Many years had passed since God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint the shepherd-boy for Israel’s second king. During those years David grew to manhood and became a mighty captain. He led his brave soldiers to many battles, and God, always gave them victories over their enemies.
After David went to lives at Hebron, the men of Judah came to anoint him: to be their king. For a few years the other tribes followed Saul’s son Ishbosheth; but when they saw how God was blessing David, they sent their chief men to him with this message: “We are all your brothers, and we know God has chosen you to become the ruler of his people.” Then they anointed him, to be king over all the land.
David set up his, kingdom in the city of Jerusalem. First he had to drive away the Jebusites, a strange people who had lived at that place since the time of Joshua. Then he chose Mount Zion, one of the hills inside the wall of Jerusalem, and on this hill he built his royal palace.
Now, the Philistines were ruling over many places in the land of Israel and they were not pleased when David took the throne. They gathered their armies together and came to fight against him in a valley near Jerusalem. David did not rush out to meet them, but first asked God what he should do. And God told him to go out to the battle. He called his soldiers and went out and defeated the Philistines, driving them away in such haste that they left the images of their gods behind. David and his men found the images and burned them tot ashes.
After this battle the Philistines came again to fight, against David. They pitched their tents in the same valley as where the first battle had been fought. David prayed again, and God told him not to go out this time as he had gone before, but to take his army of? to one side and wait under the mulberry-trees for God’s sign. When he should hear a sound in the tops of the trees, then he should hurry out to the battle, for God would go before him and would give a great victory. David was careful to do exactly as God said, and God helped him to drive all the Philistines out of the land. Never again did they come back to bother Israel while he was the king.
David wanted to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. He had heard how it had been taken away from Shiloh to battle against the Philistines long years before Saul became the king. He knew God’s plan was to keep the ark inside the tabernacle, so he built a new tabernacle after the pattern of the old one, which had stood at (Nob, and then he sent word to the people in every part of the land telling them that he was going to bring the ark to Jerusalem.
Thirty thousand men came, a great army of men, to see the moving of the ark from its resting-place at Kirjath-jearim to the King’s city. They built a new cart to carry it, and tried to move it as the Philistines had done when they sent it back to the land of Israel. But God did not want his people to handle the ark in that manner. He had commanded that no one except the priests should even touch the ark. But the people had forgotten God’s command.
David and a company of musicians walked before the cart, playing on harps and other stringed instruments and singing praises to God. The other people followed, every one feeling happy because the King was trying to worship God in the right way. Suddenly every one stopped, and the music ceased. One of the oxen that helped to draw the cart perhaps had stumbled, for the ark tottered as if ready to fall to the ground. The driver, seeing the danger the ark was in, reached out his hand to steady the ark, and immediately he fell down dead. “What can this, mean?” every one wondered, and David was frightened, too. He knew God had been displeased with some part of their plan, and he did not know what to do, so he left the ark at the home of a man who lived near by. Then he and all the people of Israel went back to their homes.
David began to inquire about God’s plan for moving the ark from one place to another, and he learned that God intended for the priests to carry the ark on their shoulders. After several months had passed, word came to David that God was blessing the man at whose home near the roadside the ark had been left. And David sent again to bring the ark to Jerusalem.
This time David called for the Levites and commanded them to carry the ark. And again he and other musicians went before the ark, singing and playing on stringed instruments. And they brought the ark safely inside the city walls and placed it in the new tabernacle, which David had built. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord.