Sarah
This time, people from all the tribes of Israel came to Hebron to find David.
They said to David:
“King, when you get right down to it, we’re all family. We’re your own flesh and blood.
Back when Saul was king, wasn’t it you who led our people of Israel in and out, fighting battles and taking care of things?
And besides, the LORD told you a long time ago, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.’”
Well, that made things pretty clear.
Before this, everybody had been split into two groups. But now, everyone could see it—David was the king God had chosen.
So all the elders of Israel came to Hebron to meet David.
There, before the LORD, David made a covenant with them.
Then the Israelites anointed David and officially made him king over the whole nation of Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king.
He ruled for forty years in all.
First, he ruled Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years. Then he ruled both Israel and Judah from Jerusalem for another thirty-three years.
So yeah, David’s time on the throne was no quick little thing.
David Wants to Take Jerusalem
After becoming king over the whole nation, David and his men went to Jerusalem.
But at that time, Jerusalem was still controlled by the Jebusites.
David wanted to take the city.
But the Jebusites were pretty full of themselves. They basically thought:
“What do you think you’re gonna do, David? Even if the blind and the lame are defending this place, you still won’t get in!”
In other words:
“David, quit dreaming. You’re not taking this city.”
They didn’t take David seriously at all.
But David wasn’t the kind of guy who just sat there worrying when trouble showed up.
He attacked the stronghold of the Jebusites—and sure enough, he took it!
That place became known as Zion, the City of David.
David lived in the stronghold and built up the city’s defenses, starting at the Millo and building the wall around it.
And let me tell you, David was getting stronger and stronger.
But the Bible makes one thing very clear:
It wasn’t because David was so tough on his own.
It was because—
the LORD God of armies was with him.
That was the real reason David was strong.
A Foreign King Comes to Help Build David’s Palace
About this time, King Hiram of Tyre heard that David had become king over Israel.
So he sent messengers to David. He also sent cedar logs, along with carpenters and stonemasons.
What were they doing?
They were building David a palace!
And David understood something important:
“Man, I couldn’t have pulled all this off by myself.”
He realized:
It was the LORD who had established him as king over Israel, and it was the LORD who was making Israel strong for the sake of His people.
David also took more wives and concubines in Jerusalem, and he had more sons and daughters.
The Philistines Hear That David Is King
But just when David was getting settled, the Philistines heard the news:
“What? David is now king over all Israel?”
Well, they weren’t about to just sit around and watch that happen.
They quickly marched out to find David.
David heard about it and thought:
“Oh man, they’re coming right to my door.”
So he went down to the stronghold.
The Philistines had already spread out and formed their battle line in the Valley of Rephaim.
Now here’s the important part.
David didn’t say:
“I’m the king now. What have I got to be afraid of?”
And he didn’t say:
“Alright, boys, grab your weapons. Let’s go!”
Nope.
He did something much more important first:
He asked the LORD for guidance.
David asked:
“LORD, should I go up and fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”
The LORD answered:
“Yes. Go up. I will certainly give the Philistines into your hands.”
Now David knew what to do.
He went into battle and defeated the Philistines at Baal Perazim.
After the victory, David said:
“The LORD has broken through my enemies in front of me, like a flood breaking through!”
So that place was called Baal Perazim, meaning a place where the LORD broke through against the enemy.
When the Philistines ran away, they even left their idols behind.
David and his men carried them away.
But the Philistines Came Back
You’d think that would be the end of it, right?
Nope.
The Philistines came back again.
And once again, they spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.
But David was still David.
He didn’t think:
“Well, I won last time, so I know exactly what to do. Let’s just do the same thing again!”
Instead, he went back and asked the LORD again.
This time, the LORD gave him a different battle plan.
The LORD said:
“Don’t go straight up against them this time.
Go around behind them and attack from across the mulberry trees.
When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, move quickly.
That will be the sign that I have already gone ahead of you to strike the Philistine army.”
See, this is where it gets interesting.
The first time, God told David to attack directly.
The second time, God told David to use a different strategy.
So the lesson is pretty simple:
You can’t just assume that because something worked yesterday, you should do exactly the same thing today. You need to seek God’s guidance each time.
David didn’t argue with God.
He did exactly what the LORD commanded.
And sure enough, David defeated the Philistines and chased them all the way from Geba to Gezer.
David Finally Becomes King Over All Israel
And that’s how David finally became firmly established as king over the whole nation of Israel.
这一次，以色列各支派的人都来到希伯伦找大卫。
他们对大卫说：
“王啊，说到底，我们都是一家人，是骨肉同胞。
以前扫罗做王的时候，不正是你带领以色列百姓出入征战、治理事务吗？
况且，耶和华早就对你说过：‘你要牧养我的百姓以色列，作以色列的君王。’”
这下，情况就很明朗了。
在此之前，大家曾分成了两派。但现在，人人都看清楚了——大卫就是神所拣选的王。
于是，以色列所有的长老都来到希伯伦会见大卫。
在那里，大卫在耶和华面前与他们立了约。
随后，以色列人膏立大卫，正式立他为全以色列的王。
大卫登基时三十岁。
他总共执政四十年。
起初，他在希伯伦统治犹大七年半；后来，他在耶路撒冷统治以色列和犹大，长达三十三年。
可见，大卫的在位时间可不短。
大卫想要攻取耶路撒冷
成为全以色列的王之后，大卫便率领部下前往耶路撒冷。
但当时，耶路撒冷仍由耶布斯人控制。
大卫想要攻取这座城。
然而，耶布斯人却十分狂妄自大。他们心里想：
“大卫，你以为你能怎么样？就算只派瞎子和瘸子来守城，你也休想攻进来！”
换句话说：
“大卫，别做梦了，你是攻不下这座城的。”
他们根本没把大卫放在眼里。
但大卫可不是那种遇到困难只会坐着发愁的人。
他向耶布斯人的堡垒发起了进攻——结果，他真的把它攻下来了！
那个地方后来被称为锡安，即“大卫城”。
大卫住在那座堡垒里，并着手加固城防：他从米罗开始，修筑了环绕全城的城墙。而且我要告诉你，大卫变得越来越强大了。
但圣经清楚地表明了一点：
这并非仅仅因为大卫自己有多么强悍。
而是因为——
万军之耶和华神与他同在。
这才是大卫强大的真正原因。
一位外国君王前来协助建造大卫的宫殿
就在那时，推罗王希兰听说大卫已成为以色列的王。
于是，他派使者去见大卫，并送来了香柏木，还派遣了木匠和石匠。
他们来做什么呢？
他们是来为大卫建造宫殿的！
大卫也明白了一个重要的道理：
“天哪，凭我一己之力，根本无法成就这一切。”
他意识到：
是耶和华立他为以色列王，也是耶和华为了祂子民的缘故，使以色列变得强大。
大卫在耶路撒冷又娶了更多的妻妾，也生了更多的儿女。
非利士人听说大卫已成为王
正当大卫安顿下来之际，非利士人听到了这个消息：
“什么？大卫现在成了全以色列的王？”
他们可不打算袖手旁观，任由事态发展。
他们迅速出兵，去寻找大卫。
大卫得知消息后心想：
“哎呀，他们这是直接找上门来了。”
于是，他下到了堡垒之中。
此时，非利士人已在利乏音谷散开，摆好了战阵。
接下来是关键的一点。
大卫并没有说：
“我现在是王了，有什么好怕的？”
他也没有说：
“好了，弟兄们，拿起武器，我们上！”
不，他没有这样做。
他首先做了一件更为重要的事情：
他寻求耶和华的指引。
大卫问道：
“耶和华啊，我该上去攻打非利士人吗？你会把他们交在我手中吗？”
耶和华回答道：
“去吧。上去迎战，我必将非利士人交在你手中。”
现在，大卫知道该怎么做了。他出战并在巴力·毗拉心击败了非利士人。
得胜之后，大卫说：
“耶和华在我面前冲破了敌人，就像洪水冲破堤坝一样！”
于是那个地方被称为巴力·毗拉心，意为“耶和华冲破敌人之处”。
非利士人逃跑时，甚至丢下了他们的偶像。
大卫和他的部下把这些偶像带走了。
但非利士人又回来了
你可能会以为事情就这样结束了，对吧？
并没有。
非利士人又卷土重来。
他们再次在利乏音谷集结布阵。
但大卫依然是大卫。
他并没有想：
“既然上次我赢了，我就知道该怎么做。咱们照老办法再来一次吧！”
相反，他再次去求问耶和华。
这一次，耶和华给了他一个不同的作战计划。
耶和华说：
“这次不要正面迎战。
要绕到他们后方，从桑树林那边发起攻击。
当你听到桑树梢上有行军的脚步声时，就要迅速出击。
那将是一个信号，表明我已经走在你们前面，去攻打非利士军队了。”
你看，有趣的地方就在这里。
第一次，神告诉大卫
直接进攻。
第二次，上帝指示大卫采用不同的策略。
所以，教训很简单：
你不能想当然地认为昨天奏效的方法今天就应该照搬。你每次都需要寻求上帝的指引。
大卫没有与上帝争辩。
他完全遵行了耶和华的命令。
果然，大卫击败了非利士人，一路追赶他们，从基巴到基色。
大卫最终成为以色列全境的君王
就这样，大卫最终稳固地确立了自己在以色列全境的统治地位。