2 Samuel 5: 17-25

Relax, Read and Reflect

Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen

David Defeats the Philistines

¹⁷ 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 to the stronghold. ¹⁸ Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; ¹⁹ so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."

²⁰ 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. ^a]'>[a] ²¹ The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.

²² Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; ²³ 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 balsam trees. ²⁴ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." ²⁵ So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon ^b]'>[b] to Gezer

David is on a roll! After uniting the kingdom, the Philistines now understand he is a force to be reckoned with. Even though they had vanquished Saul's army just a few years later, they again set out to destroy their enemies. This, however, is David's army. God had left Saul but was with David.

David defeated the Philistines-twice. He ran them out of the Hebrew lands and took their idols and relics, including the Arc of the Covenant the Philistines had captured from Saul. Life is good for David.

Questions:

1. How did the Philistines feel when they heard that David was in control?

2. What did David do before he attacked the Philistines?

3.How must have the Hebrews felt? How must have David felt?