CHAPTER 2

(1056 B.C.)

DAVID BECOMES KING OF JUDAH

¹And 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, Where shall I go up? And He said, Unto Hebron. (There is a marked spiritual turn in Davids life from Ziklag on. The Ziklags are terrible to the flesh and invigorating to the spirit. David is now seeking the Lord and receiving directions from the Lord.)

²So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabals wife the Carmelite.

³And his men who were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

⁴And 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 Jabesh-gilead were they who buried Saul. (So begins the Golden Age of Israel, and yet for seven and a half years only a small part of the Church of that day will accept Gods anointed.)

⁵And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed are you of the LORD, that you have showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

⁶And now the LORD show kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because you have done this thing.

⁷Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be you valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the House of Judah have anointed me king over them. (As we shall see, active opposition to Christ and His Kingdom quickly follows upon the establishment of a rival kingdom in the heart. Abner, having set up his own king, very quickly took the further step of attacking Gods King and Kingdom.)

ABNER

⁸But Abner the son of Ner, Captain of Sauls host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

⁹And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. (More than likely, Davids consorting for the past 16 months with the Philistines now causes him great problems. Many in Israel distrust him, giving Abner room to do what he did; irrespective, it was not Gods Will for someone else to be king of Israel.)

¹⁰Ish-bosheth Sauls son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the House of Judah followed David.

¹¹And the time that David was king in Hebron over the House of Judah was seven years and six months.

CIVIL STRIFE

¹²And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. (David had taken no steps to obtain for himself the kingdom over all Israel. Therefore, this opened the door for Abner to win Judah as well.)

¹³And 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. (All of this pictures the house of Saul and the House of David. They stand in opposition one to the other. The one pictures the life as governed by self; the other, the life as governed by God. The latter life alone secures Victory.)

¹⁴And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise (the statement is grim enough, though intended to gloss over the cruel reality).

¹⁵Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. (On each side twelve of the most skillful champions were to be selected, who were to fight in stern earnest with one another, while the rest gazed upon the fierce spectacle. It is by no means certain that Abner meant that this single combat should decide the war, but the conclusion was to give indication.)

¹⁶And they (the men of Joab) caught every one his fellow by the head (the men of Abner), and thrust his sword in his fellows side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

¹⁷And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David. (The battle followed the contest, with only 19 of Davids warriors falling, while Abner lost 360, and was forced to flee.)

ABNER KILLS ASAHEL

¹⁸And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe (deer).

¹⁹And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner (the sharp swords which mutually destroyed the young men should have been used against the Philistines, not against one another; the destructive energy which rival groups within the Church employ against each other would accomplish great things if used otherwise).

²⁰Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Are you Asahel? And he answered, I am.

²¹And Abner said to him, Turn you aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay you hold on one of the young men, and take you his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.

²²And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn you aside from following me: wherefore should I smite you to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab your brother?

²³Howbeit 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 (so violent was the blow, that Asahel dropped down dead without a struggle).

²⁴Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon (the sight of their slaughtered brother made them only the more determined in the pursuit).

FURTHER STRIFE AVERTED

²⁵And the Children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.

²⁶Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour forever? know you not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brethren?

²⁷And Joab said, As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother (Joab throws the whole blame, and rightly so, on Abner).

²⁸So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more (Joab was not a man of a tender heart, but he was wise and sensible, and fully aware that the slaughter of Abner and his men, even if he could have destroyed them all, would only have rankled in the minds of all Israel, and set them against David and his rule).

²⁹And 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.

³⁰And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of Davids servants nineteen men and Asahel.

³¹But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abners men, so that three hundred and threescore (360) men died.

³²And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day. (This last Verse of this Chapter closes with the words, And they came to Hebron at break of day. The sun was now beginning to rise for Israel. The long night of spiritual declension was over. There would be other hardships and difficulties; however, the sun was not setting; it was rising.)