2 Samuel 5:6-16
Success is wonderful, but it is not without its dangers. Success brings reputation. Success brings honor. Success brings fame. Success brings the eye of the world. Success brings the temptation to shift our focus onto the results and away from what got us there in the first place.
David goes to Jerusalem. Prior to David’s occupation of the city, it belonged to the Jebusites, who called the city Jebus. The name Jebus doesn’t have any intrinsic meaning besides the location derived from the name of the people who lived there.
Prior to the Jebusites living there, the town was called Salem, which is a word constructed from the Semitic root meaning peace, completeness, or wholeness. This name is associated with the priest Melchizedek, who met Abraham and blessed him after he rescued Lot from Sodom. Melchizedek lived in Salem almost a full millennium prior to David’s reign in the city. This does not imply God was the only deity of ancient Salem, but it does mean God was worshipped at least in part by the residents of Salem.
When David goes to Jerusalem, he is the tool God uses to reclaim the city for the worship of God. This is not David acting as a human general making strategic acquisitions. Yes, David does benefit from taking Jebus as it allows him to establish his capital in a highly defensible position. More importantly, David is continuing to reclaim Canaan for the people of God. As he showed by raiding the Canaanites while living among the Philistines, David is once more living out the incomplete mandate given to Joshua a couple of centuries earlier. As a result, David dwells securely in Jerusalem, which becomes known as the City of David, and God is with him.
Unfortunately, there is a hint of difficulty coming with the mention of the City of David. The focus begins to be on David and his power. The focus shifts to David and his greatness. As David’s kingdom grows, so does his popularity, reputation, and strength.
Foreign kings see the need to make peace with David and ensure they do not find themselves under his scrutiny. The king of Tyre sends him gifts of cedar and carpenters to build edifices to keep relations positive. Other kings send their daughters to him as signs of their peace and David’s harem grows. He begins to have sons with his harem, bringing the influence of the world directly to the royal line of the people of God.
Success is a double-edged sword. When things go well for us, we let our guard down and relax. Because things are going well, we think we have life figured out and we have all the answers. Our guard slips, and soon the world creeps in and sin comes knocking at the door. Success is wonderful, but it is not without its dangers.
