Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience.
Day 100 and 99
david was thirty years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned forty years in all.
He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and
from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty three years.
David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites,
the original inhabitants of the land who were living there.
The Jebusites taunted David, saying, You'll never get in here.
Even the blind and lame could keep you out, for the Jebusites
thought they were safe.
But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.
On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, I hate
those lame and blind Jebusites.
Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city
through the water tunnel.
That is the origin of the saying.
The blind and the lame may not enter the house.
So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David.
He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces and working inward.
And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God
of heaven's armies was with him.
Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber
and carpenters and stonemasons.
And they built David a palace.
And David realized that the Lord had confirmed him as king over
Israel, and had blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives,
and they had more sons and daughters.
These are the names of David's sons who were born in Jerusalem.
Shamua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Jephiah,
Elishema, Eliadah, and Eliphelet.
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they
mobilized all their forces to capture him.
But David was told they were coming, so he went into the stronghold.
The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim.
So David asked the Lord, Should I go out to fight the Philistines?
Will you hand them over to me?
The Lord replied to David, Yes, go ahead, I will certainly hand them over to you.
So David went to Baal perazim and defeated the Philistines there.
The Lord did it, David exclaimed.
He burst through my enemies like a raging flood.
So he named that place Baal perazim, which means The Lord Who Bursts Through.
The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David
and his men confiscated them.
But after a while, the Philistines returned and again spread out
across the valley of Rephaim.
And again David asked the Lord what to do.
Do not attack them straight on.
The Lord replied, Instead, circle around behind and attack
them near the poplar trees.
When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the
poplar trees, be on the alert.
That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to
strike down the Philistine army.
So David did what the Lord commanded, and he struck down the Philistines
all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, thirty thousand in all.
He led them to Baal of Judah to bring back the ark of God.
which bears the name of the Lord of Heaven's armies, who is
enthroned between the cherubim.
They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab's
house, which was on a hill.
Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, were guiding the cart
that carried the Ark of God.
Ahio walked in front of the Ark.
David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord,
singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments.
Liars, harps, tambourines, castanets and symbols.
But when they arrived at the threshing floor of naan, the oxen
stumbled and Za reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God.
Then the Lord's anger was aroused against Za, and God
struck him dead because of this.
So Aza died right there beside the arc of God.
David was angry because the Lord's anger had burst out against Uzzah.
He named that place Perez Uzzah, which means to burst out against
Uzzah, as it is still called today.
David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, How can I ever bring the
Ark of the Lord back into my care?
So David decided not to move the Ark of the Lord into the city of David.
Instead, he took it to the house of Obed Edom of Gath.
The Ark of the Lord remained there in Obed Edom's house for three
months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his entire household.
Then King David was told, The Lord has blessed Obed Edom's
household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.
So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed Edom to the
city of David with a great celebration.
After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David
sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf, and David danced before the Lord with all
his might, wearing a priestly garment.
So David and all the people of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts
of joy and the blowing of ram's horns.
But as the ark of the Lord entered the city of David, Michael, the daughter
of Saul, looked down from her window.
When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, She was filled
with contempt for him They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside
the special tent David had prepared for it and David sacrificed burnt offerings and
peace offerings to the Lord when he had finished his sacrifices David blessed the
people in the name of the Lord of heavens armies Then he gave to every Israelite man
and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins.
Then all the people returned to their homes.
When David returned home to bless his own family, Michael, the daughter
of Saul, came out to meet him.
She said in disgust, how distinguished the king of Israel looked to day, shamelessly
exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do.
David retorted to Michael.
I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family.
He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord.
So I celebrate before the Lord.
Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even
to be humiliated in my own eyes.
But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished.
So Michael, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.
This concludes today's Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.