2 Samuel 5:1-5
Verse 4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
David and the people of Judah have just buried the king of Israel, well, at least his head. David’s men had been the people who had buried both of Israel’s top leaders. The people of Israel could see that David had treated Abner and Ish-Bosheth with the same respect that he had shown Saul and his family. David wasn’t their enemy and it doesn’t take them long to seek out David to be their king.
Being king over the entire nation of God’s people had been the Lord’s plan all along but He had His own reasons for the timing of uniting the kingdom. David was going from ruling a small portion of the tribes of Israel to the whole of them. These people had come a long way since God had promised their forefathers a land of their own where they could enjoy a life that was free from the rule of someone outside the family. Of course God’s plan was that He would be their king.
The people had rejected God as their one and only King but God wasn’t going to reject them and so He made a man after His own heart. He saw their need for a leader who would not steer them towards the false gods of the region. Of course David could only do so much in that regard, the people still had the choice to make and the actions to take.
The leaders from Israel wanted to do what they should have done in the first place, anoint David as the king of the whole nation. David was coming on the scene during a time where healing was needed between the two sides. It was important for them to understand they couldn’t continue thinking of the nation as two separate bodies. God’s desire was unity, a unity that came from all sides, with everyone working on their part of making it happen.
David was around 38 when he became the king of the whole of Israel. His anointing as a young boy must have felt like ancient history and yet here it was happening. He was being made king of the whole family. Like an older sibling being placed in charge while mom and dad are gone, David was going to learn being the king of the family didn’t mean instant relationship with everyone he was ruling over, nor did it mean they would agree with him all the time. But the Lord had created David for this very position.
Making It Personal
Why is unity among God’s people important? What is your role in maintaining unity? True unity comes from being bound by and to the same thing, do you find unity comes easier with other Christians when you are close to the Lord?
Making It Personal Kids
What does unity mean? Can opposites ever be unified? Who do you need to be close to so you can be unified with other Christians?
Closing Prayer
Father, please help us see that we can’t be unified with each other if we aren’t first unified with You. Give us a desire for closer relationship with You and help us see the difference it makes for being unified with each other. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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