"When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down into the stronghold." (2 Samuel 5:17) If they can find and kill David, they hope to so demoralize the people that they can't put on an effective defense. David has several sons by now but they are all still too young to reign in his place. There is no one like David in all Israel who can rally all the people, in one mind and in one accord, to fight the enemy.
It's not clear what is meant by David going down into the stronghold. Later in the Bible we'll see that after David made Jerusalem his capital he rebuilt and fortified the terraces and retaining walls (this area is known as the Millo) that were previously built by the Jebusites. It could be that he was occupied with this type of work above the city and that when he heard the Philistines were looking for him he went down to stay within the fortified walls of Jerusalem. Or it could be he had built a stronghold in some other nearby location. He prudently gets himself to a secure location quickly, both for his own safety and in the interest of national security, but he only intends to stay there until the Lord directs his next steps. David is no coward, as he's proven time and time again, but he isn't foolishly overconfident in himself either. He knows his strength comes from the Lord and he goes down into the stronghold to seek the counsel of the Lord.
"Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hands?' The Lord answered him, 'Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.' So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, 'As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.' So that place was called Baal Perazim." (2 Samuel 5:18-20) This name means "the Lord who breaks out". David gives all the credit to the Lord for the victory in battle.
The fleeing Philistine army leaves some objects behind that were no help to them. "The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off." (2 Samuel 5:21) David and his soldiers don't take the idols in order to do anything sinful with them. They burn them on the orders of David according to 1 Chronicles 14:12: "David gave orders to burn them in the fire." If he had not given such orders, the idols could have become a snare to the people. He could not allow anyone to take them home as plunder, though they may have been plated with valuable metals, because this might have led someone into temptation. The fact that these gods did their previous owners no good would not necessarily deter anyone from thinking they won't do any good for them. A person could conclude that the gods of the Philistines abandoned them in battle because the Philistines had displeased their gods in some way. There really is no logic when it comes to idolatry. Later in the Bible Lord tries to reason with the people regarding how illogical it is to call upon an idol (See Isaiah 44:6-20, Isaiah 46:1-7 for some examples of this.) by pointing out that an idol is made by the hands of man and that it cannot even move itself from place to place and that it cannot hear or speak or take action. While it's true that an idol was regarded as a symbol of the god it represented and that it wasn't considered to be the god himself/herself, if the gods the idols represented actually existed then it stands to reason they could protect their idols. But nothing happens when David and his men burn the idols in the fire because the idols---and the gods they represent---are powerless to do anything.
The Philistines haven't learned their lesson about bothering Israel. They regroup and come back. "Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, and He answered, 'Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.' So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer." (2 Samuel 5:22-25)
I feel that there are two major takeaways from our text today. The first has to do with how to react when confronted by a problem, even if it's the same type of problem we've dealt successfully with before. When the Philistines come up against David the second time, he doesn't just automatically assume the Lord wants him to confront them head-on. He takes time to ask the Lord what to do. The Lord tells him he will be successful but he must approach the battle in a different way than he did the first time. Imagine if David hadn't taken time to talk to the Lord! He might have lost many men, lost the battle altogether, and perhaps even lost his capital city of Jerusalem which he so recently captured from the Jebusites. The Lord wants us to be victorious over the enemy but we have to fight the battles His way. He may not give us the same battle strategy every time we're confronted by the enemy. Our enemy would soon learn to anticipate our every move if we reacted the same way every time. Changing things up allows us to catch the enemy off guard and gain the upper hand.
The second point I'd like to emphasize is that the army of the Lord went ahead of David and his men. When we're in the thick of hardship it's tempting to feel all alone. But the Lord and the mighty army of heaven are fighting on our side! A passage from 2 Kings 6 backs this up. In that passage the king of Aram wants the prophet Elisha dead and sends a large group of his soldiers after him. Elisha has no soldiers on his side has no one but his servant. Upon seeing the city surrounded by soldiers and horses and chariots, the servant falls into a panic and cries out to Elisha, "Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" The servant thinks all is lost. But Elisha knows the Lord and His angel army will protect them so he says, "Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." The servant doesn't see anyone standing up for him or for his master Elijah. No one in the city is taking up arms to protect them. He misses Elisha's point so Elisha prays, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Then we are told, "The Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of chariots and horses of fire all around Elisha." The Lord then struck the enemy army with temporary blindness and saved Elisha and his servant from them. (You can read this entire account in 2 Kings 6:8-23.) We may be like Elisha's servant, unable to see with our natural eyes the powerful hedge of protection the Lord has placed around us. But with our spiritual eyes we can imagine what it might look like if we could see all that's going on in the unseen realm on our behalf. Our God goes before us and we are surrounded by His mighty angel army. We are not alone. We are not hopeless. We are not defeated. Who can be against us when Almighty God is on our side?
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