2 Samuel 5:4-10 (NIV)
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.”
7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
8 On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward.
10 And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
At some point in each of our lives we experience a leading from God but we’re not quite sure how it will come about. Abram was told by God that he would father a great nation, but he couldn’t even father a son. Gideon was told by God that he would save Israel from the Midianites, but all that Gideon could see was his personal inadequacy. When David was led by God to take the Jebusite city that would later bear his name – the City of David – it seemed like an impossible task. When God leads He always makes a way.
On my recent trip to Israel I experienced the Bible coming to life in new and fresh ways as I both read about and saw first-hand the very places where events from Scripture unfolded. I stood atop Mt. Carmel where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal. I looked with amazement over the Valley of Megiddo where the Battle of Armageddon will one day occur. I walked the streets of Jerusalem where Jesus once walked; where He healed the sick, carried His cross, and where He would have been crucified and buried.
The moment that struck me the greatest was when I walked through an ancient cave system under the City of David, the original Jebusite city that David conquered with the leadership of Joab.
1 Chronicles 11:6 (NIV)
David had said, “Whoever leads the attack on the Jebusites will become commander-in-chief.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and so he received the command.
While walking through the cave system, our guide pointed to a deep shaft, and she made the connection: “This is most likely the water shaft that Joab would have scaled to get inside the city walls and to open the gate of the city for his army.”
As I reflected on that water shaft I was reminded that when God leads us to something, when He puts a vision, a burden, or desire on our hearts, He has already made a way.
I would love for you to experience Israel first-hand as I experienced it, and to see the Bible come alive in a way that you’ve never known before. I’m excited to announce that next February I will be leading a trip to Israel. Click HERE for more information and to register for this trip.