All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. (2 Samuel 5:1-12 NIV)
It’s hard to build a kingdom. To form a country. We make it sound simple. On July 4, 1776 some guys signed the Declaration of Independence, and—boom!—just like that, there was America! So grill hot dogs and watch fireworks. Easy, right? Nope. We like to simplify history. It makes it easier to remember. But that’s not how it happened. After that first July 4th, there were years of war. Then years of struggle to unite the nation. Then 200+ more years of more wars and more struggles. And today? It’s hard to build a kingdom. We’re seeing reminders of that all around us.
And David in the Bible would say, “Duh!” He knows. After being anointed by God’s prophet Samuel, you’d think it’d be smooth sailing for David, right? An easy path to being king. Nope. David was a boy when he was anointed king. We hear today that he didn’t actually become king until he was 30 years old. What happened in the 15-20 years in the middle? All sorts of stuff. David served King Saul for a while. He fought in a bunch of wars. But mostly, he fled. David spent years and years of his life fleeing from King Saul who wanted to kill him. Easy? No way!
In all those years of fleeing from Saul, do you know what David never did? Fight back. He never fought back against his king. In American history, there’s a flag with a rattlesnake on it. You’ve seen it. It says, “Don’t Tread on Me.” In other words, “I won’t attack you, but if you attack me, watch out!” Not David. He never fought back. David would seem so weak today. Twice he had chances to kill Saul. His men urged him to do it. “God has put your enemy into your hands.” But David refused. He said, “The LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed” (1 Samuel 25:11). He understood something that few people do: God exalts kingdoms. God does!
So David was willing to suffer and patiently wait for God’s time. Finally, the day came. Saul died in a battle with the Philistines. A man raced to be the first to tell David. He said, “Your enemy Saul is dead. I killed him. Now you can be king. Isn’t that great?” Know what David said? “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” (2 Samuel 1:14). And David had him executed. He knew the Bible’s teaching: “Whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted” (Romans 13:2). Even bad kings like Saul get their authority from God. So David refused to rebel. He trusted in God. He waited for God.
But even after Saul died, David still wasn’t king of Israel. Remember how many tribes Israel had? 12. Remember which tribe David was from? Judah. The people of Judah made David their king. But not the rest of Israel. The rest of Israel made Saul’s son king in his place. Do you know Saul’s son’s name? Ish-Bosheth. For seven and a half years, David was king over just Judah. More waiting. Seven and a half years is a long time! When would you have gotten impatient? When would you have taken matters into your own hands? David waited. God exalts kingdoms.
Finally, the day came. Two of Ish-Bosheth’s officials assassinated him. They ran to David with the news: “Your enemy is dead. We killed him. Now you can really be king!” Does this sound familiar? What do you think David did? He had them executed. They had killed the ruler God had given them. Do you sense a theme? Rebellion is not how God works. Every leader—good and bad—receives their authority from God. Because who exalts kingdoms? God does.
Finally, all Israel came to David at Hebron and made him their king. What’s interesting is what the people of Israel said. They didn’t say, “Alright, David, you win. All the sons of Saul are dead. We accept you as king.” They said, “The LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’” The people recognized something: Who was working behind all the events of history? The LORD! Sometimes it takes God a lot longer than we expect. Sometimes God lets us face struggle and war and trial. But who exalts kingdoms? God does!
When David finally became king of all Israel, he wanted a new capital city: Jerusalem. It had been 400 years since Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, but they had never been able to conquer the city of Jerusalem. The Jebusites who lived there didn’t think it would ever happen. They were confident. They even mocked this new king of Israel: “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They were sure they had established a city so strong it would never fall. “With our walls? With our strength? You don’t stand a chance!”
But they forgot something. Do kingdoms depend on walls? No. Do kingdoms depend on human strength? No. They depend on the LORD. I love how simply the Bible says it: “Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion.” God gave David a tip: To get into Jerusalem, you have to go through the water shaft. The walls of Jerusalem couldn’t stop God’s plan. Decades after being anointed, David was finally king. At God’s time. David “became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him…” “David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom.” Who exalts kingdoms? God does.
Do you believe that? It’s emphasized over and over in the story of David. God exalts kingdoms! Why? We think we do it. We think we build kingdoms. We take the credit. At least, we sure do in the United States, don’t we? Of all days, Independence Day would be a great day for us to say, “Who are we, and what is this country, Lord, that you have blessed us so much?” Instead, we say, “Look at what we’ve built! Why can’t all the other countries be more like us?” As if all the blessings we have in America were our doing, instead of results of God’s amazing grace to us.
Don’t believe me? Just look around. We think we’re building our kingdom. We think that if we just get the right people in office, have the Supreme Court make the right decisions, all will be well. As if it all depends on us. Isn’t that how we talk? That’s why we fret. And worry. We act like the future of Christianity depends on our country. “If you don’t vote for ______, the future of Christianity is at stake!” I’ve heard people say that. And if all else fails, at least we have guns. So we can take this country back when we need to! Do you hear how we Christians talk? We talk like the most unchristian people in the world. Like our hope is in anything other than Jesus.
As you hear about David’s patient trust in God, examine your heart. Is your hope in a country, or in the One who establishes countries? Is your hope in a certain leader, or in the One who gives every leader their authority? Is your allegiance to a political party, or to the God of the universe? Is your peace and confidence based on a gun, or on the blood of Jesus? Your answers to those questions will have an incredible impact on your life. Right now, how much fear is in your heart? How much anxiety about the future? Every one of those emotions is a call to ask yourself where your confidence is placed. The Bible wants you to know this: Who exalts kingdoms? God does.
But what about when he gets it wrong? I mean God clearly gets it wrong all the time, doesn’t he? Why did he let so-and-so get in that position? He’s clearly the wrong guy. Why does he let so-and-so get so much attention? She’s clearly the wrong person. This is why we need to take matters into our own hands, right? Because God gets it wrong! We’re so foolish, aren’t we? So sinful. So proud. So stubborn. Is God, God? If so, who is controlling this country? God. Who put the people into authority who are in authority? God. Who decides how long this country lasts? God. Evaluate your heart. Whom are you trusting in? We need to repent and put our trust in God.
Because God doesn’t get it wrong. So what is he doing? He’s exalting his kingdom. When Jesus was on trial, he told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world…. My kingdom is from another place” (John 19:36). Remember those words: “My kingdom is not of this world.” God’s goal isn’t to exalt the United States. It’s for more people to believe in Jesus. That’s the goal! God’s kingdom isn’t a political country. It’s his rule in the hearts of Christians around the world and in heaven itself. There is one kingdom that endures forever: Jesus’ kingdom. Every political turmoil is God’s call to put our trust not in princes, but in our Savior Jesus. God is exalting his kingdom.
Like Jerusalem. The LORD let David conquer it. But did David’s kingdom in Jerusalem endure forever? No. In 586 B.C., Jerusalem was destroyed. No Israelite king ever ruled again. So it was a failure, right? No! God’s plan for Jerusalem wasn’t a political one. 1000 years after David, Jesus went to the City of David—Jerusalem—not to reign over an earthly kingdom, but to die on the cross for our sins. To win forgiveness for us. To win eternal life for us. To open up the kingdom of God to all who believe in Jesus. Can you see that? Every event in history is part of God’s plan to save you and me through faith in Jesus. It’s God’s kingdom that endures forever.
So which kingdom are you going to focus on? The kingdom of God or the United States or any other earthly kingdom? What if we all focused on Jesus? What if we stopped focusing on politics or guns or money or sports and focused on spreading God’s Word? What if every one of us devoted our best energy and our best time and our best talents to telling people about Jesus? What if Christians stopped focusing on elections and courts and laws and based their hearts and lives on the gospel? How much good could God do through us? For us? For this country?
The best citizens of the United States are those who don’t put their hope in the United States. Does that sound backwards? Think of this: If you put all your hope in your children, do you know what you end up doing to your children? You crush them. You put so much pressure on them, you will always be disappointed. You will be a slave to their success. But if you put your hope in Jesus, you’re free. You’re free to love people without an agenda. You’re free to serve people without thinking of what they can do for you. You’re free to stand up for what’s right, because your home is in heaven. The best citizens are those who hope in Jesus and his kingdom.
That’s what Jesus teaches us to pray. Do you know what I’m thinking of? In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come.” Not, “our kingdom come.” Not, “the U.S. kingdom come.” “Your kingdom come.” “God, may you reign in the hearts of more and more people by faith in Jesus.” “God, may your Word be shared with more and more people to convict us of our sins and overwhelm us with your grace.” “God, may more and more people trust in you alone and hope in your promise of eternal life in heaven.” We thank God for this country, but our hope isn’t in this country. It’s in Jesus. Like King David believed, the LORD exalts his kingdom.
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