Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 5:10
And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts [was] with him.
10. And David went on, and grew great ] = “So David waxed greater and greater” in Chron. The E. V. obliterates the identity of the Hebrew. See Introd. p. 22, note [99]
[99] This verbal coincidence is frequently obscured in the E.V. by different renderings of the same original. This may be partly due to the fact that the books of Samuel and Chronicles fell to the lot of different companies of translators (see Dr Westcott’s History of the English Bible, p. 147 ff.); but unfortunately the false principle of introducing variety by different renderings of the same words was deliberately adopted by the translators of 1611.
the Lord God of hosts ] See Additional Note I. to 1 Samuel, p. 235.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2Sa 5:10
David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of Hosts was with him.
Greatness by gentleness
Thy gentleness bath made me great. So wrote David when he rehearsed the history that had culminated in his advancement to the throne of all Israel. He admits, therefore, that he was a made man, but not a self-made. man. Here in the narrative of his prosperity he confesses that it had been the Lord who established him king, who also exalted his kingdom; and then in a Psalm of devotion he ascribes all his glory to Divine grace.
I. We consider the greatness David had just reached. Six successive steps, at the least, had the eternal God taken in his behalf on the way to his advancement.
1. He caused that a full and loyal call should come from the realm over which he was now to rule as the second king (2Sa 5:1.)
2. The Lord trained David for the position he was to occupy by a long and intricate process Of providential discipline (2Sa 5:2.)
3. Moreover, God had chosen David intelligently, years before, and announced him as the man who should come after Saul (2Sa 5:3.)
4. Then, too, God helped on Davids greatness by providing for the stability of his government a capital and a royal abode (2Sa 5:7.)
5. Gods gentleness made David great in that a perpetual presence was vouchsafed to him for his entire life (2Sa 5:10.)
6. Then, also, God had made this monarch great by opening his intelligence so that he should understand the meaning of Divine Providence, past and future, and admit its special reach (2Sa 5:12.)
II. The gentleness in the Divine dealing with him from his first recognition as a shepherd-boy to this final establishment of him in the throne of Israel; is that in particular among the attributes of God which he acknowledges just now. The poet Goethe has left behind him, in his autobiography, this somewhat curious sentence as a revelation of personal fact: I was especially troubled by a giddiness which came over me every time that I looked down from a height. Many people, since his day and before it, have had the same characteristic disturbance; but it has more often been a height of ambition than merely a height of tower or precipice. But there is no symptom of giddiness in the quiet ascription of his gratitude: Thy gentleness has made me great.
1. Gods gentleness had borne with Davids want of memory.
2. Then, also, there was Davids want of faith, with which the Almighty bore in a like spirit of gentleness.
3. To this we may add that Gods gentleness is disclosed in his patiently bearing with Davids want of courage. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Davids prosperity
I. What David did. He went on.
1. He went on with his appointed work. David was not alone in this. Every man has a work given him by God. David was, above all things, a servant of God, and every man may be that if he will!
2. He went on in the face of opposition. He was opposed by the Jebusites, and later by the Philistines. If we are in the path of duty, let us go forward! Tis patient going on that wins! In school and college, in workshop and office, perseverance triumphs. Even so is it in the godly life. He that endureth to the end shall be saved. To patient faith the prize is sure, etc.
II. What David became. He grew great. David grew great in his kingly power, and honours, and victories, great in the eyes of his foes, and great in the estimation of his subjects. The large majority have to be content with mediocrity. Most natures possess a spark of wholesome ambition, but in many cases it has become smothered and buried! Many throw away splendid opportunities of becoming at any rate greater than they are. The idler, the spendthrift, the drunkard, etc. Ambition may be worthy or unworthy. He who aspires to be great in an honourable calling by honourable means, to push his way by dint of hard work to the front, is surely to be commended! Let us grow great without sacrificing our integrity, or not at all! If we may not rise on the wings of righteousness let us be content to keep on the ground! Above all, let it be our aim to grow great morally and spiritually. But moral ennoblement comes from a higher source. Tennysons Arthur, speaking of the Knights of the Round Table, says:–
I made them lay their hands in mine and swear
To reverence the king as if he were
Their conscience, and their conscience as their king,
To break the heathen and uphold the Christ,
To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,
To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,
To honour his own word as if his Gods,
To live sweet lives in purest chastity.
Write Christ instead of Arthur and you have the patent of a higher nobility than earthly sovereign ever bestowed.
III. The secret of Davids prosperity. The Lord God of Hosts was with him. The secret of all real greatness is in having the Lord on our side. How can we secure His presence and help? How did David secure these?
1. He trusted God.
2. He acknowledged and consulted Him.
3. He obeyed God.
The same method of ensuring the Divine help is open to all. If we would go on and grow great, if we would prosper in all right ways we must begin to walk in those ways. Have we made the great commencement? He calls us now! (J. Sellicks.)
Prosperity
I. The tide of prosperity.
1. David as sole ruler over Israel. Every tide has a turning, and at last the ebb-tide of Davids misfortunes began to flow. Judah had for seven and a half years been subject to Davids sway, and now all Israel was anxious to array itself under his banner. The account given in our lesson is very meagre, but a fuller account in (1Ch 12:23-40) will prove that the whole proceeding was full of pomp. Adding up the military escorts there mentioned, we find that they reached the grand total of three hundred and forty thousand eight hundred, For three days there was universal rejoicing and festivity. Thus with ceremonies of appropriate dignity, the former shepherd was at last recognized as sovereign over all Gods chosen people.
2. As military conqueror. Soon after his installation as king over all Israel, David began to cast wistful glances at Jerusalem. It was really the Gibraltar of Canaan. But thus far, by reason of its impregnable situation, it had defied the efforts of the Israelites to capture it, though on one occasion they had been partially successful. David therefore laid plans for its complete subjugation. Thus David gained a kingdom, a capital, and a religious centre from which to rule his people.
3. As king among nations. Prosperity at home was followed by the recognition of the sovereigns of other nations. Among them was Hiram, king of ancient Tyre. Distant rulers sought alliance with the king of Israel, and courted his favour. So he advanced, and became great. The tide of prosperity swept far up on the sands of Davids life, and the promise of happiness and usefulness was golden.
II. The cause of prosperity.
1. David recognized that it was not for his own individual sake that God had thus prospered him, but that it was for his people Israels sake. If he had stopped to think, he would have recognized that he was no more talented a man than Saul had been. Saul began well, when raised to the throne. In some respects, indeed, Saul had the advantage over David. At this time in his life David probably recognized all this, and ascribed the glory to Him to whom it belonged. Had he only always borne this in mind, he would have made fewer mistakes and committed fewer sins than he did. So long as his thought ran God-ward he was safe; but as soon as his mind began to say, by mine own might, he lost power and fell. These first few years of Davids reign were among the happiest of his whole life. His hardships as an exile were at an end. He no longer lay down and rose up in fear of his implacable enemy. He was no longer separated from family and friends, and driven from post to pillar like a wild beast. His heart was not tried by the apparent contradiction between Gods promise and Gods performance. The promise of the kingdom had been made good, and David felt that alls well that ends well. Moreover, the people had not yet become alienated from this ruler. The enthusiasm of a united and prosperous nation, led by a wise and talented military chieftain, still pervaded all classes. The great and overwhelming temptations of royalty had not yet enfeebled the moral character of the king. Enlarged life, filled with unusual opportunities for usefulness, spread out before him, and filled him with the enthusiasm of full manhood. This was Davids golden age. He stood at the beginning of a career which might be almost perfect in its achievements. So stands many a young man and woman. Life stretches out before them, and is full of grand possibilities. The restraints incident to childhood and the years of tutelage are over. Powers of body and mind are in full vigour, and hope stands with face erect and confidence on its brow. Friends applaud, and predict great success in future days. Well is it for such persons to remember that God is the source of all their talents and of the conditions of their future success. (A. F. Schauffler.)
The nature of true progress
It is slow. Ewald would translate this phrase, And David gradually became greater and greater. It was not a sudden and unexplained outburst of prosperity, but a gradual growth. Gods greatest results are the slowest of accomplishment. Haste is a sign of feebleness, but that which is to abide must be slowly achieved. The lower forms of life quickly reach maturity, and quickly decay. Man alone spends years of helpless childhood. The building up of a kingdom and the formation of character are alike works that cannot be hurried. The setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth is a task more difficult of accomplishment than was the establishment of Davids kingdom. We must not be impatient. God has eternity in which to work. (R. C. Ford, M. A.)
Growing great
There are men who go on and grow great, among or above their fellows, while the Lord is not with them. Such growth and greatness are neither to be desired nor to be admired. Again, there are men with whom the Lord is, who do not go on, as they might go: and there are yet more of them who do not grow great by their doings, or by the Lords planning. Having the Lord with us, is the chief thing. Going on is the thing of next importance; that is, going on, while the Lord is with us. Growing great, is of least importance; but if a man is to grow great, let him see to it that he does not grow away from the Lord, and that he has the Lord with him in all his going and in all his growing. (H. Clay Trumbull.)
Improvement a duty
Progress and improvement are every mans duty. It is not right to remain as we were, or as we are. We ought to be all the time gaining and growing in experience and attainment and grace. It may be to our shame that we are just where God put us, and that we have just what God gave to us. A man whose looks were spoken of contemptuously, said in rejoinder, Youve no right to find fault with my looks; Im just as God made me. I know it, and thats what Im blaming you for, said his critic; youve never made any improvement on yourself. That answer made a fair point. If God puts us at the bottom of a hill, or at the beginning of a road, it may be for us to mount or to proceed, and not to stop where we are. It was the man who retained just what his Lord gave him, and who was ready to give back that at the day of reckoning, who not only lost his possessions, but was cast out into outer darkness as an unprofitable servant. Remaining just as God made us may be the cause of our condemnation. (Great Thoughts.)
The laws of vigorous growth
Dr. Hugh Macmillan tells us that the motto on the crest of John Spreull, of Glasgow, who, for his defence of religious liberty in the times of Claverhouse, was imprisoned on the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, was Sub pondere cresco–I grow under a weight. His crest was a palm tree, with two weights hanging on each side of it from the fronds, and yet maintaining, in spite of this heavy down-dragging force, its upright position, carrying its graceful crown of foliage up into the serene air. So the very things that threatened to hinder the growth of the early Church became helps to its progress. The stumbling-block became the stepping-stone; the weights became wings.
Going and growing great
David went on growing. His activities were not fruitless. There are some people who do a deal of the going, but all too little of the growing. We want both of these. There must not merely be the signs of activity, but there must really be actual improvement and development. A mill-wheel is always going, but it never gets any further forward; no blame to the mill-wheel, for it is doing its business by simply going round. A door is constantly moving on its hinges, creaking, perhaps, as well, but it makes no progress. Still, there it stands, day after day. This is all right for the door, but all wrong for you. Keep on going, but see to it that the growing is not neglected either. (Thomas Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Grew great in reputation and power.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And David went on, and grew great,…. In honour and wealth, in fame and reputation, in subduing his enemies, obtaining conquests over them, and enlarging his dominions:
and the Lord God of hosts, of armies above and below,
[was] with him: to whom all his prosperity and success was owing. The Targum is,
“the Word of the Lord God of hosts was for his help,”
or his helper.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
David Is Established As King Over Israel, Growing Greater And Greater Because YHWH Is With Him. The King Of Tyre Seeks Treaty-Friendship With David And Builds Him A House Of Cedar Demonstrating The Establishment Of His Kingship ( 2Sa 5:10-12 ).
David continues to grow greater and greater because YHWH is with him, and when Hiram of Tyre builds him a house of cedar he recognises that it demonstrates that YHWH has established him as king over Israel and exalted his kingship for Israel’s sake.
While Tyre was not incorporated into David’s empire, it appears in what follows to have acknowledged his superior status, for Hiram, the king of Tyre, provided the wherewithal that was needed for the building of David’s palace in recognition of his greatness, (something which he did not do for everyone). The Tyrians were famed palace builders, and this was seemingly an act of treaty friendship to one who, in the light of the context, was probably seen as of superior power. Such a palace of cedar would be seen in the Ancient Near East as establishing his great status. That great Tyre should act in such a way was seen as a clear indication of David’s growing pre-eminence, and that he should live in a palace of cedars was seen as an indication of his position and splendour. Hiram reigned from c.979-945 BC, and thus towards the end of David’s reign. Thus these incidents are not in chronological order.
There is something very beautiful in the fact that in the section chiasmus this incident is paralleled by David’s restoration of the house of Saul and Jonathan when he brings the lame Mephibosheth to his court and gives him a seat at the king’s table.
Analysis.
a
b And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons, and they built David a house (2Sa 5:11).
a And David perceived that YHWH had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingship for his people Israel’s sake (2Sa 5:12).
The continual expansion of David’s political strength is highlighted by the attitude of the king of Tyre towards him. Not many kings found the king of Tyre being so cooperative. And it was all because YHWH, the God of Hosts, was with David. From more recent archaeological discoveries we know that it is probable that Hiram reigned in the latter part of David’s reign so that this description is not in chronological order. It was not intended to be. What the writer is intent on doing at this point is summarising the high points of David’s reign, not writing a chronological history. The order is thematic.
2Sa 5:10
‘ And David waxed greater and greater, for YHWH, the God of hosts, was with him.’
From the moment of his anointing David’s greatness began to grow and expand. He ‘grew greater and greater’. And the explanation was simple. It was because YHWH of hosts was with him.
2Sa 5:11
‘ And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons, and they built David a house.’
Indeed David grew so great that even Hiram, the king of Tyre, made every effort to please him and show his friendship towards him. He sent his representatives to David’s court and supplied cedar trees and carpenters and masons, quite possibly at his own cost, so that they could build David a magnificent palace. There was to be no austerity living for David. He had taken his place among the great. It was an acknowledgement that Tyre recognised his greatness, and sought friendship and cooperation with him. And as a great city which traded with the world by sea, and had extensive trade links, its influence was important.
2Sa 5:12
‘ And David perceived that YHWH had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.’
And the result was that from this very fact David himself recognised even more that YHWH had established him as king over Israel, and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. David’s growing greatness manifested the superiority and power of YHWH. Note the emphasis on the fact that his kingship had been exalted (by, for example, his now living in a house of cedar) for Israel’s sake. YHWH was not seen as simply conveying a personal benefit. It was one that would bless all His people.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
(10) And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. (11) And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. (12) And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.
How delightful it is to read of David’s greatness, when we learn at the same time, that David’s Lord made him so. It was the same grace towards David, which inclined the heart of Hiram, king of Tyre, to minister to David’s accommodation. Sweet is that promise, and abundantly sure; when a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Pro 16:7 , And still more in a spiritual sense, the Lord hath promised his dear Son, concerning his people, that the sons of strangers shall build up the walls of his Zion, their kings shall minister unto him; they shall bring the forces of the Gentiles, and their kings shall be brought. Isa 60:10-11 . But what I beg the Reader particularly to notice in this account of David, is that David perceived the Lord’s hand in all his advancement. Oh! Reader, what a mercy was this! It was this distinguishing mercy which crowned and sweetened all. Thousands there are upon earth, surrounded with blessings, but who live unconscious of the Lord’s hand in the gifts. And tens of thousands who live only to abuse them. Nay, Reader, many among the Lord’s people lose much of the sweetness of his precious gifts, from forgetting to eye his hand in them. Lord! I would say, both for myself and Reader, open thou our eyes to see thy gracious goings forth, and as gracious comings in with thy blessings; that we may enjoy Jesus in his blessings, and all blessings for his sake. But, Reader! we must not stop here in our improvement on this view of David. Was not David, very eminently here, a type of his Almighty Saviour? Was David exalted for his people’s sake, and was his throne established over Israel; and shall not my faith take wing, and fly up to the contemplation of thee, thou risen and exalted Jesus, who art purposely exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and remission of sins? Yes! blessed Lord! thou art indeed exalted, far above all principalities and powers, and might, and dominion! God our Father hath highly exalted thee, and given thee a name above every name. And dearest, blessed Jesus, if thou art thus exalted, and thus lifted up, do I not know (for thou hast thyself spoken the words) that it is to draw all thy people unto thee. Not for thyself, but for Israel’s sake; for thy glory as God, one with the Father, could receive no exaltation, no increase; but, as King of thy people, and their Mediator, the Lord our God hath made thee his first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. Psa 89:27 ; Joh 12:32 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“David went on, and grew great.” 2Sa 5:10 .
Greatness that comes by growth is the most permanent. The proverb says some men have greatness thrust upon them; such greatness often falls off like an incubus, being wholly out of proportion to the man to whom it is momentarily attached. “Went on,” step by step, little by little, sometimes patently, sometimes imperceptibly, still to the eye that could see all vital processes the progress was continual and uninterrupted, and in one definite direction. “Grew,” did not force himself, acted in co-operation with the laws of nature and the laws of society; grew in knowledge, grew in wisdom, grew in capacity. The result of such going on and such growing was greatness: not greatness in mere bulk, but greatness in the highest qualities, greatness in mind, thought, feeling, purpose, beneficence. When a man grows great physically, socially, and officially, and does not keep up a corresponding growth of intelligence and sympathy, he grows towards tyranny and selfishness; but when the official and the moral keep pace, then all the greatness achieved by the growing man is so much contributed to the welfare of society. The reason of David’s progress and growth is given, “the Lord God of hosts was with him.” It was, then, a religious greatness, and it was such greatness as God himself created and approved; God set the crown upon the head of this loftiness, and glorious was the man who was to be the king of Israel. Glory that is not connected with the Lord God of hosts is a feeble flicker; it dies whilst it shines; it is merely superficial; it is not connected with the great fire-system of the universe. The difference between a lighted candle and the sun at midday, is that the one is a continually decreasing quantity, going out by the very effort of shining, exhausting itself by giving itself away: but the sun in the heavens is as brilliant now as when he first shone upon the system which he rules. The man who is religiously great has bread to eat which the world knoweth not of: he is not dependent upon circumstances for his progress and growth: he grows from the centre towards the circumference: he grows from the inward to the outward; he grows from lofty and tender spiritual conceptions towards broad and generous charities. When God has resolved upon a man’s greatness the world cannot hinder that man going straightforward to the throne. He may be interrupted, he may be criticised, he may be violently opposed, he may be traduced; yea, all the army of darkness may set itself in array against him, but the Lord of hosts being upon his side, his enthronement and coronation are guaranteed. What is true of all good men is true of all good causes; they have to undergo the whole process of scrutiny, suspicion, criticism; but just in proportion as they are good will they rise above all cloud and storm, and pass through every difficulty, and establish themselves in the confidence and gratitude of society.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
2Sa 5:10 And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts [was] with him.
Ver. 10. And David went on, and grew great. ] Heb., He went going and growing. How could he do less, who had the Lord God of hosts with him and for him? who may better say than any earthly prince, Cui adhaereo, praeest. He must needs have the better whom I take part with.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
went on = went on and on.
the LORD God of hosts = Jehovah Elohim zebaioth. App-4. See note on 1Sa 1:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
went on, and grew great: Heb. went going and growing, 2Sa 3:1, Job 17:9, Pro 4:18, Isa 9:7, Dan 2:44, Dan 2:45, Luk 2:52
the Lord: Gen 21:22, Psa 46:7, Psa 46:11, Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10, Rom 8:31
Reciprocal: Jdg 1:19 – the Lord 2Sa 7:9 – And I was 1Ch 11:9 – waxed greater and greater 2Ch 17:3 – the Lord Hag 2:4 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHAPTER VII.
THE KINGDOM ESTABLISHED.
2Sa 5:10-25.
THE events in David’s reign that followed the capture of Mount Zion and the appointment of Jerusalem as the capital of the country were all of a prosperous kind. “David,” we are told, “waxed greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.” “And David perceived that the Lord had established him to be king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.”
In these words we find two things: a fact and an explanation. The fact is, that now the tide fairly turned in David’s history, and that, instead of a sad chronicle of hardship and disappointment, the record of his reign becomes one of unmingled success and prosperity. The fact is far from an unusual one in the history of men’s lives. How often, even in the case of men who have become eminent, has the first stage of life been one of disappointment and sorrow, and the last part one of prosperity so great as to exceed the fondest dreams of youth. Effort after effort has been made by a young man to get a footing in the literary world, but his books have proved comparative failures. At last he issues one which catches in a remarkable degree the popular taste, and thereafter fame and fortune attend him, and lay their richest offerings at his feet. A similar tale is to be told of many an artist and professional man. And even persons of more ordinary gifts, who have found the battle of life awfully difficult in its earlier stages, have gradually, through diligence and perseverance, acquired an excellent position, more than fulfilling every reasonable desire for success. No man is indeed exempt from the risk of failure if he chooses a path of life for which he has no special fitness, or if he encounters a storm of unfavourable contingencies; but it is an encouraging thing for those who begin life under hard conditions, but with a brave heart and a resolute purpose to do their best, that, as a general rule, the sky clears as the day advances, and the troubles and struggles of the morning yield to success and enjoyment later in the day.
But in the present instance we have not merely a statement of the fact that the tide turned in the case of David, giving him prosperity and enlargement in every quarter, but an explanation of the fact – it was due to the gracious presence and favour of God. This by no means implies that his adversities were due to an opposite cause. God had been with him in the wilderness, save when he resorted to deceit and other tricks of carnal policy; but He had been with him to try him and to train him, not to crown him with prosperity. But now, the purpose of the early training being accomplished, God is with him to ”grant him all his heart’s desire and fulfill all his counsel.” If God, indeed, had not been with him, sanctifying his early trials, He would not have been with him in the end, crowning him with loving-kindness and tender mercies. But in the time of their trials, God is with His people more in secret, hid, at least, from the observation of the world; when the time comes for conspicuous blessing and prosperity, He comes more into view in His own gracious and bountiful character. In the case of David, God was not only with him, but David “perceived” it; he was conscious of the fact. His filial spirit recognized the source of all his prosperity and blessing, as it had done when he was enabled in his boyhood to slay the lion and the bear, and in his youth to triumph over Goliath. Unlike many successful men, who ascribe their success so largely to their personal talents and ways of working, he felt that the great factor in his success was God. If he possessed talents and had used them to advantage, it was God who had given them originally, and it was God who had enabled him to employ them well. But in every man’s career, there are many other elements to be considered besides his own abilities. There is what the world calls “luck,” that is to say those conditions of success which are quite out of our control; as for instance in business the unexpected rise or fall of markets, the occurrence of favourable openings, the honesty or dishonesty of partners and connections, the stability or the vicissitudes of investments. The difference between the successful man of the world and the successful godly man in these respects is, that the one speaks only of his luck, the other sees the hand of God in ordering all such things for his benefit. This last was David’s case. Well did he know that the very best use he could make of his abilities could not ensure success unless God was present to order and direct to a prosperous issue the ten thousand incidental influences that bore on the outcome of his undertakings. And when he saw that these influences were all directed to this end, that nothing went wrong, that all conspired steadily and harmoniously to the enlargement and establishment of his kingdom, he perceived that the Lord was with him, and was now visibly fulfilling to him that great principle of His government which He had so solemnly declared to Eli, “Them that honour Me, I will honour.”
But is this way of claiming to be specially favoured and blessed by God not objectionable? Is it not what the world calls “cant”? Is it not highly offensive in any man to claim to be a favourite of Heaven? Is this not what hypocrites and fanatics are so fond of doing, and is it not a course which every good, humble-minded man will be careful to avoid?
This may be a plausible way of reasoning, but one thing is certain – it has not the support of Scripture. If it be an offence publicly to recognize the special favour and blessing with which it has pleased God to visit us, David himself was the greatest offender in this respect the world has ever known. What is the great burden of his psalms of thanksgiving? Is it not an acknowledgment of the special mercies and favours that God bestowed on him, especially in his times of great necessity? And does not the whole tenor of the Psalms and the whole tenor of Scripture prove that good men are to take especial note of all the mercies they receive from God, and are not to confine them to their own bosom, but to tell of all His gracious acts and bless His name forever and ever? “They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness.” That God is to be acknowledged in all our ways, that God’s mercy in choosing us in Christ Jesus and blessing us with all spiritual blessings in Him is to be especially recognized, and that we are not to shrink from extolling God’s name for conferring on us favours infinitely beyond what belong to the men of the world, are among the plainest lessons of the word of God.
What the world is so ready to believe is, that this cannot be done save in the spirit of the Pharisee who thanked God that he was not as other men. And whenever a worldly man falls foul of one who owns the distinguishing spiritual mercies that God has bestowed on him, it is this accusation he is sure to hurl at his head. But this just shows the recklessness and injustice of the world. Strange indeed if God in His word has imposed on us a duty which cannot be discharged but in company with those who say, “Stand by thyself; come not nigh; I am holier than thou”! The truth is, the world cannot or will not distinguish between the Pharisee, puffed up with the conceit of his goodness, and for this goodness of his deeming himself the favourite of Heaven, and the humble saint, conscious that in him dwelleth no good thing, and filled with adoring wonder at the mercy of God in making of one so unworthy a monument of His grace. The one is as unlike the other as light is to darkness. What good men need to bear in mind is, that when they do make mention of the special goodness of God to them they should be most careful to do so in no boastful mood, but in the spirit of a most real, and not an assumed or formal, humility. And seeing how ready the world is to misunderstand and misrepresent the feeling, and to turn into a reproach what is done as a most sincere act of gratitude to God, it becomes them to be cautious how they introduce such topics among persons who have no sympathy with their view. ”Cast not your pearls before swine,” said our Lord, “lest they turn again and rend you,” “Come near,” said the Psalmist “and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.”
Midway between the two statements before us on the greatness and prosperity which God conferred on David, mention is made of his friendly relations with the king of Tyre (2Sa 5:11). The Phoenicians were not included among the seven nations of Palestine whom the Israelites were to extirpate, so that a friendly alliance with them was not forbidden. It appears that Hiram was disposed for such an alliance, and David accepted of his friendly overtures. There is something refreshing in this peaceful episode in a history and in a time when war and violence seem to have been the normal condition of the intercourse of neighbouring nations. Tyre had a great genius for commerce; and the spirit of commerce is alien from the spirit of war. That it is always a nobler spirit cannot be said; for while commerce ought to rest on the idea of mutual benefit, and many of its sons honourably fulfill this condition, it often degenerates into the most atrocious selfishness, and heeds not what havoc it may inflict on others provided it derives personal gain from its undertakings. What an untold amount of sin and misery has been wrought by the opium traffic, as well as by the traffic in strong drink, when pressed by cruel avarice on barbarous nations that have so often lost all of humanity they possessed through the fire-water of the Christian trader! But we have no reason to believe that there was anything specially hurtful in the traffic which Tyre now began with Israel, although the intercourse of the two countries afterwards led to other results pernicious to the latter – the introduction of Phoenician idolatry and the overthrow of pure Worship in the greater part of the tribes of Israel Meanwhile what Hiram does is to send to David cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons, by means of whom a more civilized style of dwelling is introduced; and the new city which David has commenced to build, and especially the house which is to be his own, present features of skill and beauty hitherto unknown in Israel. For, amid all his zeal for higher things, the young king of Israel does not disdain to advance his kingdom in material comforts. Of these, as of other things of the kind, he knows well that they are good if a man use them lawfully; and his effort is at once to promote the welfare of the kingdom in the amenities and comforts of life, and to deepen that profound regard for God and that exalted estimate of His favour which will prevent His people from relying for their prosperity on mere outward conditions, and encourage them ever to place their confidence in their heavenly Protector and King.
We pass by, as not requiring more comment than we have already bestowed on a parallel passage (2Sa 3:2-5), the unsavoury statement that “David took to him more concubines and wives” in Jerusalem. With all his light and grace, he had not overcome the prevalent notion that the dignity and resources of a kingdom were to be measured by the number and rank of the king’s wives. The moral element involved in the arrangement he does not seem to have at all apprehended; and consequently, amid all the glory and prosperity that God has given him, he thoughtlessly multiplies the evil that was to spread havoc and desolation in his house.
We proceed, therefore, to what occupies the remainder of this chapter – the narrative of his wars with the Philistines. Two campaigns against these inveterate enemies of Israel are recorded, and the decisive encounter in both cases took place in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem.
The narrative is so brief that we have difficulty in apprehending all the circumstances. The first invasion of the Philistines took place soon after David was anointed king over all Israel. It is not said whether this occurred before David possessed himself of Mount Zion, nor, considering the structure common in Hebrew narrative, does the circumstance that in the history it follows that event prove that it was subsequent to it in the order of time. On the contrary, there is an expression that seems hardly consistent with this idea. We read (2Sa 5:17) that when David heard of the invasion he “went down into the hold.” Now, this expression could not be used of the stronghold of Zion, for that hill is on the height of the central plateau, and invariably the Scriptures speak of “going up to Zion.” If he had possession of Mount Zion, he would surely have gone to it when the Philistines took possession of the plain of Rephaim. The hold to which he went down must have been in a lower position; indeed, “the hold” is the expression used of the place or places of protection to which David resorted when he was pursued by Saul (see 1Sa 22:4). Further, when we turn to the twenty-third chapter of this book, which records some memorable incidents of the war with the Philistines, we find (2Sa 23:13-14) that when the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim David was in a hold near the cave of Adullam. The valley of Rephaim, or “the giants,” is an extensive plain to the south-west of Jerusalem, forming a great natural entrance to the city. When we duly consider the import of these facts, we see that the campaign was very serious, and David’s difficulties very great. The Philistines were encamped in force on the summit of the plateau near the natural metropolis of the country. David was encamped in a hold in the low country in the south-west, making use of that very cave of Adullam where he had taken refuge in his conflicts with Saul. This was far from a hopeful state of matters. To the eye of man, his position may have appeared very desperate. Such an emergency was a fit time for a solemn application to God for direction. “David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt Thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.” Up, accordingly, David went, attacked the Philistines and smote them at a place called Baal-perazim, some- where most likely between Adullam and Jerusalem. The expression “The Lord hath broken forth on mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters,” seems to imply that He broke the Philistine host into two, like flooded water breaking an embankment, preventing them from uniting and rallying, and sending them in two detachments into flight and confusion. Considering the superior position of the Philistines, and the great advantage they seem to have had over David in numbers also, this was a signal victory, even though it did not reduce the foe to helplessness.
For when the Philistines had got time to recover, they again came up, pitched again in the plain of Rephaim, and appeared to render unavailing the signal achievement of David at Baal-perazim. Again David inquired what he should do. The reply was somewhat different from before. David was not to go straight up to face the enemy, as he had done before. He was to “fetch a compass behind them,” that is, as we understand it, to make a circuit, so as to get in the enemy’s rear over against a grove of mulberry trees. That tree has not yet disappeared from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem; a mulberry tree still marks the spot in the valley of Jehoshaphat where, according to tradition, Isaiah was sawn asunder (Stanley’s “Sinai and Palestine”). When he should hear “the sound of a going” (Revised Version, “the sound of a march”) in the tops of the mulberry trees, then he was to bestir himself. It is difficult to conceive any natural cause that should give rise to a sound like that of a march “in the tops of the mulberry trees;” but if not a natural, it must have been a supernatural indication of some sound that would alarm the Philistines and make the moment favourable for an attack. It is probable that the presence of David and his troop in the rear of the Philistines was not suspected, the mulberry trees forming a screen between them. When David got his opportunity, he availed himself of it to great advantage; he inflicted a thorough defeat on the Philistines, and smiting them from Geba to Gazer, he appears to have all but annihilated their force. In this way, he gave the coup de grace to his former allies.
We have said that it appears to have been during these campaigns against the Philistines that the incidents took place which are recorded fully in the twenty-third chapter of this book. It does not seem possible that these incidents occurred at or about the time when David was flying from Saul, at which time the cave of Adullam was one of his resorts. Neither is it likely that they occurred during the early years of David’s reign, while he was yet at strife with the house of Saul. At least, it is more natural to refer them to the time when the Philistines, having heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, came up to seek David, although we do not consider it impossible that they occurred in the earlier period of his reign. The record shows how wonderfully the spirit of David had passed into his men, and what splendid deeds of courage were performed by them, often in the face of tremendous odds. We get a fine glimpse here of one of the great sources of David’s popularity – his extraordinary pluck as we now call it, and readiness for the most daring adventures, often crowned with all but miraculous success. In all ages, men of this type have been marvellous favourites with their comrades. The annals of the British army, and still more the British navy, contain many such records. And even when we go down to pirates and freebooters, we find the odium of their mode of life in many cases remarkably softened by the splendour of their valour, by their running unheard-of risks, and sometimes by sheer daring and bravery obtaining signal advantages over the greatest odds. The achievements of David’s “three mighties,” as well as of his “thirty,” formed a splendid instance of this kind of warfare. All that we know of them is comprised within a few lines, but when we call to mind the enthusiasm that used to be awakened all over our own country by the achievements of Nelson and his officers, or more recently by General Gordon, of China and Egypt, we can easily understand the thrilling effect which these wonderful tales of valour would have throughout all the tribes of Israel.
The personal affection for David and his heroes which would thus be formed must have been very warm, nay, even enthusiastic. In the case of David, whatever may have been true of the others, all the influence thus acquired was employed for the welfare of the nation and the glory of God. The supreme desire of his heart was that the people might give all the glory to Jehovah, and derive from these brilliant successes fresh assurances how faithful God was to His promises to Israel. Alike as a man of piety and a man of patriotism, he made this his aim. Knowing as he did what was due to God, and animated by a profound desire to render to God His due, he would have been horrified had he intercepted in his own person aught of the honour and glory which were His. But for the people’s sake also, as a man of patriotism, his desire was equally strong that God should have all the glory. What were military successes however brilliant to the nation, or a reputation however eminent, compared to their enjoying the favour and friendship of God? Success – how ephemeral it was; reputation – as transient as the glow of a cloud beside the setting sun; but God’s favour and gracious presence with the nation was a perpetual treasure, enlivening, healing, strengthening, guiding for ever-more. “Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.”