What did King David achieve?
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| English: Jerusalem Model, The city of David, the Pool of Siloam and the southern wall of Mount Moriah Deutsch: Jerusalem Modell, Davidstadt, im Vordergrund der Teich von Siloah und die Südmauer des Tempelberges Français : Maquette de Jérusalem, la Ville de David. Au premier plan, la piscine de Siloé et la muraille sud du Mont du Temple (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
• David conquered Jerusalem, and made it royal rather than tribal property (“the city of David”).
• David moved the capital from Hebron in the southern hills to the more central, neutral, and strategically located Jerusalem, from which he could launch his international expansion. The Philistines reacted to David’s move, and he inflicted decisive defeat on Israel’s long-standing nemesis (2 Sam 5).
• David expanded west and east, taking sections of the coastal highway near the Mediterranean and the Transjordanian highway. This increased Israel’s land holdings and enabled it to profit from the international trade flowing along these two major arteries.
• David also expanded south and well to the north, conquering nearly all of the neighboring nations (2 Sam 8; Lancaster and Monson, Regional Study Guide, 15–17).
• He enriched Israel with plunder from his victories, labor and annual tribute from the nations he made vassals, and income from a vast trade network.
In addition to making Israel a great political power, David also developed its religious practice. He brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, and made extensive preparations to build a temple to Israel’s God—a task and honor that God would reserve for David’s son, Solomon. Yahweh promised David a “house”—or line of perpetual succession—in what is often called the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7). God had not granted such a blessing to David’s predecessor, Saul. God would keep this promise despite David’s numerous failures.
