdays” section—bypassing all the other random holidays that are on display.  I mean, do people really send cards for St. Patrick’s Day (I mean, besides the Irish)?  And once you find the right holiday, you’re faced with rack after rack of increasing specificity.  Birthdays for him, birthdays from him, birthday cards with audio chips that play prerecorded age jokes, birthday cards for second cousins twice removed—we could go on, but you get the idea.   To me, the greeting card industry is evidence that we, as a society, have completely given up on trying to express our feelings for one another.  Instead, it’s easier to just run in, poke around until we find just the right card, and then quickly sign it and lick the envelope shut before the big party.

Worship has become very much like that.  For the better part of the last three decades, worship has shifted from an act we perform an hour on Sundays to encompass a whole genre of music.  And now, we may go to a big-chain store and stand in the “Christian” or “Religious” music section, where we are sold “worship” albums featuring airbrushed, glossy covers of worship leaders promising to bring us into the Lord’s presence through this craft.

I’m not throwing rocks, exactly.  I’m saying that the “worship-as-a-genre” approach can lead us to be just as shallow toward God as we are in the greeting card store.  We find just the right words and clever sayings, then recite them in the hopes that the newest and latest album will thrill our souls toward God.

What’s the alternative?  The alternative is to change our view of worship—to repent of our view of worship as merely a musical genre and turn it back into a way of living.  David understood this.  This is why David decided to bring the Ark of the Lord into the capital city of Jerusalem:

 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. (2 Samuel 6:1-4)

This wasn’t errant superstition.  David wanted the city of Jerusalem to be as much a religious as it was a political capital.  So it’s only natural that David sees this as a cause for celebration.

In his Old Testament Theology, Bruce Waltke sees two distinct cycles at work in this chapter.  Both follow the same pattern: (1) there is a great parade and (2) someone is scorned by the Lord.

CYCLE ONE: DAVID AND THE SCORN FOR UZZAH

David is participating in a great parade:

5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

This seems a harsh offense.  Why would God strike down Uzzah because he was only trying to help?  I can never forget a sermon I once heard from R.C. Sproul, who asked the pointed question: What makes you think his hand was cleaner than the ground?  God is ferociously and powerfully holy.  Our attempts to “improve” worship don’t make worship any better—they just make us look worse.

CYCLE TWO: DAVID AND THE SCORN FOR MICHAL

David realizes that the ark truly does bring the promise of blessing—again, through the Lord’s presence—so he decides to try again.

12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

The linen ephod was the attire worn by priests—though many commentaries have stressed that simplicity of the garment.  David wasn’t dancing in his underwear, here—but there was something undignified about the whole scene that set Michal—David’s wife—into a rage.

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.

20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

What are we to learn?  First, that God is not improved by our worship.  Too often we feel that it is our task to “make the gospel relevant.”  But why?  Is the gospel not already relevant?  Like Uzzah, we may put out our hands to offer the Lord some help—only to find that we look foolish in the process.  The gospel is always relevant—it’s our job instead to reveal its relevance by living it out in and through our lives.

Secondly, our worship is truly undignified.  David wore a simple ephod—not the Kingly garments that were befitting his position.  He came only with what he needed, because he recognized that it’s only a servant’s heart that the Lord truly demands.  When we come before God, we come before him not clad in robes of our own accomplishments, but because we have instead been “clothed in Christ” (Galatians 3:27).  Our dignity will never be found in the eyes of men, but eternally in the eyes of God.

Can you remember your first day of work?  I sure can’t.  For any job, ever.  Not even the one I have now.  If I think hard enough, I can remember a government position or two that entailed safety briefings, sensitivity training, that sort of thing—but beyond that I honestly can’t dredge up a single memory of my first day on any job.  Maybe I’m unusual that way (among others), but I can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with the fact that usually, our first days on the job aren’t nearly as memorable as the ones that come after.  The ones where you already “know the ropes,” can feel like you’re being productive, that sort of thing.

In 2 Samuel 5, we find David experiencing his “first day on the job,” so to speak. He’s finally anointed king (for the third time, mind you—cf. 1 Samuel 16; 2 Sam 2:1-4), establishing the city of Jerusalem (meaning “foundation of peace”) as the capital of Israel:

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.

6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

Notice two things: first, the strong emphasis on “shepherding” imagery—which was actually a common way of describing kingship in the ancient world (Egyptian Pharaohs, for example, were often depicted in art holding shepherds’ crooks).   Secondly, David despised “the lame and the blind.”  We rightly cringe at this sort of treatment—and rightly so.  David was God’s chosen king, but some of his practices reflected the primitive culture of his day more than the will of God.  Take his family, for instance:

11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. 12 And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David. 14 And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

The total number of David’s “concubines and wives” is unknown, though in ancient times it was customary to “inherit” the concubines of one’s predecessor.  Not everything that David does represents things that God allows.  Which means if God blesses David at all, it says more about God’s character than David’s.  We see these blessings in David’s military advancement.  The war against the Philistines was certainly a lengthy one, but the text highlights two key victories:

17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.19 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. 21 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

David’s early career was therefore something of a mixed bag.  We rightly honor him as God’s chosen servant, but we nonetheless see reasons why we should look forward to a true, better King in Jesus.  In his commentary on 1-2 Samuel, Eugene Peterson observes the way that the life and ministry of Jesus reflects—and improves upon—the kingly role of David:

“David and Jesus both enter Jerusalem to establish the rule of God; they both clear the place of those who defile it; but the fate of the ‘blind and lame’ is turned around…When David enters the city of Jerusaelm as the new king of Israel to establish a capital for his kingly rule, clearing the place of the pagan Jebusites, the blind and lame are referred to as ‘those whom David hates.’  When Jesus, a thousand years later, enters the same city, acclaimed as both king and Son of David, he clears the area of all who defiled the holy place with exploitive practices.  His first act, after the cleanup, is to heal ‘the blind and the lame’ (Matthew 21:14).” (Eugene H. Peterson, First and Second Samuel, p. 158-9)

Today’s news cycle is dominated by tragedy and scandal.  Our celebrities and artists fare no better.  In a world where all of our heroes are failures, fiction, or ghosts, who is there to have confidence in?  The answer has to be Jesus, for who else can serve with His consistent level of integrity, His love, or His mercy?

And if Jesus is my true King, then it means that my allegiance to His throne surpasses—nay, overthrows—whatever allegiance I may have to my own heart.  By following this King, I have victory not over political adversaries, but the adversaries of sin and death.  And that changes everything, because now I have a whole new identity as a member of God’s kingdom.