II Samuel 5:1-10 and I Chronicles 11 – 12 and My Safe Arrival

II Samuel 5:1-10 and I Chronicles 11 – 12

Both the first 10 verses of II Samuel 5 and the first 9 verses of I Chronicles 11 recount the anointing of David as king of Israel. David was highly respected and the people recognized God’s calling and anointing of David as king and “shepherd of my people Israel.”

Although both passages cover the capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites, I Chronicles goes into a little more detail about how it came about. According to I Samuel, the Jebusites thought they had an impenetrable fortress, but David and his men used a water tunnel to get into the city. I Chronicles reveals that Joab became the commander of David’s army because he attacked Jerusalem first. Jerusalem became known as the city of David.

Besides Joab, the commander of David’s army, there were a couple of groups of warriors that distinguished themselves: The Three and The Thirty. In I Chronicles were are told the names of two of The Three: Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was the leader, and Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. In this passage, we are not told the name of the third.

Didn’t you love the story of The Three going to Bethlehem for water from the well there because David mentioned his long for some of this water? David was so overwhelmed by what the men did and by the risk they had taken that he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the Lord.

Remember Abishai, brother of Joab and Asahel? He was the leader of the group called The Thirty. As you can tell by the exploits recounted in this chapter and in chapter 12, these really were mighty warriors. Did you notice that one of The Thirty was Uriah the Hittite? There were also thousands of warriors from the various tribes who joined with David.

David was really blessed and anointed by God.

Tomorrow, it’s Psalm 133.

My Safe Arrival

I left my brother Jeff’s house this morning at 5:02 and arrived safely at home at 1:15 pm. It was an uneventful journey – the best kind. Traffic was light, for the most part and I was listening to a great book: The Innocent by David Baldacci.

Until next time….