David: King of Judah

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen people. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: You will sit on Israel's throne. David, not I that soul you The Lord raises the humble. My brother may be a shepherd. Now the head of God is upon you. I see it as clearly as I see the stars. 00:00:18 Speaker 1: Soul's weary arms flashed through the enemy as they advanced. Closer and closer they pressed, but the king stood his ground until it hit an enemy arrow whistled through the air, finding its mark on Soul's side, through flesh, through bone, into the lungs. So this is how it how it ends? What what's the first love? The David sat again, the crown of Soul in his lap, heavy with blood and memory. He did not look up. He only whispered, more to himself than any other. David closed his eyes. He had won no war, He had claimed no glory. The crown had come and with it the curse. 00:01:34 Speaker 3: Judah didn't need a king with the sword. It needed a shepherd with a scar shell. Oh, my friends, from here in the holy land of Israel, I'm l extein with international Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. Have you ever felt the tension of almost becoming who you were always meant to be, but not yet. That's strange in between, where the old chapter is closed, but no one hasn't fully begun today, and second Samuel too we find David standing in exactly that place. Saul is dead, the throne is empty, but the crown, the crown is not the point. The people are, the land is aching, the tribes are scattered. The future of Israel teeters on a razor's edge, and David, our poet, our warrior, our exile is called rise. But how does a man rise without reaching? How does one receive power without grasping for it? What kind of strength does it take to wait for God's timing? Because in Hebron everything is about to change. 00:02:48 Speaker 1: The sun rose like a crown over the black edge of the earth, and spilled gold across the plains of Ziklag. To the common eye, it was a morning no different than the thousands that had come before it. The world turned, the light returned, work began, but not for David. Long before the sun kissed the hills, David had climbed the Eastern rise above the village. Alone. He sat with his lyre strumming a song of praise to the Lord. He sang and strummed on the edge of the hill, looking out at the horizon. To the north lay the lands of Judah, the pride and strength of Israel. David stood between the past and the future, between the man he had been and the king he was fated to become. He watched the light crawl slowly across the valley. The warmth touched his cheeks like the hand of an old friend. It was as though the earth itself had turned its face to him. He closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed in the simplest of ways, no grand gestures or consultation of the ephod, just the sheep and his shepherd, nestled together in the tall grass. 00:04:13 Speaker 4: Shall I rise up? 00:04:15 Speaker 1: Shall I return to Judah? The answer came not with fire or thunder, but with the wind, a stirring in the trees, her breath on his skin, A still, small, quiet voice rise. The word hummed through the stillness like a drawn bowstring. David's eyes opened, where to who will receive me too? Hebron At that moment, David felt again the weight of Samuel's oil upon his brow. He had been just a boy, then, a forgotten son, No one but the Lord had seen the fire in him. But now the fire burned hotter. The burden was no longer prophecy. It was purpose. David descended the slope with steady steps. The village below stirred as he returned. Beniah was the first to greet him with a pat on the shoulder and a cup of hot broth. Saw is dead. 00:05:22 Speaker 2: Israel is in shambles. The tribes are disutified. The Philistines plunder and burn all in their wake. Ziglag doesn't seem too awful. It's pity we're leaving. I never said we were leaving. It's all over your face. 00:05:36 Speaker 1: The others gathered before him, Uriah, Jashabin, Abeshi, and the other mighty men. There was a hush among them, the sense that the ground itself was shifting beneath their feet. They were ready. David raised his voice, clear and fierce as a trumpet on a battlefield. 00:05:58 Speaker 4: The Lord would have us to Judah, will you. 00:06:02 Speaker 5: Go with me? 00:06:04 Speaker 1: A roar broke from the crowd, loud enough to shake the hills. Men beat swords against their shields, women wept, children clung to their mothers, and David stood at the center of it all, the sun rising behind him like a halo of fire. They packed what they could carry, tools and treasures, flocks and families, and by noon the roads of Ziklag bore the footprints of a nation in exile. No longer their shepherd led them, and the hills of Hebron waited. The road to Hebron stretched long across the hills of Judah, winding like an old scar through the land of his father's. Two figures could be seen riding toward them in the distance. The company halted and Beniah drew his blade. Those men looked darned. 00:07:02 Speaker 4: We will not draw any blood. Do you understand we won't have to? 00:07:08 Speaker 6: I recognize those horses. 00:07:10 Speaker 1: Abishai bolted with a giddy stride. The two figures approaching were none other than his brothers, Joab and arsa Hal. The three collided into each other, embracing with tears and laughs. David wrote to meet them, embracing them with familial love. Joab's graveling and hard voice was a strange comfort to David. 00:07:36 Speaker 6: You look like you've seen a thousand lives, David, it feels that way. 00:07:42 Speaker 1: Thanks for keeping Abashi alive and in one piece. 00:07:46 Speaker 4: Oh it was Abashi who kept me alive, who was good to have family close by. 00:07:52 Speaker 1: Joab's tone turned serious. His gaze surveyed the company behind David and sent. 00:08:00 Speaker 6: By the elders of Jodah. The company of men is just around the bend, ready to escort you to Hebron. 00:08:07 Speaker 4: I haven't come to claim the throne, Joann. We returned to serve at the conquer. 00:08:14 Speaker 6: The elders seem to think otherwise. 00:08:17 Speaker 1: Beniah and Jasha Beam flashed their blades. What awaits us? 00:08:21 Speaker 5: Pianna gates heron, you're telling me after all this, they still don't trust David, after everything he's done. 00:08:31 Speaker 1: Beniah shifted his stance. Joab was undisturbed by their posturing. He was a harder man than any of them. Put that away, boy, you'd be. 00:08:42 Speaker 6: Idiots a start a fight. 00:08:43 Speaker 1: Right now, you're at the mercy. 00:08:45 Speaker 6: And the elders of Judah. Your fate is in their hands, and no amount of posturing will change that. 00:08:54 Speaker 1: David's lip twitched. He looked back at his men and gestured for them to be at e He then reached into his pack and retrieved Saul's crown. 00:09:06 Speaker 4: As the hell I know you're the swiftest in the man. Return this crown to the eldest as a gesture of goodwill. Tell them I've come as a servant of Judah. Abashi go with him. Tell them of what we've done since being in exile. 00:09:23 Speaker 1: The brothers mounted their horses and disappeared around the bend. David turned to Joab, heart pounding with anxious anticipation. 00:09:33 Speaker 4: Joe Am, speak plainly, Is this a trap? 00:09:39 Speaker 1: Joe AB's face was impassive, revealing nothing. 00:09:44 Speaker 6: You'll have to wait and see for yourselves. 00:09:51 Speaker 1: The fire crackled in the center of the circle, throwing sparks into the twilight. Saul's crown rested atop a stone table beside the flame. The elders of Judah sat around it, their faces half in shadow, half in flame. Arsahl and Abishai reclined on the outskirts. They had said little since delivering the crown and David's message, but they listened. The weight of history was in the air. One misstep here, good birth, a war. 00:10:25 Speaker 4: He's the champion of our people. 00:10:29 Speaker 7: He thought for us when no other would, even when hunted. He guarded the borders of Judah as if he were already king. 00:10:37 Speaker 5: And yet the son of Saul still lives yishmashef remains in Mahinon with Abner and a side. The If David above him now would be treason in the eyes of all Israel. We would be inviting war. 00:10:51 Speaker 7: War is already upon us. The Philistines let their teeth at our orders. Who above you thinks ish boshef will stop them? That frail child couldn't command a flock of sheep. 00:11:04 Speaker 1: A murmur rippled through the gathered men. 00:11:07 Speaker 7: Ishmashant is no king. He has neither fire in his belly, nor iron and his spine. 00:11:14 Speaker 4: Abner's the one ruling in his name, and that dog. 00:11:17 Speaker 7: Was ever loyal to Soul's pride. 00:11:20 Speaker 4: Not in Israel's good? 00:11:22 Speaker 7: Would you trade one Homo crown for another? 00:11:27 Speaker 1: Voices rose, some in anger, others in caution. The air thickened with memory and fear, the fear of another civil schism, the ghost of Benjamin against Judah. No man here had forgotten the blood spilled in the name of unity. 00:11:46 Speaker 5: But what are the people of the Lord. Will they follow us? Have we crowned David? They may not. 00:11:53 Speaker 7: The Lord has already chosen his kid. 00:11:56 Speaker 1: You all know it. 00:11:57 Speaker 7: You've known him since that day in the valley with David stood alone against the giant. 00:12:04 Speaker 1: Eyes turned toward the crown, not as a symbol of glory, but of burden, a relic forged in duty, not desire. Our Sir Hel stood then slowly and set aside his empty bowl. Habish. I was visibly nervous, What are you doing moving this along? As Sir Hel approached the roaring fire in the middle, and every elder suddenly silenced and fixed their eyes on him. 00:12:36 Speaker 4: I was on molt Gilboa when Saul felt my brother, and I watched the destruction, barely escaping with our lives. 00:12:45 Speaker 6: I smelled the burning flesh of our kin. The United Philistine kings are wolves, their bloodthirsty, revenous, and they're ruthless. Whoever is to. 00:12:56 Speaker 1: Be our king must be willing to base those monsters without fear. His words rang in the quiet, like a blade drawn from its scabbard. 00:13:08 Speaker 5: Oh my wandering, oh my waiting. Let Juda arrive behind the severn. If blood is to be smelled, let it be for righteousness. 00:13:19 Speaker 1: The men nodded one by one, and just like that, beneath the stars of Hebron, under the eyes of the Lord and the ghosts of Israel's passed. They chose their king. The tall gates of Hebron were in sight. David rode at the front, his eyes fixed on the distant walls. The sun hung low behind them, painting the sky a deep, royal purple. His men said little. They were nervous. Judah had once called them rebels. David had once been cursed in Saul's course, and now they marched toward a city that might equally crown him or behead him. David said nothing. He prayed. When they came within a mile of the gates, they could hear it, a low thrum. As they neared, the sound grew louder. The wind carried the timbre of drums. The air trembled beneath their feet. Those drums of the warren were celebration. They reached the city walls, then the gates opened. It began with one voice, a shout, ragged and full throated. Then many the people poured forth, like flood waters from the broken dam. There were no soldiers with swords, no stones hurled at their feet. Instead, there was singing music, dancing hands reaching toward heaven, children through garlands at David's feet. Old men wept, and women danced with tambourines. David's mouth parted, but no sound came. The faces before him blurred. The years of running, the caves, the betrayal, the blood, all of it melted away. His heart swell'd. He had never imagined joy could feel so heavy. The crowd parted, revealing the elders of Judah atop a high platform of carved stone. Abeshei and Arsahial were at the base, beaming in their midst stood the priests, their robes catching the light of the setting sun. And there, resting in the hands of Hebrun's high elder, was the crown of Israel, the same gold once worn by a man who loved and hated David in equal measure. David climbed the steps, slowly and steadily, each footfall echoing like thunder in the hush that fell. The Naiah, Jashabine, and Uriah were close behind him. At the top, he turned to face the gathered multitude. 00:16:25 Speaker 8: The Jia Sayer, the harvest of Bethlehem, the warrior who would not lift his hand against the king, the outlaw who guarded our borders when our king would not. 00:16:39 Speaker 7: You have been chosen by God and confirmed by the voice of the people. David, son of Jesse rise now as King of Judah, not by birthright, but by divine anointing. 00:16:55 Speaker 1: The crown was raised, David bowed his head, the weight of it settled on his brow, like iron and fire. He rose, and the city shook with praise. Long Live King David, They cried, Long live the Shepherd of Judah. From the walls to the fields beyond. The land rang with joy. David did not speak, not at first. His eyes searched the horizon north toward Jerusalem, and further still to the wall tore hills, where the rest of Israel watched and waited. Judah had chosen him, but the North had not. This was only the beginning. He would reign, He would war, and one day a greater king would rise from his line, not born of court or crowned in gold, but in thorns. But that was a tale for another age. Here stood David, no longer the boy who played songs to soothe the mad king, nor the outlaw who slept among wolves. Here stood the shepherd king, crowned not in comfort but in fire. 00:18:23 Speaker 3: Oh my, what a moment I'm struck by how quiet David was through all of this. Not silent exactly, but reserved, measured a man who knows that once you say yes to something sacred, you can't take it back. David's steps towards Hebron were triumphant, they were deliberate, they were slow, they were almost reluctant. And David's reluctance it's kind of wisdom that only comes from exile, after you've had your name dragged through the mud, after you've lived with the ache of being called and the agony of being forgotten. David knew all of that, and he still said yes. The very first verse of Second Samuel two shows us the difference between David and Saul. It reads, in the course of time, David inquired of the Lord, shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah? He asked? 00:19:21 Speaker 5: Now. 00:19:21 Speaker 3: Saul all too often acted on his own, But David posed the ultimate question to God, is this the right time for me to go up to Hebron and to rule as the king of Israel? And this is the exact quality. The bibleist told us that God desires in a king for the chosen people, a king who knows that he is not the ultimate king, but that God is the ultimate king. And so David, even though he had already been anointed, asked God if it was the right time to begin his rule. And when David did become king, one of the first things that he did was to show a pret A day earlier, his enemy, King Saul had been killed by the Philistines, and now David had never really harbored ill feelings towards Saul. It was Saul who felt threatened by David. It was Saul who tried to kill David. So when David heard of Saul's death, he didn't celebrate. Instead, he mourned and instructed the Chosen People to do the same. And as David was mourning Saul, he heard that the Philistines had beheaded Saul and put his body, along with those of his family members, on display. The people of jabeshkhi Lad, a part of Israel, heard what had happened and decided not to stand for this disrespect of King Saul. They raided the village where the bodies were being kept. They reclaimed them, and they gave them finally a proper burial. When David heard what the people of jabeshkhi Lad did. He expressed his gratitude, and he promised to repay them for their holy actions. My friends, there's a lesson in this for all of us. I know that there's a lesson for me. One of the most important character traits is our ability to appreciate what others do for us, to not take it for granted, to not think we deserve anything, to realize everything is a blessing. It's our duty to think, to honor and take knowledge the many people who have worked hard for us and for others. It's in this spirit I want to think all of you who have partnered with us at the fellowship in our holy work, to help the Chosen people today wherever they are, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the poor, to be there as Christians, to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. I want to say thank you to that who might you want to think today, what a moment to witness and what a mirror holds up to our own hearts. The Bible doesn't shy away from showing how fragile the mantle of leadership can be, how easily power can corrupt, how profoundly. It must be steward it. David doesn't begin his reign with conquest. He begins it with consent, with submission, with listening. David didn't ascend because he wanted glory. He rose because he was given a divine assignment, and he surrendered everything else in order to serve it. I want to speak today to anyone listening who feels like you're stuck between seasons. Maybe it's a job, or a small town, or a quiet corner of your life where it feels like nothing is moving. Maybe you've been praying, like David, shall I go up? But you haven't heard God answer you yet. Don't rush the moment, don't force God's blessing. Instead, just way and obey, keep singing your song. God will open up the gates in his own time, and when he does, may you enter with open hands and an open heart. 00:23:14 Speaker 1: Amen. You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents, Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabager, and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Caltefianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, Bree Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 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