If David’s exaltation has been a long time coming, the capture of Jerusalem has been even longer in the making. Eight hundred years before, God had promised Abraham – at the end of Genesis 15 – ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, […]

This chapter describes one of the most momentous events in the whole Bible – God’s chosen king reigns visibly on earth – no longer just over a single tribe – but over all Israel. In fact, the bit about Hiram sending trees to David so he could build a house is a hint of David’s fame spreading even beyond Israel. […]

The people declare when they come to make him king, that David was their bone and flesh. In other words, he wasn’t a foreigner. He may have belonged to a different tribe, but he was still part of Israel. In making that consideration, they were remembering Deuteronomy 17.15: ‘One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. […]