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Chapter 5 records David establishing himself as King of the United Kingdom. Now that it seems that all the heirs of Saul are dead and his army commanders also, David becomes the undisputed King of the United Israel. The leaders of all the tribes of Israel went to Hebron and gave him their pledge of loyalty. He was 30 years old when he was crowned King of Judah, now, 3 years later he is crowned King of the United Kingdom of Israel.
David's first job was to liberate Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Who were the Jubusites? They were the inhabitants of Je'bus, the city we know as Jerusalem. It was once called "Uru-salim", City of Peace. Its origin is unknown and the origin of its people is unknown. In Joshua 11 they are referred to as "Jebusite mountain dwellers". They were a very rugged people. When the Israelites arrived in Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, the Jebusites complained to the Egyptians whom they thought were responsible for the Israelites coming there. They had remained a pocket of resistance for 250 years. They considered themselves unconquerable.
The city had been a "Holy City" for at least 40 centuries. Abraham called it "Jireh", (Jehovah) Shem, Noah's son, called it "Salem", (peace). Every nation had given it a different name. The Arabs called it "El Kuds", (Holy Town). It is often referred to in the Bible as Zion. Originally, the place of Zion was a natural fortress in the mountains from which Jerusalem spread. The term "Zion" later took on the identity of a heavenly city.
David conquered Jerusalem so it is often called the City of David. Notice how he achieved this. He sent his men thru the tunnel that furnished water to the city. Then David established his headquarters at Jerusalem.
Now we see Hiram, King of Tyre, coming into the picture again. Tyre was a city in Phoenicia, a section in northern Israel that was a part of the inheritance given to Asher but never conquered. The Phoenicians were never the problem that the Philistines were. In fact, they were very helpful to Saul and now David in supplying materials and skilled labor for their building projects.
Everything, now, seemed to be working well for David. Notice to whom he gave the credit. With his Palace completed, David moved his family from Hebron to Jerusalem. There he acquired additional wives and concubines and had many children. Eleven are listed as those children born in Jerusalem.
In verse 17, we see the wisdom of David moving into Jerusalem. The natural fortifications of the city served David well. When the Philistines heard that David was in Jerusalem, they came to kill him. When they arrived, they spread out across the Valley of Rephaim, often called the Valley of the Giants. It lay between Jerusalem and Bethlehem a three-mile stretch south of Jerusalem often called the city dump. David asked the Lord if he should go out and fight them and the Lord said yes. Then he asked the Lord if he would defeat them and the Lord said, "Yes I will give them to you." So David met and fought them at Baal-perazim, one of 11 places spoken of in the Bible prefixed by the word Baal. The exact location of this place is unknown but it is presumed to have been between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. David defeated the Philistines and he gave the Lord all the credit. literly, the name Baal-perazim meant, "The Lord came bursting through." Now the Philistines were not ready to call it quits, they attacked again and this time the Lord told David to attack them from the rear. He told David, "When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tree tops, that will be the sign to attack for that is the way I have prepared for you to destroy them." So David did as the Lord instructed and he destroyed them all the way from Geba to Gexer.
This illustration of God helping in an audible way is used several places in the bible. Notice what happened. God caused the Philistines to hear what sounded like a mighty army approaching in the front of them. This caused the Philistines to retreat right into the arms of David and his men. The sound of "God's Army" in the mulberry trees had been compared to noise of Pentecost when the Spirit came with the sound of a mighty wind (Acts 2:2). God says in Lev. 26:36, "The sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them."
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