Portions: II Samuel 4 - 8

(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet.
He was five years old when the news
about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel.
His nurse picked him up and fled,
but as she hurried to leave,
he fell and became crippled.
His name was Mephibosheth.)
(II Samuel 4:4)

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."
Nevertheless,
David captured the fortress of Zion,
the city of David.
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David,
along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons,
and they built a palace for David.
And David knew
that the Lord had established him as king over Israel
and had exalted his kingdom
for the sake of His people Israel.
(II Samuel 5:6-7,11-12)

David again brought together out of Israel chosen men,
thirty thousand in all. 
He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah
to bring up from there the ark of God . . .
from the house of Abinadab . . ..
Now King David was told,
"The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom
and everything he has, because of the ark of God."
So David went down and brought up
the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom
to the City of David with rejoicing.
(II Samuel 6:1-2,3,12)

After the king was settled in his palace
and the Lord had given him rest
from all his enemies around him,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
"Here I am, living in a palace of cedar,
while the ark of God remains in a tent."
That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
"Go and tell my servant David,
'This is what the Lord says:
Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house from the day
I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day.
I have been moving from place to place
with a tent as My dwelling.
Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites,
did I ever say to any of their rulers
whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel,
"Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"
(II Samuel 7:1-2,4-7)

The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
(II Samuel 8:6, also 14)