The Covenant Comes Home: David Anointed at Hebron Text: 1 Chronicles 11:1-3
Introduction: The Kingdom God Builds
There are two ways to build a kingdom, and only one of them works. The first way is the way of man. It is the way of popular acclaim, of opinion polls, of what seems right to the majority. It is the way of Saul. The people wanted a king like the other nations, tall and impressive, a king they could pick out of a lineup. And God, in His permissive providence, gave them what they wanted so they could learn the hard way what a foolish want it was. Saul was the people's choice, and his kingdom was a disaster built on the shifting sands of disobedience, jealousy, and fear of man.
The second way is the way of God. It is the way of divine election, of quiet anointing, of long years of trial and preparation in the wilderness. It is the way of David. God did not look at the outward appearance but at the heart. He chose a shepherd boy, the youngest son, the one overlooked by everyone, including his own father. And through years of being hunted and betrayed, God forged a king. Saul's kingdom was a human project that ended in ruin and suicide on Mount Gilboa. David's kingdom was a divine project that points to an eternal throne.
Our text today describes the culmination of this long process. The disastrous experiment with Saul is over. The pretenders to the throne are gone. And now, all Israel finally comes to their senses. They gather at Hebron to acknowledge the king God had chosen for them all along. This is not just a political coronation; it is a covenantal realignment. It is a nation repenting of its folly and submitting to God's designated authority. It is a picture of how God works in history, and it is a powerful type of how we must come to the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ. We can have the king we want, or we can have the King God has given. Those are the only two options, and only one leads to life.
The Text
Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron and said, "Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Previously, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over My people Israel.' " So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David cut a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; then they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of Yahweh through Samuel.
(1 Chronicles 11:1-3 LSB)
Covenantal Recognition (v. 1)
We begin with the gathering of the tribes and their foundational declaration:
"Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron and said, 'Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.'" (1 Chronicles 11:1)
After years of civil war and division, after foolishly following the house of Saul, "all Israel" comes to David. This is a moment of national consolidation, but the language they use is not political. It is familial. It is covenantal. "Behold, we are your bone and your flesh." This phrase echoes back to the very beginning, when Adam first saw Eve. "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. 2:23). It is the language of organic, created unity. It is an acknowledgement of shared substance, shared identity, and shared destiny.
They are admitting that David is not a foreign ruler, not an outsider, but one of them. He is their kinsman. This is a fundamental principle of God's governance. He does not rule us through abstract principles or distant angelic powers. He rules us through a Mediator who took on our nature, who became our bone and our flesh. The author of Hebrews makes this point central: "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things" (Heb. 2:14). For David to be their king, he had to be their brother. For Christ to be our King, He had to become our brother.
This declaration is Israel's great confession. They are saying, "We belong together, and we belong with you." After the fragmentation and chaos of Saul's reign, they are recognizing their true federal head. All lasting unity is found not in political compromise or shared economic interests, but in a shared identity under a God-appointed head. For the church, this is doubly true. Our unity is not found in our programs or our doctrinal statements, as important as they are. Our unity is found in the fact that we are, in Christ, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. We are members of His body.
Empirical and Prophetic Confirmation (v. 2)
The elders of Israel then provide two reasons for their submission to David, one based on their own experience and the other on God's explicit word.
"Previously, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over My people Israel.'" (1 Chronicles 11:2)
First, they acknowledge the practical reality they had witnessed with their own eyes. "Even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel." Saul had the title, the crown, and the palace, but David had the anointing and the ability. David was the one who actually led. He was the one who fought Goliath. He was the one who won the victories. He was the de facto king long before he was the de jure king. They are admitting that they had been following the wrong man. They had a king in title, but David was the king in truth.
This is a picture of God's irresistible providence. God raises up His chosen leaders and equips them for the task, and their competence becomes evident to all whose eyes are open. True leadership is not a matter of position, but of function. The man who is actually leading is the leader. The elders are simply acknowledging what had been true for years.
But their experience is not the ultimate foundation. The foundation is the revealed word of God. "And Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over My people Israel.'" Their experience simply confirmed what God had already declared. God had called David to be a shepherd-king. This is a crucial combination. A ruler exercises authority and power. A shepherd exercises care and sacrificial guidance. A ruler commands, but a shepherd leads. A ruler might see the people as subjects to be managed; a shepherd sees them as a flock to be nurtured and protected, even at great personal cost.
This is the model of leadership God establishes for His people, and it finds its perfect fulfillment in Jesus, the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) and the King of Kings who rules with all authority (Rev. 19:16). The elders of Israel finally understood that God's choice was not only sovereign, but also good. He had chosen the very kind of king they actually needed.
Covenantal Ratification (v. 3)
The recognition and confirmation now lead to a formal, public, and binding action.
"So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David cut a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; then they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of Yahweh through Samuel." (1 Chronicles 11:3)
Here we see the essential elements of godly order. The elders, the representatives of the people, come to the king. David doesn't impose his rule by force; the people, through their leaders, willingly submit. And what do they do? They "cut a covenant." A covenant is not a mere contract. It is a sworn oath, a solemn bond sealed with promises and obligations on both sides. David binds himself to rule them as a shepherd-king, and they bind themselves to follow him as their king. And notice where this happens: "before Yahweh." God is the witness and the enforcer of this covenant. This is not a secular political agreement. It is a sacred act of worship and national dedication. All legitimate authority is established under God.
Then, they anoint him. David had already been anointed by Samuel in private many years before (1 Sam. 16:13). That was the divine appointment. This is the public confirmation. The anointing with oil symbolizes being set apart for God's service and being equipped by His Spirit for the task. This public act aligns the nation with God's prior, secret act. It is the visible church catching up to what the invisible God has already decreed.
And the final clause ties it all together, bringing us full circle. They did this "according to the word of Yahweh through Samuel." This whole event is the fulfillment of prophecy. God spoke through His prophet years ago, and now, after all the turmoil of Saul's reign, after all the waiting and wandering, the word of God is coming to pass, precisely as He said it would. God's purposes are never thwarted. Human sin and foolishness may cause delays and detours, but they cannot derail the sovereign plan of God. What God declares, He performs.
Conclusion: Bending the Knee at Our Hebron
This scene at Hebron is more than just a chapter in Israel's history. It is a paradigm for every soul. Like Israel, we are born into a world of misrule. We are tempted to follow the kings of our own choosing, the impressive Sauls of this world: the idols of self-reliance, popular opinion, worldly success, and personal autonomy. And like Saul's kingdom, every kingdom we build for ourselves will ultimately end in ashes.
But God, in His grace, has chosen and anointed another King. He is the true Son of David, the ultimate Shepherd-King. He is our bone and our flesh, our kinsman-redeemer. His competence has been proven. While the Sauls of this world were losing their kingdoms, He was leading captivity captive and defeating our Goliath with the wood of a cross. The word of the Lord has gone forth about Him from all the prophets: that He will shepherd His people and rule over an everlasting kingdom.
The question for us is whether we will come to our Hebron. Will we, like all Israel, finally gather to Him? Will we stop chasing the failed house of Saul? Will we come to Jesus and say, "Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. We belong to you. You are the one who has always truly led, and you are the one God has appointed."
To become a Christian is to do just this. It is to come before Yahweh and enter into a covenant with His anointed King. It is to bend the knee, to confess His lordship, and to be brought into the kingdom that cannot be shaken. The word of the Lord has gone forth. The King has been anointed. All that remains is for us to join the gathering at Hebron.