The Magic Flywheel

I. The Same Weakness

Location of Beeroth, and significance of conspirators being from there. It’s that Beeroth was originally one of the cities of the Gibeonites.

Joshua 9:15–18 NKJV

So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. But the children of Israel did not attack them, because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers.

However, the natives had since fled to Gittaim (Poss. a plural of Gath), so the sons were Israelites, of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul’s court was almost entirely composed of Benjamites (1 Sam 22:7).

Significance of Mephibosheth’s story here. (1) it is foreshadowing. Character will be important later, so the author shares a bit more information here than is strictly necessary for this story. (2) let’s us know the strength of Saul’s line, that it is effectively dead, as Mephibosheth’s lameness would prevent him from leading an army into battle which means he could never be king.

Proverbs 24:10 NKJV

If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.

Lit. “hands limp”, an expression used some 9 times to describe a failure of courage, and sometimes as the result of God’s judgment.

Isaiah 13:7 NKJV

Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt,

II. The Same Justice

It was normal for people to rest in the hottest part of the day, as it was usually too hot to do much. But security was obviously lacking just a bit.

Rechab and Baanah made the same mistake that the Amalekite made in ch 1

“Righteous man” here doesn’t mean that Ishbosheth went to heaven. It means he was innocent, and had done nothing to deserve death. To kill a man on his bed is very different than killing a wounded one during battle.

David’s security was not in his political maneuvering, but in the Lord who delivered him.

III. The Same Waiting

David does the same thing to get the northern tribes that he has been doing all along - nothing. They come to him and annoint him.

His record of faithful service speaks for itself

they remember his activity under Saul

they finally recognize God’s declaration

It’s been over 20 years since the little boy defeated the Giant, since he was anointed by Samuel.

IV. The Same Courage and Wisdom

Why Jerusalem? David understands the difference between the Northern and Southern tribes. Hebron was firmly in Judean territory, so ruling from there would get accusations of favoritism of David’s home tribe of Judea.

Jerusalem had been occupied by the Jebusites for centuries, so it was neutral territory. It was also located close to the border between Judea and the rest of the tribes.

David overcame the city by his courageous leadership. He didn’t raise a massive army like Saul had done to win. He took his same mighty men, and won by the bravery of his men.

“lame and Blind” is really a mocking title for the Jebusites themselves.

He doesn’t hate lame people - we just noted Mephibosheth, who will be treated well by David later.

There was a vertical water shaft some 49ft. high leading from a spring directly into the city. Scaling it would be very difficult, but accomplishing this made taking the city easy.

V. The Same need for God’s Grace

the fortification of Jerusalem, the building of the palace may not have happened until much later, but they are mentioned here because the theme is David securely taking the throne of the whole nation.

There’s nothing either praiseworthy or blameworthy about doing this. It’s just a sign of God’s blessing (v.10) He didn’t succeed just because of his wisdom, courage, and justice or because of the weakness of Ishbosheth. Rather, he had these things because God gave them to him so he could win. God was with him was the real reason.

David continues his political marriages, which only deepens the negative consequences for his family.

However, his many children was a sign of God’s blessing. Ps 127:3 At least five of these children are later described as Bathsheba’s sons.

In other words, David didn’t succeed because he had nothing blameworthy about him. He succeeded because he needed God’s Grace to succeed, just as we do.

This isn’t common grace, as it is contingent on David’s obedience.

But neither is this salvific grace - it is about David’s blessings in life, not his home in heaven.

It is superabounding grace, Grace to meet the believer according to his needs, rather than according to his deserts. Romans 5:20