David's Kingdom Advances

If you have your Bible, turn with me to 2 Samuel chapter 5. 2 Samuel chapter 5, as we look at how David's kingdom advances.

I'm going to read to you the whole chapter, it's not very long, give you a little bit of brief review from last week that will lead us into a discussion this evening that I think will truly be a great blessing to you because you've come to hear the word of the Lord and God's word will speak to you in an incredible way. 2 Samuel chapter 5, it begins in verse 1, Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in.

And the Lord said to you, You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the Lord at Hebron. Then they anointed David king over Israel. David was 30 years old when he became king, and he reigned 40 years. At Hebron, he reigned over Judah seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem, he reigned 33 years over all Israel and Judah. Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land.

And they said to David, You shall not come in here, but the blind and the lame shall turn you away, thinking David cannot enter here. Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David. And David said on that day, whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul, through the water tunnel. Therefore they say, the blind or the lame shall not come into the house. So David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David.

And David built all around from the millow and inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him. Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stone masons, and they built the house for David. And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. Meanwhile, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem. After he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.

Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem. Shemua, Shobob, Nathan, Solomon, Ibar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishema, Elida, and Eliphelet. I guess it is close enough. When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David. And when David heard of it, he went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines came and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. Then David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines?

Wilt thou give them into my hand? And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. So David called, or came to Baal-perazin, and defeated them there. And he said, The Lord has broken through my enemies, before me like the breakthrough of water. Therefore he named that place Baal-perazin. And they abandoned their idols there, so David and his men carried them away. Now the Philistines came up again, once again, and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim.

And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, You shall not go directly up, circle around behind them, and come at them in front of the balsam trees. And it shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees. Then you will act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines. Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezar. Now this is where David's kingdom begins to advance.

We saw last week where David became the king over all of Israel. And it says that he reigns over all of Israel and Judah for 33 years. And we told you last week that he became stronger and stronger, greater and greater. He realized that the Lord was with him. And it says something very unique. It says, these words, David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he'd exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. And we told you last week that what God did in David's life was for the sake of Israel.

And I want to just bring you back there for a moment to let you know that God does things in your life, not for your sake, but for God's sake and other people's sake. Let me give you an example.

Philippians chapter one, verse number 29, reads this way. For to you, it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Paul says very clearly, the reason you believe is not for your sake, but for Christ's sake. Your salvation is about Christ. It's not about you. Heaven is about Christ. It's not about you. Everything in Christianity is about Christ. He's a sole focal point of Christianity. And so Christ saves you for his sake. He allows you to suffer for his sake.

And when you suffer, you suffer for a unique purpose. Listen to what the Bible says in second Corinthians chapter one, verse number three, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings, which we also suffer. Paul says it's midst your suffering, the Lord God will comfort you. He comforts you three ways through his spirit, through the scriptures and other saints. That's how you're comforted. And you are comforted for this express purpose so that you in turn will be able to comfort those who go through a similar affliction that you have gone through.

God doesn't comfort you so that you can have an end to your, your suffering. He comforts you so that it will become a means to the end of someone else's suffering. See, we forget that we want God to comfort us. We want God to take care of us. And God says, I want to do that, but I want to do it.

So you in turn can minister to somebody else who has a similar affliction like you do. So whoever's gone through what you are presently going through, okay. Or we'll go through in the future. God is going to do something unique in your life through the scriptures, through other saints, through his spirit to bring you comfort amidst your affliction. So then you can go and teach someone else how God comforted you, because now you become the saint that comforts someone else who's going through a similar affliction.

You see, it's for someone else's sake. You are saved for Christ's sake. You are going to heaven for Christ's sake. You suffer for Christ's sake. You suffer so that you can help someone else who's going through a similar situation. I say all that because we've got to realize that it's not about us. Christianity is never about you. It's always about Christ. It's always about the body of Christ and how God wants us to minister to other people. Once you get a hold of that, once you gain that perspective, your ministry in the church will change.

Your ministry in your family will change. Your view of self will change. How God deals with you, your perception will change, because you realize that God's doing something for his glory and not yours, for someone else's benefit and not yours. That's a hard lesson to learn, but that's the lesson God wants us to teach, wants to teach us. And the Bible is very clear that God blessed David and God did a great work in David's life, not for David's sake, but for the nation's sake. God had a plan. And that's very important, because you see down in verse number 13, meanwhile David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron.

That was a known violation of Deuteronomy 17. But listen, the bad choices and sinful acts of man, listen carefully, never deter the providential plan of Almighty God. God is still going to bless Israel in spite of David's sin. And one of the hard lessons to learn is to realize that God blesses in spite of us, not necessarily because of us. God still does a great and mighty work, because your sin is not going to thwart the plan of God. And when we get to the whole thing with David and Bathsheba and talk about the birth of Solomon and what God's going to do, you're going to see exactly the providence of God overriding David's sin in such a miraculous way, it's almost incomprehensible this side of eternity.

But God wants to teach us much about his sovereignty, his control over all the events of life. And so the Bible tells us about David adding wives and concubines, because it wants us to know that what God is doing in David's life is not for David, it's for the sake of the people of Israel. That's important. Now we can get to tonight's lesson, okay? The advancement of David's kingdom. Two things I want you to see. First of all, the capital of the kingdom, and number two, the conquering by the kingdom.

Two very simple points, but the first one is absolutely going to blow your mind, because you just read the story.

There's a city called Jerusalem. The Jebusites are the occupants of the city. This city, Jerusalem, should have been conquered by Saul. It never was. Saul was a Bethlehemite, okay? He was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was from that area next to Jerusalem. And he could have very easily overtaken that city, but he did not. Because in the providence of God, it was David's responsibility to rule that city. And when you read the story, it's a very easy read. The Jebusites said, you know what? This city is so fortified.

This city is so strong that the blind and the lame can protect the city. Not even David could enter here. Well, that kind of rubbed David the wrong way. So David made a plan. And the plan simply was this. You read about it in 1 Chronicles. He says, look, I need one man who will lead the way. For whoever leads the way to conquer this city will be my chief commander. Now, he could have appointed Joab, who was related to David, but he didn't. Joab volunteered. And David said, this is what you're going to do.

You're going to go up through the water tunnel. Going up through the water tunnel will allow you access to the city, which will allow us to conquer the city. The city was called Zion. That's very important. Why? 152 times in the Old Testament, Zion is a reference to Jerusalem. Why is that crucial? Because you got to know what Zion means. And probably you have no idea what Zion means. So you're here tonight. So you're going to receive a blessing. Zion means to shine forth. Okay? Now listen to Psalm 50 verses one and two.

The mighty one, God, the Lord has spoken, and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun, S-U-N, to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shown forth. Out of Zion, God has shown forth. And Zion means to shine forth. Now, Psalm 84, 11 says, the Lord God of Israel is a sun, S-U-N, and a shield. All that to say this, is that Zion is the place where the sun shines forth. The glory of the Lord shines forth from Zion. This becomes very strategic in the history of Israel. And while it's a brief reading in 2 Samuel chapter five, the history behind this and what the Bible says about Jerusalem is rather significant.

In fact, 811 times Jerusalem was mentioned in our Bible. 811 times. Okay? 152 times it's called Zion. So that's on top of the 811. So we know that Jerusalem is very significant for us. Oh, by the way, Islam thinks that Jerusalem is significant for them. But they didn't think that till 1948. Because Jerusalem was never one time mentioned in the Quran. Neither is it mentioned by its Arabic name Al-Quds. Still were mentioned. But in our Bible, it's mentioned 811 times. So let me show you a slide because you need to see this.

You've seen it before, but I'll explain it to you. So you can see the city as it was in those days. Okay? This is why they said, look, you can't get in here because this is fortified. This is a deep ravine right here. You had to climb up this ravine, get over the walls to get in the city. So the Jebusites said, you know what? The blind and the lame can protect the city because nobody gets in here. But David was a smart man. In fact, if you go to the next slide, I'll show you, this is the way the city is today.

It looks just like this. And right here is where the water shaft is right there. That spot right there is where the water shaft is. This is the way it looks today. Go back to the original side, if you would please. This is the way it looked 3000 years ago when David conquered the city. So they're trying to figure out how to get in there. David says, you got to go up to the water shaft, get in there. Once you do, whoever does that will be the chief commander of our army. Very significant. Why? Because the Lord God says a lot about this place.

Now go to the third picture, to the water shaft, if you would please. This is the water shaft. It's been excavated. If you go to Israel with me, you can look in there if you want to. You can be there with me in February. If you go to Israel, you can go right there and see the water shaft. That's called Warren shaft. You can see this place. This is so significant. This is one of the greatest archeological digs in the land of Israel, the city of David. Go back, if you would, to the original picture.

This is so important because the only way this city was vulnerable was from the North. Okay. Up on the North is Mount Moriah. That's where Solomon would build this temple. That's where David would purchase that place from a root of the Jebusite. So what you have is you had this city called the city of David, which was Jerusalem, Mount Zion, still there today. It's called Mount Zion today, separated by three valleys, which is very important because you need to understand why Jerusalem was so crucial.

Keep the slide up. Turn me to Psalm 137. Turn me to Psalm 137. You know what Zion means, right? To shine forth. All right. Psalm 50 says that from Zion, God will shine forth. Psalm 84 says that God is a son and a shield because he's a son. He shines. He shines forth from Zion, which is Jerusalem. Listen to Psalm 137 verses four, five, and six. How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, Oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.

If I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. Now, let me ask you a question.

How many of you exalt Jerusalem above your chief joy here on earth? The answer, probably none of you, right? If you were to say, I bet you say that most of you would not say, you know what? If I can't remember this place, Jerusalem, then I want to lose my skill. If I can't remember Jerusalem, I want my tongue to cling to the roof of my mouth so I can never speak again. For the most part, we'll never say that. Psalmists did, but we don't. The question is why don't we say that? Why is Jerusalem so insignificant to us?

Yet to David and the Psalms, Psalmists, they saw the uniqueness of the city, the greatness of the city and what it meant. See, one of our problems is, is that our focus is so on the here and now, we can't understand the eternal nature of the city of God. And David understood that. If I forget Jerusalem, if I can't remember Jerusalem, if at any time it's not in the forefront of my mind, may I lose my skill. May I, may the roof of my tongue, of my mouth, have my tongue just cling to it so I can never say a word.

I must remember Jerusalem. It must be the chief joy of my life. It must be the supreme joy of my life. And yet for most of us, our joy does not come from this city right here called Jerusalem. The question is why not? How come? Listen to what the Bible says about Jerusalem.

There are other names for it. Psalm 48.1, the city of our God. Psalm 48.2, the city of the king. Psalm 48.8, the city of the Lord of hosts. Psalm 76.2, Salem. Psalm 76.2 again, Zion. Isaiah 126, the city of righteousness. Isaiah 126 again, the faithful city. Isaiah 29.1, Ariel. Example, the Lion of Judah. Isaiah 52.1, the holy city. Isaiah 60 verse number 14, the city of the Lord. Isaiah 62.4, my delight is in her. Jeremiah 3.17, the throne of the Lord. Jeremiah 33.16, the Lord is our righteousness.

Lamentations 2.15, the perfection of beauty. Lamentations 2.15 again, the joy to all the whole earth. Ezekiel 48.35, the Lord is there. Zechariah 8.3, the city of truth. And again, Zechariah 8.3, the holy mountain. That's other names for Jerusalem. Now, what makes this place so unique? Well, that's why you're here. And even though it's a brief section of scripture, it becomes the pivotal point of David's ministry, which leads us into the eternal kingdom of God from 3000 years ago. And it all begins with the fact that this city, Jerusalem, is a priority of all the cities in the world.

Listen to what the Bible says. Psalm 48, verse number two, Jerusalem is the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great King.

Psalm 48, verse number two, the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. God loves the gates of Zion, which is Jerusalem, more than all the dwellings of Jacob. God particularly says He loves these gates. He loves this place. It is a priority above all the cities of the world. That's why the Psalmist said, I can never forget Jerusalem. So the question comes, why is it the priority of all the cities in the world? Why is it God says, I love this place?

That's because number two, it is the presence of God himself that makes Jerusalem a priority. It is the presence of God himself that makes Jerusalem a priority. Listen to 2 Chronicles 6, verse number six, but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there. Wow. I've chosen Jerusalem so that my name might be there. Psalm 99, verse number two.

In Judah is God known. His name is great in Israel. In Salem or Jerusalem also is his tabernacle and his dwelling place in Zion. Psalm 137, 13, the Lord is great in Zion and he is high above all the people. Psalm 135, verse number 21, for the Lord had chosen Zion. He had desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever. Here will I dwell for I have desired it. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a priority of all the cities of the world. It's a priority of all the cities of the world because it's the presence of God himself that makes it a priority.

God says he dwells here. He never says he dwells anywhere else but here. This is where he dwells. And he said, I will make my name, I will put my name on that city. And that's exactly what he did. Because you have a valley here, which is the Kidron Valley. You have a valley here, which is the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And you have a valley that goes out this way, which is called the Hinnom Valley. Okay. If you take an aerial view of that, it, it gives you the Hebrew letter Shin, which is the name for God, the almighty one.

He literally put his name on the city. The city is his name. When he said, I make my name there, I will dwell there. I love that place. It's because he actually put his name on the city. It's in the typography of the land and you can't miss it. It's so obviously clear. So when God says he does something, he does it right.

And therefore it makes this place such a unique place because God says, this is where my presence is.

And he says, as we read earlier, he will be there forever, not just temporarily, but forever. That makes it unique. Why? Because if you were to go back in time with us or go to with us in the land of Israel, and if you go back to the next slide, if you would, please, if you go back to the land of Israel, what you do is you'll go up here on the tip of Mount and we'll go up there and we'll tell you about why this location here is the original garden of Eden. It is the original garden of Eden. And we have biblical proof to show you why this is the original garden of Eden.

That's why God says, this is my name. That's why everything ends there because everything began there. That's where it all began. That's where it will lay in. That's why he came back to Israel. That's why he gave the land of Canaan to the nation of Israel. That's why it's a central focal point of the world, because that's where the world began. That's where the Messiah came to. And that's where the Messiah will return to. And that's where he will set up his eternal kingdom, his millennial kingdom before he destroys the whole earth and the whole universe.

But see, that's why it's so important. That's why the Psalmist said, you know what? I can't forget Jerusalem. I must remember it. If I forget, this will lose my skill. In other words, if I forget Jerusalem, I'm of no use to anybody, no matter what my skill is. If I forget Jerusalem, this will not say a word. There's nothing worth saying unless I'm speaking about Jerusalem, because it's the presence of God himself that makes that city a priority. The third thing I want you to see is this, that it's the picture of God's protection of his people.

This is the picture of God's protection of his people. Go back, if you would, to the original picture, please. Let's know what the Bible says in Psalm 125, verse number two.

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever. Psalm 46.5 adds, God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that writes early. In other words, David would stand in his temple. He would look all around here, and all this area are mountains. You've got the Kidron Valley here. You've got the Mount of Olives over here. And you've got all these mountains surrounding Jerusalem. He says, as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so that's how God protects his people.

God has surrounded his people and protects them. So it became a symbol of God's protection. This is what God does with his people. That's what the psalmist says. Not only will he protect us, he will come to our aid right early, right quickly, because that's what God does. And so even with the typography of the land, you see what David would stand in the temple there in his city called the City of David and say, as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds his people and protects her. That's what he does.

See? So Jerusalem becomes the picture of God's protection of his people. Number four, Jerusalem is the place where Abraham was blessed. Remember Genesis 14? And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. Now, what makes that so unique is that we know that's recorded in Genesis chapter 14, but you know that in this location, they have already discovered the gates that Abraham would have walked through 4,000 years ago.

That's how significant this place is. The archaeological discoveries here in the City of David far surpass any other archaeological discovery in the world because God wants us to know this is his place. And this is where Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek. And once they found that archway, those gates, there was great rejoicing in all of Israel because once again, it proves the faithfulness and the trustworthiness of the scriptures. The next thing I want you to see is that this place, Jerusalem, is the property of King David and the Temple of Solomon.

We just read where David in 2 Samuel 5 went in, went up the water shaft, and conquered this city. It's his city. It's his city. It's nobody else's city. David conquered it. And knowing that, it's a property of the Temple of Solomon. It says in 2 Chronicles 3 verse number 1, then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Arunah, the Jebusite. In 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verse number 16 says, for now I have chosen and sanctified this house that my name may be there forever and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

So what David did was he went up here and he purchased this place up here from Arunah the Jebusite. He bought it because he wanted to build a house for God. We'll go through this. We go through 2 Samuel. But God said, no, because you're a man of bloodshed. But your son will build it. And Solomon will build it. You see, not only did he conquer the city, he purchased the title deed of Mount Moriah. So no matter what other religion says this is their place, it's not. Because the Bible gives us the title deed.

Who owns Mount Moriah? It's the Jewish people because David purchased it. And so you see that as you read through the scriptures. Next, Jerusalem is the prophecy of our Lord Christ that the city and its temple would be destroyed. You see, what is the city of David right here grew to be all this and all up here, all of Jerusalem, okay? It began to expand northward. And as it began to expand because of the largeness of the city and more people came to the city, that was a uniqueness of where the temple was and the glory of the Lord would shine forth.

And yet when the Lord came, He prophesied that there should not be one stone left on top of another. And of course, in 70 AD that happened. That's Luke 21, verse number 20, which says, and when you shall see Jerusalem compassed or yeah, compressed with armies, then know that the desolation is nigh. Jerusalem shall be trotted down of the Gentiles into the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And that's why Christ would weep over Jerusalem because it became a prophecy that would be fulfilled as Jesus had spoken.

Jerusalem is the plan of God to destroy all the nations to try to take Jerusalem away from the Jewish people. This is so good. Jerusalem is the plan of God to destroy all nations who try to take Jerusalem away from the Jewish people. Listen to what the Bible says.

Zechariah 12, 9, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. God says, I will destroy every nation that comes against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 14 says, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, but I will destroy them. Joel 3, verse number two says, God will destroy those who seek to divide his land.

God will destroy all those who seek to divide his land. Listen, folks, are we worried about what the president of Iran is going to do to Jerusalem? No. Is he going to nuke them? No. Why? Because God's going to destroy them. You see, God has a plan. For there to be a nuclear, nuclear war in Jerusalem before the Lord returns would mean there had to be a dispersion of the Jewish people. There is no more recorded dispersion in scriptures. They're already back in the land. All the dispersions are over.

They're back. So the president of Iran can say whatever he wants to say, can threaten all kinds of war. It's not going to happen. Now, they will come to battle against Jerusalem, but that will happen when we're already gone. We'll be in heaven. See? That'll be during the tribulation period. But God's going to protect his people because God made a promise. His plan is to protect Jerusalem. That's why it's so important for the president of our country to realize you can't divide Jerusalem because God will destroy all the nations that seek to divide his holy city.

That's God's promise. Someone needs to write a letter to the president telling that. Somebody's, I would beckon every one of you to write a letter to the president and say, look, this is what the Bible says.

Don't do it. Stand on Israel's side. Don't divide the land. Don't divide the city. It is the Jewish people's city. Jerusalem then becomes the purpose of God that brings salvation to all people. Jerusalem is the purpose of God that brings salvation to all people. Zechariah 12 verse number 10 says, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. In that day, Zechariah 13 says, there should be opened up a fountain to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance. Jerusalem becomes a place of salvation. It becomes a means of deliverance for the people of God. And for all those who hang on the coat of a, of a Jew, according to Zechariah chapter eight, 10 Gentiles on the coat of every Jew, take us to your Messiah, take us to your King, because in Jerusalem is salvation. That's important. In Jerusalem is the promise of his coming kingdom upon earth.

It says in Isaiah chapter two, it should come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all the nations shall flow into it for all, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Folks, this city is the ultimate city in all the world. Oh, it doesn't look like much today. Ah, it's not what it looks like. It's who dwells there. It's all what God's going to do in the future, see?

And that's why the Psalmist said, you know what? I, you know what? I have, my skill is worthless if I forget Jerusalem. My words are useless if I forget Jerusalem. But for us, we can leave it or take it or leave it. We don't think about it much. Maybe our priorities are all messed up. Maybe our priorities are on the wrong things. Maybe we're too into the here and now.

Maybe we're too into materialism. Maybe we're too into, into what is good for us instead of what is the glory of the Lord. See, this is so important. And that's why even a little section in 2 Samuel chapter five opens up to us a whole realm of what Jerusalem is and why it's so significant. Because it is, it is, it's called the city of peace. And it says, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, all you who love the Lord. Meaning if you don't love the Lord, you don't pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Oh, by the way, when was the last time you prayed for the peace of Jerusalem?

We don't even remember Jerusalem. We didn't think about it. But you should because the Bible says you need to.

And that's why it becomes so unique for us as believers. It's an eternal city. It's about God's rulership over his people. It's about the salvation of God. It's about how God orchestrated the events of life to be centered around that little piece of real estate in the Middle East. Because this is where he chose to put his name. This is where he chose to begin everything. This is where he chose, chooses to end everything. This is where he chose to come and die. That's why he was crucified on Mount Moriah.

Why? Because everything had to be fulfilled as was, it was originally planned from the very beginning. This is the most unique place in all the world. This is your home. This is not your home. You live in America. That's your home. Because when Jesus comes again and takes your home, you come back seven years later, you're going to live there. You're going to be there. You're going to rule over parts of the world. And that's going to be your home. Because that's where God himself dwells. That's what makes it so unique.

So you need to understand the capital of David's kingdom, how it all began. And while Saul never conquered the Jebusites, David did. And the providence of God, this was the plan of God for his people. Remember, it's for Israel's sake that God did this. Because there's a plan for Israel. There comes the salvation of Israel, right? Romans chapter 11, Zechariah chapter 12, and Zechariah chapter 13. It's all about the salvation of Israel. All Israel will be saved. He does it for Israel's sake. And so we look at the capital of this kingdom, and we'll see it more and more as we go through 2 Samuel and the significance of it.

Point number two, the conquering by the kingdom. The conquering by the kingdom. And this is really brief. It's not long. It's very simple. When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David. And when David heard of it, he went down to the stronghold. And the Philistines came and spread themselves out in the valley of Raphaim. Then David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines, wilt thou give them into my hand?

David went to the Lord. Now, David was a warrior. That's what David did. He was a soldier. He was really good at fighting. We saw that way back in 1 Samuel 17 with the death of Goliath. So we know that David's a warrior. He's a soldier. He's the man who goes to battle. And the Philistines come against David. Now remember, Saul had lost the did not know that God was with David. They knew that nobody was with Saul, but they did not know that God was with David and God was with him. And so David goes and inquires of the Lord.

Now, listen, David's a warrior, but he doesn't go to battle unless he inquires of the Lord first. Lord, do I go up? I need some instruction here. And then I need some inspiration. Will I win? No sense in going up if I'm not going to win. And God says, Go up and you will win.

So David went up. Sure enough, he won. It's exactly what the text says. He says, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt thou give them into my hand? The Lord said, Go up and I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. They called that place Baal Perazim. The Lord has broken through. God did it. He gave glory to the Lord. That's one thing that David did. He honored the Lord in the battle. He knew that God gave him the strength and God gave him the victory. It wasn't because of his skill.

It wasn't because of his talent. It wasn't because of his athletic prowess. It wasn't anything but God himself who allowed them to gain the victory. And he gives glory to the Lord. God did this. He caused us to break through. He caused us to win the battle. He gave us the victory. But the Philistines didn't learn the lesson. They came back again. They came back again. Oh, by the way, it says in verse 21, They abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away. And over in 1 Chronicles 24, it says, They burned them, because according to the law, they were supposed to burn all the pagan idols.

See, the Pharisees, the Philistines came into battle with all their pagan idols, thinking that those pagan rituals would allow them to win the victory. But they could not win over the Lord God of Israel. So they would take those pagan idols and they would burn them all. But the Philistines didn't learn their lesson. Verse 22, Now the Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of Ephraim. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, So stop right there. What did David do?

He went back to the Lord again. Why didn't he just go back to war? He's already asked the Lord once, right? Because the Lord had a different plan for David this time. He didn't want him to go directly up. He wanted to go in from behind. God had a different plan for David. If David didn't seek the counsel of the Lord, what would have happened? We don't know. He didn't do that. He sought the counsel of the Lord. You see, so many times in our lives, we ask for something, we pray for something, God does a great work.

We figure we don't have to pray anymore because we already prayed about it once. But David went back and prayed about it again, because he knew he needed to find out from God, what do I do now? Do I go up to battle again? What do I do? This is what God says.

He says, You should not go directly up, circle around behind them and come up at them in front of the balsam trees. It should be when you hear the sound of the marching the tops of the balsam trees, then you should act promptly for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines. Listen, I want you, number one, to lean on me.

And then I want you to listen to me, that you might be able to lead your people to victory. And David leaned on the Lord. He inquired of the Lord. And as he inquired of the Lord, he had to listen to the ways of God throughout the process. And as he listened, he could lead his men to victory. Boy, that's a lesson for all of us, is it not? If you lead your family, you better be leaning on the Lord. You better be leaning on the Lord and dependent upon him for all your strength and listening to everything he says so that you can effectively lead your family.

That is so important. And that's what David did. He became strong in battle. And God was with him. Now listen to this. First Chronicles chapter 14, verse number 17.

Then the fame of David went out into all the lands and the Lord brought the fear of him on all the nations. Isn't that good? When David went out to conquer the kingdoms, having inquired of the Lord, his fame went out in all the land and fear came upon all the people in the land. That's pretty powerful. I don't know about you, but that's pretty emphatic. He, his fame went everywhere. Now David was already the man who killed Goliath. Remember the old song they used to sing and everybody heard the song.

Okay. Saul says thousands, David is 10,000. Everybody knew the song. But now, now, now there's a time when his fame was in all the land. Not because he sought fame. David wasn't into seeking fame for himself. He was not to glorify, glorify himself. God did this as a result of David's obedience to him. And because of his fame, there was fear in all the nations. Because he would learn to inquire of the Lord, seek his face, listen to what he said, and then enact the plan of God. I wonder how many people fear you because you do the same.

We want people to like us. You should want people to fear you because you serve the true living God that they all should fear. And if you are trusting the Lord and dependent upon him, they will know there's something so unique about you that they're absolutely afraid because you walk with God. So it was a David. This fear came upon all the nations. Don't mess with David. Don't mess with the Israelites. They got a king that walks with his God. They, they got a king that's unlike any other king we've ever faced.

And all of a sudden, news began to spread. This was about, you know, any Facebook, Twitter accounts, you know, any cell phones, text messaging. I mean, it had to go by word of mouth, right? And it spread throughout all the land. And great fear came upon all the nations because of what God was doing in and through David. And why did they do it? Why did God do it? For Israel's sake. God did it for Israel's sake because through David would come the Messiah. From David's loins would be his son who would sit on the throne of his father David and rule over all Jerusalem.

See, the plan was much bigger than David and his kingship. The plan was much bigger than David and his conquering ability. The plan was much bigger than David and even the nation itself. It was the king of the nation. It was the ultimate Lord of the nation. It was their Messiah. See, it all pointed to the Messiah. And God is slowly but surely unveiling to us his plan for the arrival of the Messiah as we go through the life of David and all that God is doing. And what he did in David's life, he did it not for David's sake, but for the people's sake.

Because salvation would come to Israel. God's ultimate plan, what? Is to save his people. Right? He's chosen them. He wants to use them. They rejected him. So he set them aside for a while. But he's not done with them. No, he's going to come back to them and he's going to save them. He's going to save that one-third remnant as the prophet Zechariah said.

And that one-third remnant is the all revelation of Romans chapter 11, where all Israel will be saved.

Because God is not done with his people Israel. He's not finished with them. Because he will fulfill Abrahamic promise. He will give them a land. He will fulfill Davidic promise. He will give them a Lord who will rule over them in that land. But he only fulfills Davidic and Abrahamic promise when he fulfills the new covenant promise in the land or in the people of Israel, where they learn to love their God and serve him. When they look on the one whom they have pierced and mourned for him as an only child and realize what they did.

And salvation comes to Israel. And then from Jerusalem, what happens? The glory of the Lord will shine forth. Why? Because Zion means to shine forth. And the Lord God is a sun and a shield. And the glory of the Lord will shine forth from Jerusalem for that thousand-year reign upon the earth as Revelation 20 verses 1 to 6 tells us. For a thousand years, the glory of the Lord will shine forth from that city. Until at the end of those thousand years, Satan is released from his imprisonment. There's one final battle where God destroys everything, both heaven and earth, and sets up his eternal kingdom forever and ever and ever.

The plan of God is on schedule. It's on time. It runs exactly as God wants it to run. It's a perfect plan. It's a beautiful plan. And it centers around that little piece of real estate right there. You sure you don't want to come to Israel with me in February? Let me pray with you.

Father, thank you, Lord, for today and all that you do. And thank you for the truth of your word. Our prayer, Lord, is that we would be like the psalmist and not forget about Jerusalem. Not forget about the significance of that city where you put your name, where your presence dwells, symbolizes your protection of your people, a place purchased by King David, won in the battle, a place where you prophesied there would be destruction, but a place where salvation is promised to all those who come to Jesus Christ as Messiah and King and Lord.

Our prayer, Father, is that each and every one of us would submit to your kingship. We'd follow you. We'd learn from the life of David and realize we need to inquire of the Lord before we do anything, that you might lead us, having listened to you, that we in turn could lead others to a deeper understanding of Christ Jesus. Thank you so much for all that you've done in Jesus name. Amen.