“And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the City of David…
And David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him.”
— 1 Chronicles 11:7, 9
The text tells us that David lived in the stronghold—Jerusalem—and because of that, it was called the City of David. That statement is doing more than giving us a name. It is anchoring David’s kingship to a place that God Himself had established for him.
Verse 8 tells us David built the city all around, from the Millo in a complete circuit, and that Joab repaired the rest of the city. There’s construction. There’s expansion. There’s organization. But then the author drops the interpretive key in verse 9:
“And David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him.”
That phrase is not filler. Chronicles wants you to know this in no uncertain terms. David’s success, David’s power, David’s influence—all of it flowed from the presence of the Lord. Not from David himself.
David Never Forgot Who Gave Him Everything
This was something David rarely lost sight of.
When things went bad in David’s life, he had a way of responding that reveals how deeply this truth was settled in him. He would say things like, The Lord freely gave, and the Lord can take away. He never acted as though what he had was his to own in an ultimate sense.
Even when his own son, Absalom, came against him to wrest control of the kingdom away from him.
Think about that.
David is fleeing the city.
He is leaving Jerusalem.
He is leaving the City of David.
And as he’s leaving, a man comes out and starts pelting David and his men with dirt clods and rocks, showering them with dust as they walk. Just humiliating him publicly.
One of David’s men comes up and basically says, Just give me the word. I’ll go take care of this guy. It won’t take long.
And do you remember what David said?
David said, This could be the Lord’s doing. How do you know this isn’t God’s doing?
And if it is God’s doing, who am I to say, No, you can’t do this to me?
That tells you something about David’s heart.
David understood something most people never grasp:
All that he had came from the Lord.
The throne wasn’t his.
The kingdom wasn’t his.
The city wasn’t his.
God gave it.
And God was free to take it away.
No Pity Party, No White-Knuckle Grasping
David wasn’t the kind of person who sat around angry, throwing a pity party, saying, Look what I’ve lost. His posture was different.
It was more like:
Hey, God gave it. It wasn’t mine to begin with.
Wouldn’t that change our lives if we carried that same understanding?
We hold onto things with this white-knuckle approach—like if we loosen our grip, everything will disappear.
Our jobs.
Our security.
Our reputation.
Even our very lives.
David didn’t live like that.
He knew:
This is the Lord’s. Including my life.
The Lord gave.
The Lord is free to take away.
And instead of pounding his fist at the sky, instead of cursing God when things didn’t go his way, David remembered that his greatness and the establishment of his throne were God’s doing—not his.
The Subtle and Dangerous Slide Into Pride
Now, staying humble is not easy—especially for a king.
You can imagine how tempting it would be for David to look at his kingdom over time. It’s growing. It’s prospering. It’s flourishing. And you start to believe your own press reports.
Pretty soon it becomes:
Wow. Look what I’ve done.
And that is a dangerous thing.
The Bible gives us examples for a reason.
Take Nebuchadnezzar. If you ever want to be reminded of what a prideful attitude can do to someone, look at him. He walks out onto his balcony, looks over his kingdom, and essentially says, I am the bomb.
And the Bible says immediately his rational thinking was removed. Immediately. He became like an animal. For years. Literally lost his mind because he attributed God’s work to himself.
Or think about Hezekiah—a godly man. After God performed an incredible miracle for him, one that involved the heavens themselves—the shadow going backwards, something that simply does not happen—foreign dignitaries and astrologers came to inquire about it.
And what happened?
Hezekiah became prideful.
He treated what God had done as though it were something he had done for himself. And it happens. It can happen to anyone.
The Proper Response to Blessing
This is why perspective matters.
When you look at what God has done for you, the response isn’t:
Look what I’ve built.
It’s:
God, look what You’ve done.
When you hop in your car to go to work in the morning:
Lord, look what You gave me. Thank You.
When you sit down to eat:
That’s why we give thanks.
Lord, look what You gave me.
When you climb into a warm bed at night:
Lord, look what You’ve done.
You think everyone has a car?
Food to eat?
A warm bed?
They don’t.
Why Chronicles Emphasizes This
So when Chronicles says:
“David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him”
It is guarding us from misreading David’s life.
David’s greatness was not self-generated.
His power was not self-sustained.
His throne was not self-secured.
It was God.
And David knew it.
That is why the City of David stood.
And that is why David endured—long after the stones were laid.