What is the meaning of 2 Samuel 5:8? On that day he said • David has just been anointed king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3–5). Within days he turns his attention to Jerusalem, still held by the Jebusites (Joshua 15:63). • The king issues a specific battle plan “on that day,” demonstrating his confidence that God’s timing has arrived (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:1; 2 Samuel 5:12). • His words are not impulsive; they flow from God’s earlier promise to give Israel the whole land (Genesis 15:18–21; Deuteronomy 7:1–2). Whoever attacks the Jebusites must use the water shaft • The Jebusite fortress sat atop steep ridges, seemingly impregnable (Psalm 125:1–2). Yet the city’s old water tunnel allowed a stealth approach. • David directs his men to exploit that hidden shaft, combining courage with practical strategy (Nehemiah 4:13–15). • The Bible presents this as literal history: Joab actually climbs the shaft and opens the gate (1 Chronicles 11:6). God often pairs human initiative with His sovereign plan (Judges 7:19–22). to reach the lame and blind who are despised by David • Earlier, the Jebusites had taunted, “You will not enter here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off” (2 Samuel 5:6). They boasted their city was so secure that disabled defenders would suffice. • David answers their mockery. Calling them “lame and blind” echoes the insult back at the scoffers, not the truly disabled (Proverbs 26:5). • Scripture shows David later honoring Mephibosheth, who was lame (2 Samuel 9:3, 13). His issue is with arrogance, not disability (Psalm 101:5). That is why it is said • Israel’s oral tradition preserved pithy sayings that explained historic events (1 Samuel 19:24; 2 Samuel 16:7). • This line introduces a proverb born from the victory, reminding future generations how God humbled prideful enemies (Psalm 2:1–6). The blind and the lame will never enter the palace • The saying summarizes the episode: those who boasted as “blind and lame” defenders never gained entry to David’s stronghold, while he gained theirs. • It is not a policy excluding disabled persons from royal service; it is a commemorative phrase about God overturning ridicule (Isaiah 29:18–19; Luke 14:13–14). • Ultimately, the New Testament shows Jesus welcoming the literal blind and lame into the temple area (Matthew 21:14), fulfilling God’s heart for mercy. summary David seized Jerusalem through a daring assault up its water shaft. By echoing the Jebusites’ own taunt about “the blind and the lame,” he highlighted God’s power to topple human pride. The resulting proverb, “The blind and the lame will never enter the palace,” celebrated the Lord’s victory, not prejudice. The passage affirms both the historical accuracy of Scripture and God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises in precise detail. |
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