"The Sound Of Marching In The Tops Of The Mulberry Trees"

2 Samuel 5:22-25 (NKJV):

²² Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

²³ Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

²⁴ And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

²⁵ And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba^[f] as far as Gezer.

When reading this story of David`s victory over Philistines, I was reminded once again the way God allows certain methods, and I would add unusual methods, to be used in one`s life to gain victory and bring out questions. I will explain what I mean by that in a moment.

When I read the way David was able to discern the “sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees” I get a conflicting reaction in my heart and my mind: realization of David`s very close relationships with the Lord allowing him this opportunity to be able to hear and understand the marching of the Lord, and realization of bizarreness of the situation of the way it looks to the people.

Who would pray while on the battlefield to the Lord and want to hear His answer that we see above: to wait until God would march in the tops of the mulberry trees, and that would be the sign to move swiftly forward to defeat the multitude of the opposing army? I would admit I would not want to hear this kind of an answer from the Lord. For once, it sounds bizarre and ridiculous to the people. I can just picture King David standing in front of his army giving out the command:  “Halt, we will wait for the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, and then we would move swiftly to attack”. I can picture the heads of the soldiers turning to one another and questioning if they heard David correct: “we would have to wait for the sound of what marching…………?” Yes, we would wait until we hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees.

Also, this command from the Lord sounded unrealistic. Granted, I never heard the marching in the tops of the mulberry trees in my life, and I have no idea what it may sound like, but the point is—David had to be in the place of being able to hear and discern that it was the Lord Himself giving him this kind of a command first of all, and being able to discern the sound of marching, so he could yell out the order and signal to move swiftly forward.

I hope you realize the whole seriousness and “absurdity” of the situation. Why in the world, would God allow this kind of an answer to David in the peak of the conflict on the battle field? The answer is: David was a man after God`s own heart, and God could allow this luxury of giving David a command as we read above. David had such a close relationship with the Lord that he didn`t care how crazy it may have sounded to the people or to him when hearing this kind of an answer from the Lord; he was able to hear God and was willing to obey whatever the cost.

I hope you see what I see:

- God uses the method of communication to each one of us according to the level of faith one displays

- God challenges our level of faith to produce vivid spiritual growth

- God uses the necessary methods to bless and give victory to those who rely upon Him

- Importance of the close walk with the Lord producing the understanding of His ways and willingness to obey regardless of the way request may sound: too unrealistic or “crazy” in our own eyes

- Making decision to obey the Lord regardless of the price it may cost us

-God never repeats Himself twice but uses unique methods and techniques for the victory to show that the glory is all His (David was told by the Lord to do something different during this battle and was ordered “to circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees”)

-Knowing the time and the place of God`s visitation in order to see the victory and glory of the Lord (David was told to be in front of the mulberry trees, and that was the place of God`s visitation at that moment)

-Always seeking God`s will for each situation we face in life the way David did

This particular passage refers to the war with Philistines that David faced after the fact of coronation as a king over both sides of the kingdom: Judah and Israel. At this point in history David is a king and still fairly young (in his 30-s), as this chapter tells us, so David clears up his territory and asserts his name among the surrounding nations/kingdoms. When he does that, he continues to rely upon the Lord each step of the way. I think this is a very important concept for us to see and grasp on: David, compare to Saul (his predeceasing king), was not blinded by the power and authority over people, but he continued to display a humble and meek heart for the Lord. God in return, honored David by granting him endless victories in majority of the wars he fought and prospered him.

This is something very clear throughout the Bible: that God blesses the humble, but despises the proud. So long as we display humility and humbleness, God would be with us guiding each step of the way (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). This may require us to look “crazy” and ridiculous in the eyes of the others, but that`s just the way it is. This is the choice that we each have to make: whether to care the way we look to the others, or whether to care the way we may look in the eyes of the Lord.

David had to do a few things in order to see a victory in this particular battle:

-He had to wait for the Lord to move ahead of him

-He had to discern the sound of the marching in the tops of the mulberry trees

-He had to be ready to advance quickly at the right time

-He had to obey God`s command in order to see the final result of victory.

This is how it applies to our lives: God always makes us wait for Him to move ahead of us; otherwise, we are doomed for a failure. Patience is the ultimate virtue that is part of the spiritual growth; the realization that we can do nothing apart from God to the point that we would wait and do however long or whatever it takes to follow the Lord rather than attempt to do anything in our own strength.

Peter`s attempt to hack out the servant’s ear during the night of Jesus` arrest always comes to my mind when I think about patience, knowing God personally, and being able to discern God`s time over our own time (John 18:10). If Peter truly knew God`s time, he would have known that this was God`s plan for the salvation of humanity to have Jesus arrested, so he wouldn`t have needed to attack anyone with the sword.

How many times do we make decisions or act according to our emotional instinct or an impulse rather than seeking the Lord and wait patiently for Him to go ahead of us to clear up the enemy`s camp? And by the way, our “enemy`s camp” is a spiritual battlefield that the Bible is so clear about in Ephesians 6, so we should never assume that we fight against the flesh and blood because we are not. We should always wait upon the Lord and not move until we are certain that He is with us and that He goes ahead of us to clear the enemy`s camp.

The second thing David had to do was being able to discern the sound of the march. In other words, David had to be in such a tight and close relationship with the Lord that he had to be in tune with when and if the Lord indeed was marching in the tops of the mulberry trees. Sometimes we may have impossible situations, and the answer of the Lord may challenge us to step out of the comfort zone in order to stretch our faith, but this is the way faith grows. It requires our willingness to spend time with the Lord and to know Him personally, so when the day of the “battle” comes, we are able to discern the direction and the sound of the Lord`s marching and the place of His presence.

The third thing David had to have was the preparedness of him and his army to advance quickly once they heard the Lord`s marching ahead of them. The way it translates into our own lives is by our preparedness to wear our spiritual armor being ready for the battle. The Ephesians 6 tells us explicitly clear what we must have in order to be ready to fight the battle:

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV).

We must have this armor on at all times in order to be ready to advance and combat once the Lord goes ahead of us to deal with our enemy`s camp. I may sound like a broken record, but this is a reminder for me as well. I need to repeat myself constantly that my battle is spiritual, and I must have my armor on every day.

Lastly, David had to choose to obey the command of the Lord in order to see this victory over Philistines. Everybody watched David because he was a king and his word was regarded and obeyed. Being a believer we represent a target of people around us who watch us closely and wait for us to fail during the critical moments. People may mock us, laugh at us, judge us, but in the end it would be God`s word and our obedience to Him over their attitude.

David had a victory because he chose to please the Lord and make Him his protection rather than think about people`s opinions of him. This same David chose to worship the Lord in his undergarment rather than think of what his people (the nation) may think of his behavior as being a king and doing such a humiliating thing (2 Samuel 6:14-23).

²⁰ Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” ²¹ So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²² And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.” ²³ Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death (2 Samuel 6:20-23 NKJV).

David`s response to his wife (who was his first wife—a trophy for killing Goliath and who happened to be also a daughter of the deceased king Saul): “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord.” Ouch! “who chose me instead of your father and all his house” was David`s response to such a remark. David didn`t care what people thought of him, be it his wife, his servants, or his best friends because David`s heart was for the Lord. He was called “base fellow, a.k.a. “empty man” by his own wife, yet David knew better than that how not to be provoked by such an empty statement. David chose to humiliate himself, and volunteered to undignify himself even more before the Lord because he lived for God.

How many of us today could say out loud: “I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight” when people make allec remarks of the way we believe in God and make Him our strength and reliance? I will admit that I struggled with this concept for a while because my faith wasn`t refined or grounded in the word of God; I have deviated from the scriptures in my walk with the Lord and subsequently my faith deteriorated. I had to spiritually grow and mature in order to realize that there is nothing greater than pleasing the Lord and making Him my focus in life even if it meant looking foolish in the sight of the others.

I would challenge you today to look at David and the way he chose to honor God`s word to see how much God blessed him in return. God knows our hearts and seeks those who would be men and women after His own heart. It takes a lot, but it`s worth a lot. When we give to the Lord what He wants-- our hearts, He returns them back to us refined and precious. Let us acknowledge that God does use unusual methods to test us, to teach us, and to give us victory, so we could glorify Him in return.