“The king and his men went to Yerushalayim to attack the Y’vusi, the inhabitants of that region. They taunted David, ‘You won’t get in here! Even the blind and the lame could fend you off!‘ — in other words, they were thinking, ‘David will never get in here.'”-2 Samuel 5:6
Verse 6 kicks off with a story about David conquering the Jebusite-held city of Zion.
Biblical battle accounts often lack detail, and this chapter is no exception.
Instead, the emphasis was on the Jebusite’s insults toward David while they hid behind their strong fortress walls.
We’ll examine those words later, but first, let’s turn our attention to the clever means David employed to gain entrance into what was considered an impenetrable stronghold.
He appeared to have used a water tunnel to sneak his men into the city.
This tunnel, more like a shaft, was rediscovered in 1867 by Sir Charles Warren and is now aptly called “Warren’s Shaft.”
This confirms David’s capture of Zion.
Now here’s what’s cool about this account:
Jerusalem’s water system will play an important role again later in history.
I love how archeology confirms the Bible stories!
Let’s dive into the details just a little bit more.
The City of David was constructed on a hill made out of hard limestone.
This was where tiny underground caves naturally formed due to flowing water underneath.
Now, the area’s only water source was the Gihon Spring.
It flowed in the Kidron Valley on the east side of the City of David.
“Gihon” means “to gush forth” in Hebrew, reflecting the spring’s seasonal flow changes.
The spring gathers water in an underground cave that serves as a reservoir.
When the cave fills up, the water pushes through cracks in the rock and rises to the surface.
Since the spring didn’t always flow strongly, people had to collect the water in a pool to use during drier times.
We’ll continue with the details about this fascinating water system the next we meet…
But for now, it’s time for another exciting takeaway!
Notice I said, the area’s only water source was the Gihon Spring.
As we all know, water is essential for life…
Without it, we can die in a day or two.
So, I see God’s grace and love being manifested in this Gihon Spring that served as the city’s only lifeline.
Without it, no one could’ve lived there.
Just as the Israelites would’ve perished in the wilderness had God not miraculously provided water from random boulders lying in the desert.
Scripture also uses water or MAYYIM as a metaphor for life itself.
I leave you with these words that Yeshua told the Samaritan woman at the well:
“When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Yeshua said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?‘ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Yeshua answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’
”Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?’
Yeshua answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’
The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.'”
And that’s your takeaway for today.
See ya all next time.
P.S. Credit for the photo goes to the Ir David Foundation
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