1 & 2 Samuel

2 Samuel Chapter 2

David Anointed King of Judah

• 2Samuel 2:1  And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron. 

It is assumed that David inquired of the Lord through a priest using Urim and Thummim on the ephold of the Abiathar the priest. However, the scripture here doesn't actually say that although David has used priests in the past that way. Since David was the one that wrote the Psalms and was previously anointed by Samuel to be the next king, David could have sought the Lord the same way Abraham did or others like Moses who sought the Lord way before the law of God instituted the priesthood through the tribe of Levi.

• 2 Samuel 2:2  So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite. 
• 3  And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 

His first wife was Saul's daughter Michal but Saul had given her to another person. So far it seems that the wife that was once married to Nabal before he died, Abigail and Aninoam were his wives at this time. He had faithful friends who stayed with him and helped him before he actually became king. They all knew Samuel had anointed David and was waiting for the right time. It was a right that David consulted the Lord first before assuming the throne over all the tribes.

Hebron was where David started out and was the place where David reigned 7 1/2 years temporarily until the captital of Israel became Jerusalem.

• 2Samuel 2:4  And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul. 

Here we see the preview of the coming of Jesus the Messiah, who will one day rule over all the earth from the tribe of Judah. David was chosen as the one through whom Jesus would come. Joseph was in this line and could lawfully inherit the kingdom although Joseph was not the real father of Jesus but Mary was the real mother. She also was from the line of Judah.

I wonder if David knew he was the one who was chosen to be the ancester of the coming savior of the world. The trible of Judah made David king offcially even though Samuel had already anointed him for this office.

• 2Samuel 2:5  And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. 
• 6  And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. 
• 7  Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. 

David praises the the men who buried Saul and his sons in a respectful manner. David at no time left off his devotion to Saul as the first anointed king over Israel. David will be anointed king over Israel later with the help of Abner who was Saul's right hand man and Saul's uncle. That story is in chapter 3 of 2 Samuel. It is interesting how that came about but it does have a tragic ending for Abner.

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

• 2Samuel 2:8  But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; 
• 9  And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 
• 10  Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 
• 11  And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. 

Abner is a real character. He was the uncle of Saul. As we shall see later in the book of 2 Samuel,  we see that he knows about Samuel anointing David as king of Israel but since he was in a high position over the armies of Israel, he wasn't going to lose that position. He could have saved a lot of blood shed if he had of helped David unite Israel but instead he made the son of Saul, Ishbosheth the king. The tribe of Judah though followed David. Yet David did not seek to destroy the house of Saul or fear Abner. He waited on God's timing. The kingdom did later become completely under David's rule and lasted until after the death of David's son Solomon. It then split again. Israel will again become one nation as it did in 1948 but all tribes will be gathered when Jesus Christ rules over all Israel at His second coming.

The Battle of Gibeon

• 2Samuel 2:12  And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 
• 13  And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 
• 14  And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. 

If only Abner would have not started this much blood shed and later his own life would have been spared. Strange how one bad decision leads to much sorrow later.

• 2 Samuel 2:15  Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 
• 16  And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 
• 17  And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David. 

We see here the beginning of a sad ending for Abner. The sad events that follow in chapter 2 and 3 of 2 Samuel are the result of not waiting on God. Even though David was willing to wait on God, Abner was not and neither was Joab. Abner actually started this one.

• 2Samuel 2:18  And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. 
• 19  And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. 

Joab's brother Asahel didn't have to do this. There is a time to act and a time to wait on God and it is sometimes hard to see the difference. Seeking the Lord would have saved a lot of bloodshed. Joab and Abner both was what we would call war mongers in today's world.

• 2Samuel 2:20  Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. 
• 21  And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him. 
• 22  And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? 
• 23  Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. 

Abner gave Asahel a chance to escape and save his own life but he was determined to kill Abner but Abner killed him instead. This would be the thing that also would cause Abner's death later. Had all of them waited on God's timing and yielded to the will of God for David to become king, this whole incident would not have happened.

• 2Samuel 2:24  Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. 
• 25  And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. 
• 26  Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? 

Abner had his faults by not recognizing David as king and by ignoring God's will that David would become king but at least he was wise enough to know that more killing was not the answer. Finally Joab also decided to stop this war and both went their own way.

• 2Samuel 2:27  And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. 
• 28  So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. 
• 29  And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. 
• 30  And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel. 
• 31  But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died. 
• 32  And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

Perhaps the sorrow of losing his brother dampened his desire to fight further. However he took vengenace on Abner later. Abner though actually killed Asahel in self defense. All this didn't have to happen. Abner actually started it by having challenging men from his group and men from Joab's group sporting it seems. It ended with 360 of Abner's men being killed and 60 of Joab's men dying.

Recognizing the will of God would have saved a lot of lives here. This didn't have to be. DC

2 Samuel Chapter 3