The Kingdom Strengthened

II SAMUEL 5:6-10, 17-25

GOLDEN TEXT: “David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.”—II Samuel 5:10

SHORTLY after God rejected Saul, who was therefore no longer the rightful king of Israel, he instructed Samuel to anoint another king to take his place because Saul had become arrogant and disobedient. The one selected to be Israel’s new king was David, the son of Jesse. David was a mere lad at the time, but God saw in him those heart qualities which he could use in one who was to be entrusted with such grave responsibilities. David, like all members of the fallen race, had his weaknesses and made his mistakes, but he was always repentant and willing to make amends. He reverenced God, and delighted to do his will, and it was of him that Samuel said, “The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart.”—I Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22

But David did not immediately become the recognized king of Israel. Saul was permitted to continue reigning, and, because of jealousy became a persecutor of David. On two occasions while he was hunting David with the object of killing him, this shepherd boy found himself in a position where he could easily have taken Saul’s life; and his friends advised him to do so. But David took a better view. He knew that it was by God’s authority that he had been anointed by Samuel to be king of Israel; and he knew that Saul also had been anointed by Samuel, so he preferred to wait for God to indicate when Saul was actually to be set aside. He did not want to take the matter in his own hands, saying, “The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed.”—I Samuel 26:11

Explaining his viewpoint further, David said, “The Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.” (I Sam. 26:10) And finally, as we saw in last week’s lesson, Saul did perish in battle; not that he was felled by the enemy, but he took his own life when he saw that defeat was inevitable and he could not expect to enjoy further the Lord’s blessing.

There was a measure of uncertainty on the part of some of the Israelites even after the death of Saul as to whether David was to be their rightful king. But the matter was settled when all the elders of Israel gathered at Hebron. David met them there, made a covenant with them, and they anointed him to be king. From Jehovah’s standpoint this anointing was superfluous, but was apparently recognized by him as confirming in the minds of the Israelites the fact that David was his choice. This was his third anointing. Previously he had been anointed king over Judah.—II Sam. 2:4; 5:3

David established his seat of authority in Jerusalem, but in order to do so had to put the Jebusites to rout. Much of his reign was characterized by war, although in many instances God fought for him and he was victorious. One of the great achievements of David’s reign was the restoration of the ark of God, and the building of a tent-like tabernacle in which it could be housed. This became symbolic of the fact that God’s favor, which was withdrawn from the nation during the latter years of Saul’s reign, was restored under the leadership of David. See II Samuel, chapter 6.

The ark represented the presence of God with this typical people, and when their enemies captured and held it in their possession it signified the loss of God’s full blessing upon the nation. Naturally there was great rejoicing on the part of David when the ark was finally brought back and housed in the tabernacle which the king had prepared for it. From one standpoint David typified the church militant of this age, but as a king he well represents Christ, who will be King over all the earth for a thousand years. As David’s reign was characterized by the conquering of enemies, so we read of Christ that “he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (I Cor. 15:25,26) The enemies to be destroyed by Christ are many and varied. Among the first of these which are dealt with are the “kingdoms of this world.” There is evidence that the power of the new King is already being exercised for their overthrow and destruction.

The reign of Christ will mean the return of God’s favor to the fallen race, even as the reign of David meant the return of God’s blessing upon Israel, as indicated by the restoration of the ark of the covenant. It may be this that the apostle refers to in part when, alluding to Amos 9:11 he says concerning the work of Christ’s kingdom, “After this will I return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down.” (Acts 15:13-18) We know that the fulfillment of this prophecy will mean the return of God’s favor to Israel, and to the whole world.

This return of God’s favor to Israel and to all mankind during the reign of Christ is spoken of by Peter as “times of refreshing … from the presence of the Lord” which will be manifested by “times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”—Acts 3:19-21

QUESTIONS:

How many times was David anointed king, and by whom?

Of whom was David a type during the forty years of his reign?

What are some of the enemies the antitypical David will destroy during the thousand years of his reign?

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