2 Samuel 5:20
So David went to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, "Like a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me." So he called that place Baal-perazim.
So David went to Baal-perazim,

After seeking the LORD’s direction, David led Israel against the Philistine force that had advanced into the Valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem. The newly united kingdom faced an immediate challenge from its long-standing enemy, but David did not rely on his recent anointing or military strength alone. Baal-perazim, meaning “Lord of Breakthroughs,” became the setting where the LORD confirmed His support for David’s kingship.

1Ch 14:10 So David inquired of God, “Should I go up…”…
1Ch 14:8 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king…
1Sa 17:52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward…

where he defeated the Philistines

The victory halted the Philistines’ attempt to suppress Israel under its new king. God’s promise to establish David’s throne included deliverance from surrounding enemies, and the defeat demonstrated that David ruled under divine authority. A parallel account records that Israel destroyed the Philistines’ idols after the battle, showing the impotence of their gods before the LORD (1 Chronicles 14:12).

1Ch 14:16 So David did as God had commanded him, and…
2Sa 8:1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines…
1Ch 18:1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines,…

and said, “Like a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me.”

David gave the LORD full credit for the triumph. The image of floodwaters breaking through a barrier portrays God’s power as sudden, irresistible, and overwhelming. Israel’s king fought, but the decisive breach against the enemy came from the LORD, who defended His people and advanced the kingdom He had established.

1Ch 14:11 So David and his men went up to Baal-perazim,…
Isa 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD where the sun sets…
Nam 1:8 But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end…

So he called that place Baal-perazim.

The name means “Lord of Breakthroughs” or “Master of Breaches,” preserving the memory of God’s intervention. The place stood as a witness that the LORD breaks the power of those who oppose His purposes and provides deliverance for His people.

Gen 22:14 And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.…
Gen 28:19 and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city…
1Sa 7:12 Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up.…

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The anointed king of Israel, known for his faithfulness to God and his military prowess. In this passage, he leads Israel to victory over the Philistines.

2. Baal-perazim
The location where David defeated the Philistines. The name means "Lord of Breakthroughs," signifying God's intervention in the battle.

3. Philistines
A recurring enemy of Israel, known for their advanced military technology and frequent conflicts with the Israelites.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The God of Israel, who is credited by David for the victory over the Philistines, emphasizing His role as the divine warrior.

5. Battle
The event where David, under God's guidance, defeats the Philistines, demonstrating God's power and faithfulness to His people.
Teaching Points
God as the Source of Victory
Recognize that true victory comes from God, who fights on behalf of His people. Trust in His power and timing.

Divine Breakthroughs
Just as God broke through David's enemies, He can break through the challenges and obstacles in our lives. Seek His guidance and intervention.

Naming and Remembering God's Acts
Like David naming the place Baal-perazim, we should remember and commemorate God's faithfulness and breakthroughs in our lives.

Faith and Obedience
David's success was rooted in his obedience to God's instructions. We should strive to follow God's will in our decisions and actions.

Spiritual Warfare
Understand that our battles are not just physical but spiritual. Equip yourself with prayer and the Word of God to face challenges.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does David's acknowledgment of God's role in his victory at Baal-perazim challenge us to view our own successes and achievements?

2. In what ways can we identify and commemorate the "breakthroughs" God has provided in our lives, similar to David naming Baal-perazim?

3. How can the account of David's victory at Baal-perazim encourage us in times of spiritual or personal battles?

4. What lessons can we learn from David's obedience to God in this passage, and how can we apply them to our daily walk with Christ?

5. How does the concept of God as a "breaker" or one who breaks through obstacles connect with other biblical accounts of deliverance and victory?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Chronicles 14:11
This parallel account of the same event reinforces the significance of God's intervention in David's victory.

Isaiah 28:21
Refers to God's acts at Baal-perazim, highlighting His power to deliver and break through obstacles.

Psalm 18:29
David's psalm of praise, where he acknowledges God's strength in overcoming his enemies, similar to the breakthrough at Baal-perazim.
The Kingdom EstablishedW. G. Blaikie, D. D.2 Samuel 5:11-22
Victory Over the PhilistinesB. Dale 2 Samuel 5:17-20
People
David, Eliada, Eliphalet, Eliphelet, Elishama, Elishua, Gibeon, Hiram, Ibhar, Japhia, Jebusites, Nathan, Nepheg, Saul, Shammua, Shammuah, Shobab, Solomon
Places
Baal-perazim, Geba, Gezer, Hebron, Jerusalem, Millo, Tyre, Valley of Rephaim, Zion
Topics
Baal, Baalperazim, Baal-perazim, Ba'al-pera'zim, Breach, Break, Breaking, Breakthrough, Broken, Bursting, David, Defeated, Enemies, Fighting, Flood, Forces, Forth, Named, Overcame, Perazim, Rushing, Smiteth, Smote, Struck, Wall, Waters
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Samuel 5:20

     4260   rivers and streams

2 Samuel 5:17-20

     8131   guidance, results

2 Samuel 5:17-25

     5087   David, reign of
     5290   defeat

Library
One Fold and one Shepherd
'Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 2. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed My people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. 3. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. 4. David was
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Sound in the Mulberry Trees
My brethren, let us learn from David to take no steps without God. The last time you moved, or went into another business, or changed your situation in life, you asked God's help, and then did it, and you were blessed in the doing of it. You have been up to this time a successful man, you have always sought God, but do not think that the stream of providence necessarily runs in a continuous current; remember, you may to-morrow without seeking God's advice venture upon a step which you will regret
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Early Days
The life of David is naturally divided into epochs, of which we may avail ourselves for the more ready arrangement of our material. These are--his early years up to his escape from the court of Saul, his exile, the prosperous beginning of his reign, his sin and penitence, his flight before Absalom's rebellion, and the darkened end. We have but faint incidental traces of his life up to his anointing by Samuel, with which the narrative in the historical books opens. But perhaps the fact that the story
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

God's Strange Work
'That He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.'--ISAIAH xxviii. 21. How the great events of one generation fall dead to another! There is something very pathetic in the oblivion that swallows up world- resounding deeds. Here the prophet selects two instances which to him are solemn and singular examples of divine judgment, and we have difficulty in finding out to what he refers. To him they seemed the most luminous illustrations he could find of the principle
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The King.
We have now to turn and see the sudden change of fortune which lifted the exile to a throne. The heavy cloud which had brooded so long over the doomed king broke in lightning crash on the disastrous field of Gilboa. Where is there a sadder and more solemn story of the fate of a soul which makes shipwreck "of faith and of a good conscience," than that awful page which tells how, godless, wretched, mad with despair and measureless pride, he flung himself on his bloody sword, and died a suicide's death,
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers.
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

A Cloud of Witnesses.
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.... By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient,
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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