David wanted to build a new capital after his accession to the throne, and he chose Jerusalem because it was located on a cliff, between the north and the south of the country, and topographically, it was not only a transportation hub and a military stronghold, but also easy to be accepted by the tribes in the north and the south, and politically, it was easy to achieve unity and obtain a stable and united social effect. However, at that time, Jerusalem was still under the control of the Jebusites, a Canaanite nation, and David was so determined to win that he led the Israelite army into battle against the Jebusites.
To attack such a fortified city, he instructed his men to use secret methods. Joab, the marshal, found out that because the city was situated on a precipitous cliff, and in the past, when the inhabitants had difficulty in getting water, they dug a dark tunnel leading to a depression outside the city in order to get water, but now that the problem of the water supply had been solved, it was closed and not used, and was therefore unknown to the people. David then ordered Joab to sneak into the city through the underground passageway with his best men, and together with the attacking army, they defeated the Jebusites and took the fortress, which was named the "City of David".
After entering the city in triumph, David announced that he would formally establish a capital, take a census of the population, build a palace, and select a consort to establish the center of the dynasty.
In order to establish Jerusalem as the center of the nation's religious life, David planned to build a temple for God to replace the Holy Tabernacle, which had been wandering around with the Israelites for many years. Later, due to frequent wars and God's disallowance, the construction did not take place.
Faithful to God and with his heart set on the Ark of the Covenant, David decided to welcome God's Ark of the Covenant into the city. The Ark of God's covenant was originally sacred to the Israelites. When Eli was a sergeant, he lost a battle with the Philistines and his army suffered so many casualties that even the Ark of God's covenant was captured by the enemy. The Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant as a trophy and happily carried it to Ashtaroth, where they placed it in the Temple of Yankon. But strange things happened: the statue of Yankon fell to the ground, and then fell down again, and then the head and the arms were all broken and shattered, and all that was left was the body of the statue, and then the plague was spreading. The Philistines were so frightened that they devised a way to put the Ark of the Covenant on an unmanned oxcart, put some gold on it, and let two oxen pull it as they wished, in order to get it out of the country as quickly as possible, so as to avoid bad luck.
The two oxen pulled the ark of the covenant and walked aimlessly, and when they could go no further, they stopped in the middle of the road.
On a beautiful morning, the sky was full of sunshine, the trees were green, the birds were twittering, and there was a fresh breeze. The farmers, who had left the fields early, came out into the fields where the smell was fresh and the morning mist had not yet lifted.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "Look, what's that thing parked in the middle of the road!"
The farmers looked closer and saw that it was an oxcart, and upon closer inspection, it was the Ark of the Covenant! They couldn't help but stand in awe, and rushed to report to the priest. The priests led them to build an altar to the temple of God, and people came from all directions to worship. Afterward, they took the Ark of the Covenant to the house of Abinadab, the Levitical priest.
After establishing the new capital, David personally led a procession to meet the Ark of the Covenant, but something happened in the middle of the procession, so David stopped the procession and carried the Ark of the Covenant to the home of Obed Edom. After three months, David again led a procession to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the new capital, Jerusalem.
The city of Jerusalem on that day was as busy as a festival, with cheers and trumpets. When the Ark of the Covenant entered the city, David held a solemn ceremony to welcome the Holy Spirit. The whole city surrounded the Ark of the Covenant, moving forward, with music and trumpets, and for every six steps taken by the bearers of the Ark of the Covenant, David offered a bullock and a fat sheep.
David, dressed in his priestly linen robe, was as happy as a child, laughing and dancing before the ark of the covenant, and all the servants and the people danced and rejoiced with him.
Michael, Saul's daughter, David's wife, heard the noise and came to the window to see what was going on, and when she saw David dancing before the ark of the covenant, a contemptuous smile passed over the corners of her mouth.
After the people had placed the ark of the covenant, David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God, and blessed all the nations by God's holy will, and gave everyone present, men, women, and children, a cake of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of grapes, and then proclaimed that the ceremony of the welcoming of the Holy Spirit was over, and everyone went home rejoicing.
David also went home in great joy, and he was going to give a blessing to his relatives and household. Michal came out to greet him, and when he saw him refreshed and glowing, he sneered disdainfully, "You are so powerful and radiant today! As the king of a nation in Israel, yet you are dressed in priestly garb, and in the presence of your servants, your maidservants, and all the people, you are dancing with your hands, writhing and scandalized, and you are as contemptible as a lowly man."
When David heard this, he was enraged and rebuked her, saying, "What are you? And what do you know? God did not use your father and your family, but chose me alone to be king, and of course I was happy, so I danced and rejoiced before God and thanked Him for His favor. I, the king of the country, am also a slave to the people, and from now on I will be more easy-going and humble before my subordinates and the people, and they will respect me more."
Meachah, Saul's daughter, was punished by God for being childless for life because she despised those who make joy for God.
When David became king, he remembered his old friendship with his good friend Jonathan, and he asked his ministers, "Are there any descendants of Saul's family? I will take good care of the relatives of my good friend Jonathan."
The minister was instructed to find a servant of Saul's family named Zebah, and immediately proclaimed a decree that Zebah should be promoted to the king.
David, when he saw him, asked cheerfully, "Are you Zeba?"
Answering, "The servant is exactly that."
David asked him again, "Are there any descendants of the house of Saul? I will be gracious to them, following the instructions of the merciful God."
When Zeba heard this, he felt that the king was kind-hearted and righteous, and his attitude was sincere, so he reported as he had been told, "Back to my king, there is now only one lame man left of the house of Saul named Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul. When his nursemaid heard the news that Saul and Jonathan had died in battle, she was frightened, picked him up and fled, and in her panic she fell to the ground, unfortunately crippling him."
David asked, heartbroken, "Where is he now?"
Sheba replied, "He is now boarding at the house of Lodi Bamaj."
David immediately sent for him and summoned him to the palace. When Mephibosheth saw David, he fell to the ground and bowed down. David called out affectionately, "Mephibosheth!"
"The servant is present." Mephibosheth answered hurriedly.
David said to him, "Don't be afraid; I am a good friend of your father's, and I will be kind to you and return to you all your grandfather Saul's property, fields, and possessions. You may come and play with me often and eat with me."
Mephibosheth was overwhelmed with gratitude and bowed down again and again, "What is a servant but a homeless and lonely man, and I am grateful to my king for treating me so favorably."
In order to organize Mephibosheth's life, David summoned Saul's servant Zebah and said to him, "I have returned Saul's fields to your young master, along with all of his possessions; so you and your family and the rest of the servants, plow the fields and plant the land for your master, provide him with food and clothing in abundance, and serve him with care and attention. Oh, and I will also tell you that he is free to go out of the king's palace and sit with me as my son."
Sheba assured him, "The servant will do as my king commands." Then, bowing down, he went away. When he returned, Zerubbabel summoned all 15 of his sons and all 20 of his servants, and conveyed the king's will that they serve their master, Mephibosheth, with single-minded devotion.
David was a wise king with a great deal of administrative skill. After establishing the capital, he actively pursued a new system of reforms and strengthened the internal affairs: under the king, there were the posts of vizier, marshal, historian, scribe, and priest, with their respective spheres of responsibility, and each of them was divided into his own line of work and responsibility. There were also officials responsible for managing the royal treasury, livestock, fields and other important economic lifelines. Each region was also equipped with a full-time administrator, so that the affairs of the state were well organized. But the new king needed support, so he also showed favoritism. In the past, many of the Levites had been priests, and in order to continue to monopolize the religious power in Israel, they strongly supported the new ruler, and David treated them favorably when he came to power. He did as the Levitical family wished, highlighting the Jerusalem Temple and ordering the closure of all other houses of worship in the country, telling pilgrims to go to the capital city to worship God all together.
After unifying the tribes of Israel, establishing a new capital, reforming the internal administration, and taking care of religious affairs, David turned his main attention to the military. He utilized his excellent military skills to reorganize the army, and with the "30 warriors" as the core, he established a regular army of battle-hardened and brave soldiers, commanded by battle-hardened generals, with complete armaments, plenty of provisions, and excellent training. In order to wartime needs, he also built a reserve army at any time and place to requisition, this reserve army, with their own weapons, during the war is a soldier fighting, after the war is a farmer, the organization and discipline is very strict. These greatly enhanced Israel's military power.
David himself valor, strong hands, always in the battlefield in the front, first, large and small battles personally command. Externally, he fought in the south and north, east and west, and attacked in all directions, without fail, and gained a lot of booty. He circled the boundaries of the kingdom and defended the sovereignty of the land; warned the invaders and dealt a severe blow to the Ammonites, forbidding them to harass the people; signed a truce with the Philistines to strive for a peaceful environment; and won the victory over the Edomites, the Moabites, and conquered the people of Siloam, constantly expanding the kingdom's boundaries, and the fame of David spread to the four directions.