He had been a shepherd boy, the completely overlooked youngest son of his father and the son of eight brothers, left to tend the sheep in the fields while the others dined in comfort. He had faced down a giant when even seasoned warriors had shaken in their boots. He had spent years on the run, hiding in caves, even sparing the life of the tyrant king who wanted him dead. It all seemed so long ago, that a promise made over him long before he was born, seemed impossibly out of reach.
But now, the long journey was over. Now, David was about to become king of Israel, not by some brazen usurpation, but by patiently waiting and allowing the promise of God to come to pass. The Bible tells the story of the shepherd boy who grew up to be the king of Israel, but it is also a lesson in how the long patience and faith of David brought him to the throne room.
A Kingdom Divided
When King Saul was slain in battle, his kingdom was fractured. Now the kingdom didn't go immediately to David, but he was given the throne of his forefathers by the people of his own tribe, the Judeans, when he and his men traveled to Hebron. So David only became king of a small part of the territory of Israel, a mere fraction of what Saul had ruled.
At the same time, the supporters of Saul's dynasty weren't prepared to let the king's son rule over all Israel. One of the commanders of Saul's father, Abner, took one of Saul's sons and made him king of the northern tribes, while David ruled the south. At first, there were two kings, and an acrimonious bitter war broke out between Abner and David's supporters. But it is notable that the Bible mentions succinctly that as time progressed, David waxed strong while the house of Saul waxed weak. And soon enough, the war between the two kings was over, the house of Saul destroyed, and the whole of Israel united behind the new king, David.
King over All Israel
And so, David found himself king over all Israel, with all of the tribes swearing fealty to him and calling him their king. He was told that even when Saul had ruled Israel, he and his men had fought in the battles, bringing Israel to victory, and the Lord had told him that he would be the shepherd of Israel. And so, the united tribes of Israel anointed David their king, and he ruled them from the city of Hebron. The Scripture tells us that David was thirty years old when he became the king of Israel, and that he ruled Judah from Hebron for seven years before becoming the king of all Israel. And so, the anointed shepherd of Israel became their king, and the promise made by God came to pass.
And so it was that the anointed king of the Israelites needed a capital city. A strong, powerful home for the throne of Israel. Jerusalem, a walled city on a hill, the ancient home of the Jebusites, who scoffed at the idea that king David would even be able to take the city, saying that even blind men and those who couldn't walk could defend it. Nevertheless, David and his men took the city, capturing the hilltop fortress of Jerusalem, and making it the capital of the united kingdom. This was a wise decision on the part of David, as the hill city of Jerusalem was located roughly in the middle of Israel, belonging to neither the north nor the south, and therefore was an excellent location for a capital. This was the beginning of a long and storied period for Jerusalem as the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and its holiness would eventually become ingrained in the hearts of the Jewish people for generations to come. The Bible tells us that the city would eventually become known as the City of David for the next thousand years, and the name was well-earned.
After years in the wilderness, all the tribes of Israel gathered at Hebron and anointed the shepherd from Bethlehem as their king. The promise made over him as a boy had finally come to pass.
The Ark and the City
King David wanted the capital to be not only the political and military center of Israel but also its spiritual heart. Therefore, he resolved to bring the Ark of the Covenant to his capital city that it might serve the Lord there. However, he learned quickly that the Ark was not to be treated lightly, for when the Ark was brought into the village of Baalah with sacrifices and singing, one of the men named Uzzah, in an effort to steady it, was struck dead by God when he touched it. The Ark was then kept in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and it was said that great blessings came upon that household.
Encouraged by these blessings, David resolved to bring the Ark to Jerusalem again, and the king and all Israel marched with celebrations and sacrifices, bringing the Ark to the capital city. But as they did this the Scripture tells us that David danced before the Lord with all of his might, and that he wore a linen ephod, and that Michal, the daughter of Saul, watched David dance and despised him for it. Nevertheless, David brought the Ark to the city and it was placed in the special tent that he had pitched for it, and sacrifices and offerings were given to God. And so, under the rule of King David, the Ark of the Lord was brought to Jerusalem and the Lord blessed David and Israel.
King David set aside all royal dignity and danced before the Lord with everything he had as the Ark entered Jerusalem, making the city not just the political capital of Israel but its spiritual heart.
The Making of a Great King
Under the rule of David, the nation of Israel prospered. He brought unity to the people, and he built his capital city as the heart of Israel. He fought the battles of Israel and drove out its enemies, and he brought them to the holy Ark of the Lord. He was a great king, and the people of Israel would look back upon his reign as a time period of unparalleled glory. He was the prototype of the kings that would follow after him, and the Bible tells us that even long after his death, the Lord would make his promise known, and his name would endure for generations. Nevertheless, the man was far from perfect, and there were sins committed under the reign of King David, and his later years were tarnished by his actions, and those of his children. But his anointment as king remained a wonder to the people of Israel, who marveled at his victories and the power of his enemies. The man had risen from an insignificant shepherd to rule Israel, and he had done it all with patience and faith in the Lord. He would become one of the most enduring figures in Jewish history, his reputation living on and on, long after his time on earth had ended.
An Everlasting Promise
But when the house had been built, David was troubled with the knowledge that he lived in a palace of cedar, while the Ark of the Lord was housed in a tent. He determined in his heart to build a house for the Lord, but the prophet Nathan came unto him and promised the king that God would grant him a house of his own. And so, King David was promised that his son would build a house for God, a house fit for him. This was none other than the temple that was later built by his son Solomon, and it was a most glorious building.
But even more importantly, God promised David that his descendants would inherit the throne of Israel forever. This was an everlasting covenant that bound Heaven and Earth, and it would become the most cherished promise of the Lord for his people Israel. The promise would become deeply entrenched in the culture of ancient Israel, and the idea of a great king who would come from the line of David was a most wondrous one, as it was said that God himself would one day deliver Israel from its enemies. The promise of God was the ideal to which the whole of Israel aspired, and it would live on long after David's reign, eventually becoming the cornerstone of Christianity. And so, the promise would live on for thousands of years, and it was the hope of the Jews and the Christians, as Jesus was destined to become the son of David and to inherit his throne.
The prophet Nathan brought David a promise that outlasted his own life: his descendants would rule forever, and one day a son of David would deliver Israel from all its enemies. That promise became the cornerstone of Jewish and Christian hope.
Why David's Rise From Shepherd is so Inspiring
The story of David and his anointment as king is one of the most enduring in all of Scripture. It is a most inspiring tale that shows us how David, the lowly shepherd, rose to the throne of Israel. It shows us how he fought giants, and how he fought kings, and always came out victorious in the end. He had spent years on the run and in hiding, twice sparing the life of the king who wanted him dead. And how often did he long for the promise that was made over his head, that he would one day inherit the throne of Israel? How often did he have the chance to kill Saul or even Abner, and take the throne with his own hands, but instead held off? And yet, when the time had come, he had the throne, and the promise had come true. The Scripture tells us that not even the wisdom or the might of David had done this, but the long patience and belief in God made him the king of Israel, and brought his promise to pass.
