§74. The Way to the Throne (I Sam. 31:1-6; II Sam. 1:1-4, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27; 2:1-4, 8-11; 3:1; 5:1-3)

A. THE BATTLE OF GILBOA

Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers. Then said Saul to his armorbearer, "Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these Philistines come and thrust me through, and abuse me."

But his armorbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

B. DAVID'S DIRGE OVER SAUL AND JONATHAN

And it came to pass after the death of Saul, that a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And David said unto him, "From whence comest thou?"

And he said unto him, "Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped."

And David said unto him, "How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me."

And he answered, "The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."

And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:

C. DAVID MADE KING

And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?"

And the Lord said unto him, "Go up."

And David said, "Whither shall I go up?"

And he said, "Unto Hebron."

So David went up thither, and his men that were with him did David bring up: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

Now Abner, the captain of Saul's host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and made him king over Israel. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: and David waxed stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker, and when Ish-bosheth was dead, then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, "Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, 'Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel.'"

So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel.

§75. David's Great Reign (I Chron. 11:4-9; II Sam. 5:17-25; 8:2-6, 13, 14; 10:6, 17-19; 11:1; 12:29-31; 5:11, 12; 23:14-17)

A. THE NEW CAPITAL

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants said to David, "Thou shalt not come hither."

Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. And David said, "Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain."

So Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was chief. And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David. And he built the city round about, from Millo, even round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him.

B. DAVID'S WARS OF DEFENSE

And when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, they went up and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

And David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into my hand?"

And the Lord said unto David, "Go up; for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy hand."

And David went up and smote them; and he said, "The Lord hath broken down mine enemies before me like the breaking of waters."

And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, "Thou shalt not go up. Go about to their rear and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then is the Lord gone out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines."

And David did so as the Lord commanded him, and smote the Philistines, and subdued them.

And he smote Moab. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

And David put garrisons in Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David whithersoever he went.

And David got him a name when he returned from smiting Edom in the valley of salt, even eighteen thousand men. And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David.

And the children of Ammon hired the Syrians. And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote the captain of their host.

And when all the kings saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

And it came to pass, at the return of the year, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon. And David went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he brought forth the spoil of the city exceeding much. And thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David a house. And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.

C. DAVID'S KNIGHTS

And at one time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David longed, and said, "Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"

And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, "Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?" therefore he would not drink it.

These things did these three mighty men.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

257. David spent many years as captain of his outlaw band, first in the mountains of Judah and then in Philistia. The Philistines thought he had given up his own people and become one of them. Fortunately, however, they did not wish him to fight against Saul, so he was not obliged to meet that difficulty. He had simply to wait till the end of Saul's reign. It came very tragically.

258 (§74A). The battles of Israel were generally fought on the broad plain of Esdraelon. Find it on the map southeast of Mt. Carmel. In this case, however, Saul had entrenched his army on the high ground to the south of the plain. But the terrible enemies who had troubled Israel so long were too strong for him. How did the battle result? Who were killed? How did Saul die?

259 (§74B). David was still in the Philistine town of Ziklag. He had been fighting the Amalekites who had attacked him. How was the news of the battle of Gilboa brought to him? How would you expect him to feel about Saul's death? how about Jonathan's? As a matter of fact he forgot all his wrongs, and remembered only how he had loved Saul and honored him in the early days, and of course he remembered his great friendship with Jonathan. Was this "magnanimous"?

260 (§74B). A dirge means a song for the dead. David was a fine poet and he sang this beautiful song of lamentation over the king and the prince. Notice the six stanzas. The first and the last are a refrain. The second is a hope that the Philistines will not know the sad news. The third is a praise of Saul and Jonathan. The fourth is a special praise of Saul, whose victories had brought spoil to Israel. The fifth is the tender lament of the singer for his friend. This would be a noble poem to learn by heart.

261 (§74C). After Saul's death, it was a question whether David should return home. Tell what happened. Find Hebron on the map in the south. But Saul's general had another policy. What did he do? So there was war between the north and south. At last Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was murdered by two men who thought they would get reward from David. He punished them of course, but the way was open for David to be king of the whole land. Tell how David was elected king.

262 (§75A). When the thirteen American colonies adopted the Constitution and became the United States, it was necessary to have a capital that should not be in any one state. So two of the states gave a piece of land, which was called a District: what is its full name? What is the name of the city that was built to be the capital of our country? Does it belong to any one of the states in particular? Saul had not had a definite capital, except his own town. David had his headquarters at the old town of Hebron. But it would not do to have a town of Judah as capital of all Israel. There was a strong town that had never been conquered and occupied by the Israelites, but was still inhabited by the old Jebusites. David decided to capture this city and make it his capital. What is the name of the city that is still after 3,000 years the chief city in Palestine? Find it on the map. The fortress was so strong that there was a proverb that it could be defended even by the blind and the lame. Tell the story of the capture.

263 (§75B). The first necessity was to prevent the enemies all around Israel from interfering with the new kingdom. Who was the first enemy subdued? Locate their territory. In several campaigns these old enemies were prevented from giving any more trouble. The next enemy was in the southeast: who were they? Locate their territory. The next was an old city in the north, then a people in the south, then a nation to the east who hired northern allies. Locate all these, and note that David subdued all his troublesome neighbors. One people was left on the northwest coast, but they were a commercial and not a military people. What alliance did David make with them?

264 (§75C). David was able to conquer all these enemies because he had a noble company of knights about him. They were brave and loyal to their king. We study one fine passage that tells of a heroic deed during one of the Philistine campaigns. What do you think of the bravery of the heroes and the conduct of the king?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Draw an outline map of Canaan. Mark Jerusalem which David made his capital. Mark the territory of each of the enemies whom David conquered. You will find that you will have to go all around the map showing that David had to defend his people on every side.