2 Samuel 5:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

NIV: And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

NASB: David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of armies was with him.

CSB: David became more and more powerful, and the Lord God of Armies was with him.

NLT: And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.

KJV: And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.

NKJV: So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.

Second Samuel 5:10 and 12 are summary statements of God's blessings. David is king of the united tribes of the Israelites. He has established his capital in the naturally fortified city of Jerusalem. After about twenty years, God's promise has finally come true (1 Samuel 16:13).

Since David's fight with Goliath, he has grown in integrity and power. His reputation is nearing its highest point. Because of his faithfulness to God, God will add to his military victories. God will even make a lasting covenant with his household that will culminate in the reign of Jesus (2 Samuel 7:4–17). David is God's choice to be king, and God is behind every good thing that happens to him.

At some point in his story, however, David will crash. He will take the wife of another man (2 Samuel 11). When she becomes pregnant, David will murder his friend. As judgment, God will allow David's family to implode (2 Samuel 12).

But David never completely loses God's favor because he is as quick to repent as he is to praise. One of the sons David has with his stolen wife will Solomon: the next king and the ancestor of Jesus' father Joseph (Matthew 1:6). Another will be the ancestor of Mary (Luke 3:31). Even when God disciplines David, He never leaves him.

Those who trust in David's descendant Jesus share that experience with David. Jesus' last recorded words to His disciples in the book of Matthew are, "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

Second Samuel 5:6–10 describes David's establishment of a new capital city. He has been in Hebron, in the heart of Judah, for seven years. He decides to move to Jebus, an easily defendable city closer to central Israel. He and his men take it from the native Jebusites, and he renames it Jerusalem. David knows he owes his success to God and God alone. David's people move in, and the king of Tyre helps him build a house where he has many more children (2 Samuel 5:11–16). This information is also found in 1 Chronicles 11:2–9.

Second Samuel 5 is a series of vignettes describing how God blesses David after his inauguration as king over the nation. David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made the city the nation's capital (2 Samuel 5:6–9). His first international ally, Hiram, king of Tyre, built his palace (2 Samuel 5:11). His family grew: exponentially (2 Samuel 5:13–16)! And he soundly beat his enemies (2 Samuel 5:17–25). David did all this because of God's favor, to bless the nation, not through his own skill or because of any good in him (2 Samuel 5:10, 12). First Chronicles 11:1–9 and 14:1–17 also record these events.

Second Samuel 5 is a pivot point for all of Israel's history. After Saul's son Ish-bosheth is killed, no opposition remains to David's kingship (2 Samuel 4:5–6). Convinced by Abner before his death to follow David (2 Samuel 3:17–19), the elders of Israel gather at Hebron to anoint David king over the entire nation. David moves his capital to Jerusalem and defends the nation against the Philistines. Now, he has enough security to bring the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–15). The following chapters seem to collectively describe David's accomplishments (2 Samuel 5:9—10:19) and his mistakes (2 Samuel 11—20).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.