24 January 2022
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, ‘You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back’—thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
From 2 Samuel 5:1-7,10, NRSV
In today’s reading we hear first of how David fulfilled the promise that he would become King of Israel. David, who was anointed by Samuel while still a boy, had many years to wait until Saul had died and the tribes of Israel invited him to fulfil the prophecy that he would be their king. David immediately set about uniting what was still a divided kingdom. The Israelites had previously failed to conquer the city of Jerusalem (Zion) but this did not deter David. This city stood at the crossroads of the north-south road and the east-west trade route and so to conquer it would be a very visible sign of uniting a disunited kingdom. The Jebusites who held the city – perhaps confident because of previous successes in battle – taunted David that he would not succeed. However, David and his army succeeded where others had failed and made the city his own.
- Why do you suppose David and his army succeeded in the conquest of Jerusalem?
- Is it important to belong to a nation that is united?
Pray today for families, peoples and nations where there is strife caused by disunity.
