Day 35 – King David

₁Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ₂In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the LORD promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ₃So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel. ₄David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years. ₅He ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years, and in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for 33 years.

₆The time came when King David and his men set out to attack Jerusalem. The Jebusites, who lived there, thought that David would not be able to conquer the city, and so they said to him, “You will never get in here; even the blind and the crippled could keep you out.” ₇(But David did capture their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City”.)

₈That day David said to his men, “Does anybody here hate the Jebusites as much as I do? Enough to kill them? Then go up through the water tunnel and attack those poor blind cripples.” (That is why it is said, “The blind and the crippled cannot enter the LORD's house.”)

₉After capturing the fortress, David lived in it and named it “David's City”. He built the city round it, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill. ₁₀He grew stronger all the time, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.

₁₁King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with carpenters and stonemasons to build a palace. ₁₂And so David realized that the LORD had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.

₁₃After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David took more concubines and wives, and had more sons and daughters. ₁₄The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ₁₅Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ₁₆Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

₁₇The Philistines were told that David had been made king of Israel, so their army set out to capture him. When David heard of it, he went down to a fortified place. ₁₈The Philistines arrived at the Valley of Rephaim and occupied it. ₁₉David asked the LORD, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?”

“Yes, attack!” the LORD answered. “I will give you the victory!”

₂₀So David went to Baal Perazim and there he defeated the Philistines. He said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies like a flood.” And so that place is called Baal Perazim. ₂₁When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David and his men carried them away.

₂₂Then the Philistines went back to the Valley of Rephaim and occupied it again. ₂₃Once more David consulted the LORD, who answered, “Don't attack them from here, but go round and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees. ₂₄When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.” ₂₅David did what the LORD had commanded, and was able to drive the Philistines back from Geba all the way to Gezer.

₁Once more David called together the best soldiers in Israel, a total of 30,000 men, ₂and led them to Baalah in Judah, in order to bring from there God's Covenant Box, bearing the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned above the winged creatures. ₃They took it from Abinadab's home on the hill and placed it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart, ₄with Ahio walking in front. ₅David and all the Israelites were dancing and singing with all their might to honour the LORD. They were playing harps, lyres, drums, rattles, and cymbals.

₆As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. ₇At once the LORD God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box, ₈and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah ever since. David was furious because the LORD had punished Uzzah in anger.

₉Then David was afraid of the LORD and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?” ₁₀So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. ₁₁It stayed there three months, and the LORD blessed Obed Edom and his family.

₁₂King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the LORD had blessed Obed Edom's family and all that he had; so he fetched the Covenant Box from Obed's house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration. ₁₃After the men carrying the Covenant Box had gone six steps, David made them stop while he offered the LORD a sacrifice of a bull and a fattened calf. ₁₄David, wearing only a linen cloth round his waist, danced with all his might to honour the LORD. ₁₅And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.

₁₆As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him. ₁₇They brought the Box and put it in its place in the Tent that David had set up for it. Then he offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to the LORD. ₁₈When he had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty ₁₉and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and some raisins. Then everyone went home.

₂₀Afterwards, when David went home to greet his family, Michal came out to meet him. “The king of Israel made a big name for himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself like a fool in the sight of the servant women of his officials!”

₂₁David answered, “I was dancing to honour the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and his family to make me the leader of his people Israel. And I will go on dancing to honour the LORD, ₂₂and will disgrace myself even more. You may think I am nothing, but those women will think highly of me!”

₂₃Michal, Saul's daughter, never had any children.

₁King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD kept him safe from all his enemies. ₂Then the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

₃Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because the LORD is with you.” ₄But that night the LORD said to Nathan, ₅“Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ₆From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have travelled round living in a tent. ₇In all my travelling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

₈“So tell my servant David that I, the LORD Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ₉I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. _10-11I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to keep you safe from all your enemies and to give you descendants. ₁₂When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. ₁₃He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues for ever. ₁₄I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him as a father punishes his son. ₁₅But I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king. ₁₆You will always have descendants, and I will make your kingdom last for ever. Your dynasty will never end.’ ”

₁₇Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

₁₈Then King David went into the Tent of the LORD's presence, sat down and prayed, “I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, Sovereign LORD, nor is my family. ₁₉Yet now you are doing even more, Sovereign LORD; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come. And you let a man see this, Sovereign LORD! ₂₀What more can I say to you! You know me, your servant. ₂₁It was your will and purpose to do this; you have done all these great things in order to teach me. ₂₂How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God. ₂₃There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them have spread your fame throughout the world. You drove out other nations and their gods as your people advanced, the people whom you set free from Egypt to be your own. ₂₄You have made Israel your own people for ever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

₂₅“And now, LORD God, fulfil for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. ₂₆Your fame will be great, and people will for ever say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time. ₂₇Almighty LORD, God of Israel! I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings.

₂₈“And now, Sovereign LORD, you are God; you always keep your promises, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. ₂₉I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favour. You, Sovereign LORD, have promised this, and your blessing will rest on my descendants for ever.”