The Arrogance of the Blind and the Government of God Text: 2 Samuel 5:6-12
Introduction: Impregnable Fortresses
Every man builds a fortress for himself. For some, it is a fortress of wealth. For others, it is a fortress of reputation, or intellectual pride, or political power. These are the high places, the strongholds, where men retreat and feel safe from the intrusive claims of the living God. They look down from their ramparts and mock the armies of the Lord. Jerusalem, in the hands of the Jebusites, was just such a place. It was a natural fortress, perched on a hill, surrounded by deep valleys. It was thought to be impregnable. The Jebusites were so confident in their stone walls that they taunted David by saying they could man the walls with their handicapped and still keep him out. "The blind and the lame will turn you away," they said.
This is the native language of unbelief. It is the arrogance of the creature who has forgotten the Creator/creature distinction. Unbelief is always cocky, right up until the moment the walls are breached. The world looks at the Church and sees a ragtag army, a collection of unimpressive people, and it sneers. "You will not come in here." Modern secularism is a Jebusite fortress. It believes its intellectual walls, built from the straw of materialism and the mud of relativism, are unassailable. It places its blind philosophers and lame ethicists on the ramparts and dares the King to approach.
But the story of David and Jerusalem is the story of the greater David and the world in miniature. The central lesson is this: there is no fortress that can stand against the anointed King of God. Every human stronghold, whether it is a city, an institution, or the rebellious human heart, is vulnerable to Him. He takes the very taunts of His enemies and turns them into the instruments of their downfall. He delights in taking the proud in their own craftiness. And when He takes a place, He does not just conquer it; He consecrates it. He makes the enemy stronghold His own capital city. He turns the fortress of Zion into the City of David, the very center of God's government on earth. This passage is a lesson in the unstoppable, postmillennial advance of the Kingdom of God.
We see here the taunt of the world, the tactics of the king, the triumph of God's man, and the testimony of God's favor. This is not just ancient history; it is a pattern for the Church's engagement with the world until Christ returns.
The Text
Then the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away”; thinking, “David cannot enter here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, that is the city of David. And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.” Then David lived in the fortress and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. And David became greater and greater, and Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him. Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of wood and craftsmen of stone walls; and they built a house for David. Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that He had lifted up his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
(2 Samuel 5:6-12 LSB)
The Jebusite Taunt (v. 6)
We begin with the confrontation at Jerusalem.
"Then the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, 'You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away'; thinking, 'David cannot enter here.'" (2 Samuel 5:6)
David, now king over all Israel, moves to establish a capital. Hebron was a southern city, associated only with Judah. He needs a neutral, central location to unify the kingdom. Jerusalem was perfect, but it was occupied by the Jebusites, a remnant of the Canaanite tribes God had commanded Israel to drive out centuries before. Israel's incomplete obedience in the days of Joshua had left this cancerous lump in the heart of the promised land.
The Jebusites' response to David is pure, unadulterated hubris. Their confidence is not in their military strength, but in their geography. Their fortress was so secure, they believed, that even their most disabled citizens could defend it. This is a calculated insult. It is meant to demoralize. "You are so weak, and we are so secure, that our weakest are stronger than your strongest."
This is precisely the logic of the world in its opposition to Christ. The world does not see its need for a savior because it believes its fortress is secure. The worldly man thinks his own reason, his own goodness, his own accomplishments are more than enough to keep God at bay. He looks at the demands of the gospel as an absurdity. The foolishness of the cross is met with the worldly wisdom of the Jebusite. But their confidence is a delusion. They are trusting in the creature, in rock formations and stone walls, rather than the Creator. Their pride has made them, quite literally, blind and lame in the ways that matter.
The King's Triumph and Tactics (v. 7-8)
The world's taunts do not deter God's anointed. They only serve to highlight the glory of His victory.
"Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, that is the city of David. And David said on that day, 'Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.' Therefore they say, 'The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.'" (2 Samuel 5:7-8)
The word "nevertheless" is a glorious, gospel-drenched word. The world says, "You cannot enter." God says, "Nevertheless." Despite the high walls, despite the arrogant taunts, despite the apparent impossibility, David captured the fortress. God's purposes are not frustrated by human pride. The victory is stated simply and factually. The impregnable was pregnated.
David then turns the Jebusites' own insult back on them. He says to his men, "Go up the water tunnel and get those 'lame and blind' who are hated by my soul." He is not expressing a hatred for handicapped people. His later kindness to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's lame son, proves this conclusively (2 Sam. 9). David is picking up their own trash talk and throwing it back in their faces. He is applying their chosen label to all the Jebusite warriors. "You want to identify with the blind and lame? Fine. You are all the blind and the lame."
The phrase "hated by David's soul" is covenantal language. David hates them because they are enemies of Yahweh, occupying His holy hill and mocking His anointed king. This is a righteous hatred, a hatred for the proud rebellion they represent. We are so soaked in the sentimental syrup of our therapeutic age that we choke on such language. But a love for holiness requires a hatred of evil. A love for God's honor requires a hatred of blasphemous pride.
The means of victory is the "water tunnel." The fortress had a weakness. A shaft allowed the Jebusites to get water from a spring outside the city walls without being exposed. David's men, led by Joab (1 Chron. 11:6), exploited this vulnerability. Every human fortress has a water tunnel. Every system of rebellion against God has a fatal flaw, an internal weakness, that the King will exploit. For the secularist, it is the fact that he cannot live without borrowing from the Christian worldview he despises. He must assume logic, morality, and meaning to argue against the God who is the only possible source of logic, morality, and meaning. The King's men know how to find that water tunnel.
Consolidation and Consecration (v. 9-10)
After the conquest, David re-brands and rebuilds. He takes possession.
"Then David lived in the fortress and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. And David became greater and greater, and Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him." (2 Samuel 5:9-10)
Victory is followed by occupation and transformation. David moves in and renames the place. Naming is an act of sovereignty. It is no longer the fortress of Zion, the Jebusite stronghold; it is now the City of David, the seat of Yahweh's government. This is what Christ does. He doesn't just defeat His enemies; He takes over their territory and makes it His own. He takes the rebellious heart and makes it a temple of the Holy Spirit. He takes pagan institutions and, through the faithfulness of His people, He Christianizes them. The goal of the Great Commission is not just to get souls into heaven, but to make the nations His disciples, to rename the strongholds of the earth as cities of our God.
David then builds. He strengthens and expands. This is the pattern of the kingdom. It is a kingdom that grows. "And David became greater and greater." Why? Was it his military genius? His political skill? The text is explicit: "for Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him." This is the engine of all true kingdom growth. The success of God's people is never ultimately attributable to our cleverness or strength. It is the result of God's presence and favor. When God is with us, our kingdom, which is His kingdom, will become greater and greater. This is the heart of a robust, optimistic, postmillennial eschatology. The history of the Church is the story of David becoming greater and greater, because Yahweh, the God of Armies, is with her.
Pagan Affirmation and Divine Confirmation (v. 11-12)
The chapter concludes with an unexpected endorsement and a moment of profound realization for David.
"Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of wood and craftsmen of stone walls; and they built a house for David. Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that He had lifted up his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel." (2 Samuel 5:11-12)
Hiram was a pagan king. Tyre was a center of commerce and, later, idolatry. Yet God moves this pagan king to honor and serve His anointed. Hiram sends the finest materials and the most skilled craftsmen to build David a palace. This is a beautiful picture of God's absolute sovereignty over all nations. He can make even the pagans serve His purposes. He can make the wealth of Egypt available to the Israelites as they leave, and He can make the cedars of Lebanon available for the king of Israel. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and He will press it all into the service of His Son's kingdom.
This act of international recognition becomes a moment of spiritual clarity for David. "Thus David knew..." He perceived two things. First, he knew that Yahweh had established him as king. His throne was not the result of political maneuvering or popular vote; it was a divine establishment. God sets up kings and takes them down (Dan. 2:21). All legitimate authority is delegated authority from God.
Second, and this is crucial, he knew the purpose of his exaltation. God had lifted up his kingdom "for the sake of His people Israel." David's kingship was not for his own glory, his own comfort, or his own power. God establishes authority for the good of His covenant people. This is the principle of Christian leadership. The husband has authority in the home for the sake of his wife and children. The elders have authority in the church for the sake of the flock. The civil magistrate has authority for the sake of the people, to punish evil and praise good. When leaders forget this, when they believe the authority is for them, they become tyrants. David understood that his throne existed to be a blessing to God's people, to protect them, to provide for them, and to lead them in righteousness.
The Greater David's Greater Zion
This entire narrative is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the greater David, God's true anointed King. He came to the ultimate Jebusite fortress, the stronghold of sin and death, a world in rebellion against its maker. The rulers of this age, the blind and the lame spiritually, mocked Him. "He saved others," they sneered as He hung on the cross, "let Him save Himself." They thought their fortress was secure.
But "nevertheless," God raised Him from the dead. He ascended the ultimate water tunnel of death and resurrection and conquered the stronghold. He has taken Zion. He has ascended to the heavenly Jerusalem and has been seated at the right hand of God, the true City of David.
And from that throne, He is building His kingdom. He is becoming "greater and greater." Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end (Isaiah 9:7). And Yahweh, the God of hosts, is with Him. The nations are being brought into submission. Sometimes they rage, and sometimes, like Hiram, they bring their tribute. But one way or another, all kings will bow and every nation will serve Him. Christ's kingdom is being exalted, not for His own sake alone, for He has all glory eternally. It is being exalted for our sake, "for the sake of His people Israel," the Church.
Therefore, we must not be intimidated by the taunts of the Jebusites in our own day. We must not fear their high walls or their proud boasts. We serve the King who has already captured the ultimate fortress. Our task is simply to be His loyal men, to follow Him up the water tunnels into every sphere of life, and to claim the strongholds of this world for the City of our God. For the blind and the lame, those who trust in their own strength and mock the King, will not be allowed into the house. But for those who trust in Him, He has made us citizens of that heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, and has promised that the gates of Hell itself will not prevail against His conquering church.