Scripture
Perhaps as many as fifteen years earlier, the Prophet Samuel was sent by God to anoint young David as the future king over Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-13). David lived an incredibly full life after his anointing. He single-handedly killed Goliath, fought countless battles, evaded numerous murderous attempts on his life, and, after the death of King Saul, was anointed king over the southern territory of Judah at the age of twenty-two (2 Samuel 2:1-7). After a long war of seven and a half years, the northern territory of Israel collapsed with the death of Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 4:1-12). The stage was finally set for David to be anointed as king over all Israel, as God had promised so many years earlier.
Let’s read about David being anointed king of Israel in 2 Samuel 5:1-16:
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.
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.
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. (2 Samuel 5:1-16)
Introduction
Did you know that on March 23, 2004 the Rev. Sun Myung Moon was crowned as king over the United States of America?
This coronation took place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., when the Rev. Moon received a “Crown of Peace.” The Rev. Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, wearing robes of regal attire, had golden crowns placed on their heads during the ceremony, which was attended by a U.S. senator and several members of the House of Representatives.
It was clear that the Rev. Moon’s followers viewed the coronation ceremony as more than just an award. On Rev. Moon’s Family Federation for World Peace and Unifi¬cation website a few days later, top official Chung Hwan Kwak was quoted as saying, “So in effect, the crowning means America is saying to Father [that is, Rev. Moon], ‘Please become my king.’ ” Kwak went on to say, “The ‘outside’ view of the Capitol Hill event was that Father received a crown, an award for his years of dedication and leadership in reconciliation and peace-making. The ‘inside’ view of the event was that America surrendered to…the king’s position.”
The Rev. Moon and his followers were self-deluded in thinking that he was being crowned as king over America.
However, no such delusion belonged to all Israel as they anointed David as king over Israel.
David’s coronation as king over Israel must be understood as something unique, different from any other coronation. You see, God was establishing his kingdom on earth. And David was God’s chosen king. What we see in today’s lesson is nothing other than the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.
Lesson
Second Samuel 5:1-16 shows us the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. God’s King Is Crowned (5:1-5)
2. God’s City Is Chosen (5:6-10)
3. God’s Rule Is Consolidated (5:11-12)
4. God’s Kingdom Is Compromised (5:13-16)
I. God’s King Is Crowned (5:1-5)
First, God’s king is crowned.
Verse 1a says, “Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron….” All the tribes of Israel did not come in person, but they came via their representatives, as we are told in verse 3a, “So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron….” This is of course an expression of the representative principle that is continued in our Presbyterian form of church government, where the elders represent the members of the church.
In any event, the elders of the northern territory of Israel came to David at Hebron, and gave three reasons why they wanted David as their king.
The first reason for wanting David as their king is because of a personal relationship. The elders said in verse 1b, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh.” The elders were clearly aware of the Lord’s requirement for a king for his people when he said to them in Deuteronomy 17:15, “…you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” They were all descendants of Abraham, and so the elders wanted David to be their king because he was a brother and not a foreigner or stranger.
The second reason for wanting David as their king is because of his track record. The elders said in verse 2a, “In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel.” One commentator notes that the phrase in Hebrew for “led out and brought in” is “an expression for leadership in battle.” David led them out against their enemies and brought them back safe and victorious. Another way of expressing this is that David had been for many years the savior of Israel. And so, once again, the elders wanted David to be their savior.
And the third reason for wanting David as their king is because of divine appointment. The elders said in verse 2b, “And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’ ” About fifteen years earlier, God had Samuel anoint the young shepherd of Bethlehem, David, in the presence of the elders of Bethlehem to be the future king over Israel, the future shepherd over all Israel. Now, the elders finally affirm God’s divine appointment for David to be their shepherd.
After they had given David the three reasons for wanting him as their king, verses 3b-5 say, “…and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.”
God was establishing his kingdom on earth. David was crowned as God’s king of his kingdom.
David’s coronation points us to his Greater Son, Jesus. We come to Jesus because we want a personal relationship with him. We want him to be our representative, and indeed by faith in him, Jesus represents his elect to his heavenly Father.
Moreover, we come to Jesus because of his track record. We want him to be our Savior. And he indeed saves us from sin and hell and Satan.
And finally, we come to Jesus because of divine appointment. Jesus was appointed by God to be the great shepherd of his sheep (Hebrews 13:20). He is our shepherd, so that we lack nothing.
So, let me ask you: Is Jesus your king?
II. God’s City Is Chosen (5:6-10)
Second, God’s city is chosen.
Once David was crowned king over all Israel, he made a wise decision to choose a capitol city that would be accepted by both north and south. David was in Hebron, which was in the southern territory. Saul’s capitol was at Gibeon in the north, and Ish-bosheth was also in the north at Mahanaim. Jerusalem was on the border between the northern and southern territories. The city of Jerusalem was built on top of a hill with cliff-like slopes on three sides, and was incredibly well defended.
But David met with resistance from the citizens of Jerusalem, known as 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” (5:6). They were so confident that their city was safe from attack that they believed that even the blind and the lame would keep all attackers at bay. “Nevertheless,” we read in verse 7, “David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.” We learn in verse 10 why David was able to capture Jerusalem, “And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.”
God was with David, who was chosen by God to be the king of his kingdom. And so Jerusalem became the capitol city of the kingdom of God on earth. Resistance and rebellion against God’s kingdom was overcome.
The city of Jerusalem was chosen to be the capitol city of God’s kingdom on earth. It was to point the people of God to the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is the place where resistance and rebellion against God’s kingdom is finally overcome forever. It is the place where God’s promise to Abraham to bless all the families through him will reach its ultimate fulfillment. The new Jerusalem is the hope of every elect believer.
When a Christian dies, his body begins to decay and is buried in the ground where it remains. Meanwhile, the Christian’s soul (or spirit) goes immediately into the presence of the Lord. All believers remain with the Lord until the consummation of the kingdom of God when the Father sends his Son, Jesus Christ, to return to earth. The bodies of believers will be reunited with their souls. There will be a final judgment, and unbelievers will be assigned to their punishment in hell for all eternity, and believers will be assigned to their rewards in the new earth for all eternity. And at the center of the new earth will be the capitol city, the new Jerusalem, as described by the Apostle John in Revelation 21:10-14:
10 And he [that is, one of the seven angels] carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Let me ask you: Are you eagerly looking forward to residing in the new Jerusalem?
III. God’s Rule Is Consolidated (5:11-12)
Third, God’s rule is consolidated.
Verse 11 says, “And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house.” Some commentators believe that this is chronologically out of order, for it took place near the end of David’s reign. Others believe that the Hiram who helped David’s son Solomon build the temple was this Hiram’s son, also named Hiram. Either way, the point is made by the author in verse 12, where he writes, “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.” This is a fascinating comment.
God was establishing his kingdom on earth. Centuries earlier, God said to Abraham, “…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). God fulfilled his promise by establishing the nation of Israel. After their exile in Egypt, they returned to inherit the Promised Land. Eventually God called David to be his anointed king on earth. And the reason God established David as king over Israel was so as to exalt and consolidate his kingdom “for the sake of his people Israel.”
Christian leadership is always for the sake of God’s people. Whether king, or pastor, or elder, or deacon, it is always for the sake of God’s people. Leaders fail when they do not serve the people of God. God does not call men into leadership for their own sake; it is always for the sake of God’s people.
So, God made David great for “for the sake of his people Israel.” David’s greatness points us again to his Greater Son, Jesus, who said of himself, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,” and for the good of his people he would “give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Do you know for sure that Jesus is serving you in the sense that he has given his life to ransom yours?
IV. God’s Kingdom Is Compromised (4:13-16)
And fourth, God’s kingdom is compromised.
Verse 13 says, “And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.” And then a list of names is given of those who were born to David in Jerusalem in verse 14. In one sense, the author of Second Samuel may have noted this about David to show that his kingdom was growing politically. Kings in those days acquired concubines, wives and children to show their power and strength.
But, more likely, the author of Second Samuel was letting us know that the seeds of compromise were being sown. Deuteronomy 17:17a gives the following warning to kings, “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away.” Some of David’s wives and children did eventually cause him great grief. There is a sense in which the author of Second Samuel wants us to know that as great as David was, and as great as his kingdom was, it was not as great as God wanted it to be.
The consummated kingdom of God, when Jesus returns to earth, will be a kingdom in which there is no compromise at all. It will be a kingdom in which there is no sin. The Apostle John gives a glimpse of this new kingdom in Revelation 21:1-5:
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth in 2 Samuel 5:1-16, let us acknowledge and submit to Jesus’ kingship over us.
In 1851, Matthew Bridges wrote a hymn of six verses titled, “Crown him with Many Crowns.” The hymn is based on the Apostle John’s vision of Jesus on a white horse in Revelation 19:12a, “his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns” (KJV 1900).
Bridges converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism during a Catholic revival in the Victorian era known as the Oxford Movement. Some of the stanzas were so thoroughly rooted in Roman Catholicism as to be obscure and even unintelligible to Protestants.
Therefore, in 1874, an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer named Godfrey Thring published a hymn with six parallel verses modeled on the same motif of crowning Jesus as “Lord of….”
Over the years, these twelve stanzas have become intermingled in the hymnbooks, with editors mixing and matching the verses. Here are the first lines of all twelve verses, the first six by Bridges, the last six by Thring:
• Stanza 1: Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne…
• Stanza 2: Crown him the virgin’s Son, the God incarnate born…
• Stanza 3: Crown him the Lord of love, behold his hands and side…
• Stanza 4: Crown him the Lord of peace, whose power a scepter sways…
• Stanza 5: Crown him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time…
• Stanza 6: Crown him the Lord of heaven, one with the Father known…
• Stanza 7: Crown him with crowns of gold…
• Stanza 8: Crown him the Son of God, before the worlds began…
• Stanza 9: Crown him the Lord of light…
• Stanza 10: Crown him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave…
• Stanza 11: Crown him the Lord of lords, who over all doth reign…
• Stanza 12: Crown him the Lord of heaven, enthroned in worlds above….
God established his kingdom on earth when David was anointed king over all Israel. But David’s kingdom simply points us to Jesus’ kingdom and King Jesus. Let each one of us then acknowledge and submit to Jesus’ kingship over us. Amen.
