“‘Then all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hevron and said, ‘Here, we are your own flesh and bone.'”-2 Samuel 5:1
Verse 1 kicks things off by telling us all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron.
There are a couple of things you should know about this city.
First, it was considered Judah’s unofficial capital and was a city whose history could be traced back to Abraham.
David decided to move from Ziklag (a city in Philistine territory) to Hebron in the first place because it was understood this city was the center of political power in Judah.
David benefited in two ways by making this move.
First, since Hebron was seen as Judah’s power center, it made sense for David to establish his government there.
Remember, perception and the projection of power are everything in politics.
Second, Judah—and Hebron—were NOT seen as enemies by the Philistines.
This was unlike the North.
During his reign, King Saul warred viciously against the Philistines.
So after Saul’s death, his son Ishbosheth took the throne and was also met with strong hostility from Philistia.
This was not the case for David.
Why?
Because David was only king over Judah, not all of Israel.
So the Philistines didn’t view him as an enemy yet.
But as we’re about to see, this peace between David and the Philistines wasn’t gonna last long.
There’s a huge takeaway here.
Your enemies will automatically view any person or group who affiliates with you as an enemy…even if that’s not always the case.
Saul was hated by the Philistines.
But that hate didn’t end when he passed away.
When Ishbosheth took the throne, the Philistines shifted their hatred from his father to him.
The same thing was about to happen to David.
Up until now, the Philistines had viewed him as more or less a neutral figure.
But that was about to change.
Once David took control over both the north and south, overnight he became a target of Philistine hatred.
This hatred has continued through the centuries to our modern-day and now manifests itself in the current Middle Eastern conflict between the Palestinians and the Jews.
I conclude with these words of King Solomon,…
“What has been is what will be,
and what has been done
is what will be done,
and there is nothing
new under the sun.”
-Ecclesiastes 1:9
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Those who are not with me
are against me,
and those who do not gather
with me are scattering.”
-Matthew 12:30
Leave a Reply