And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.
David has just been anointed king over all Israel, and his first move is against a city still in enemy hands. Why this one stronghold, and why does the verse also call it by the enemy name Jebus?
The city carries two names in this verse, and each has a story:
Zion is closely linked with David's anointing as king over all Israel. Jerusalem is now to become the capital of the great kingdom. The oldest name was Salem; the Jebusites gave it the name Jebus (Judges 19:10). After David conquered it, the old name came back and it became known as Jerusalem ("habitation of peace"). The town had been captured earlier (Judges 1:8), but the stronghold of the upper city, Mount Zion, remained in the hands of the Jebusites. David took the stronghold. Jebusite means "the one who treads down." It reminds us of the words of our Lord, "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). [Older translations read "trodden down," which matches the meaning of "Jebusite."]
Israel's earlier conquests had left this one fortress standing. David felt what that meant for God's honour:
Joshua won his conquests, and more was won after him. Yet in the very middle of the land, in the centre of Jerusalem itself, this stronghold still stood, held by the Jebusites. The time had come for a great change. The kingdom could not be according to God unless Zion was taken for the king from the enemy who had so boldly defied His people. David felt this with full force. He felt keenly the dishonour done to God, because the very heart and fortress of the kingdom belonged to a cursed race of Canaan.
Nothing in the place itself explains the choice:
What reason did God have to interest Himself in this place more than in another? There was no reason whatsoever except that He loved this city which had been under the power of the Jebusites, the enemies of Jehovah and of His anointed. His heart was set on this place, for this is where He wanted to establish the throne of His grace on earth once and for all. "For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: 'This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it'" (Ps. 132:13-14).
The order matters. First the anointing, then the city:
As the anointed king, his first great act was to take Jerusalem out of the hand of the Jebusites. It was to be the city of the great king. It was the appointed centre on earth to display His kingdom and the glory of the throne of Israel.
The same campaign appears in 2 Samuel 5, but told differently:
Verses 4-9 describe the capture of Jerusalem. Here again we find a noteworthy difference from the account in 2 Samuel 5:6-9. Here there is not a word about "the lame and the blind hated of David's soul…!" And Joab, whom Samuel leaves out of the account, here takes first place after David… Here he is not the ambitious, vengeful man. He is the man destined, according to God's counsels, to conquer the fortress of Zion for the king… If we had read only the account of Chronicles, would we not say that Joab was an upright man beyond reproach? The truth is that here Joab is only the instrument prepared to install the Lord's anointed at Jerusalem — the king according to God's thoughts.
Zion's names tell its story, from conquest to what is still to come:
Zion is the place which, as we see from another psalm (Ps. 78:68), shows God's sovereignty in grace, after man has done all he could to bring utter ruin. Zion itself means "fixed." The first place that mentions it (2 Sam. 5:7) is where David takes it out of the hand of the Gentile "treader down" — the Jebusite. It becomes then "the city of David," which, we are glad to remember, means "Beloved." And it will yet be the city of the One of infinite glory, when the time of Jerusalem's "treading-down" is over.
- Chosen — God fixed on this city for no reason found in the city: "there was no reason whatsoever except that He loved this city."
- Occupied — What God loved, the enemy held. The Jebusite, "the one who treads down," sat in "the very middle of the land."
- Taken — The kingdom "could not be according to God unless Zion was taken for the king." The anointing over all Israel demanded the conquest at Jerusalem.
- Renamed — Jebus gives way to Jerusalem, "habitation of peace," and the stronghold becomes the city of David — the city of "Beloved."
- Awaited — Zion means "fixed," and it "will yet be the city of the One of infinite glory, when the time of Jerusalem's treading-down is over."
And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. But David took the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.