The
Book of second Samuel
Chapter 2
[1] And it came to pass after this, that David inquired
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.
[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.
[4] And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the
house of Judah.
1) Approving Guidance (Vs
1-4a)
A. Guidance
David left Israel years
before out of discouragement & despair. He left the will of God
He dwelt in Ziklag among
the Philistines, but God chastised him and David repented
Now David is restored
back to God.
King Saul, the oppressor
of David is dead. David is grieving and lamenting
David inquires of the
Lord what he should do now, wanting divine counsel and clear guidance
B.
Anointed
God
says for David to “go up to Hebron” (Hebron means fellowship Gen 13:18 Josh
14:14)
Obediently David brings
his family and his men to Hebron
The men
of that place anoint David as their king (4a), the King of Judah.. Have we made Jesus
King?
David had already been anointed of God to be king I
Sam 16:12-13
But now he lets God lift
him up through others instead of advancing himself
Certainly you and I were anointed of God at
salvation BUT we need a fresh anointing today
And they told David, saying, That the men of
Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.
[5] And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, 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.
2)
Appropriate Gratitude (Vs 4b-7)
David honors the men of Jabesh - Gilead for the
kindness they showed to King Saul’s family
Remember they risked all
and fought to take down the body of Saul and bury him
[8] But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ish-bosheth 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] Ish-bosheth 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.
3)
Appointed Government (Vs 8-11)
A. Abner
Abner is Saul’s cousin and
commander of Saul’s armies (I Sam 14:50)
I Sam 26:16 David
challenged Abner and pointed out Abner’s failure to protect the king
B. Ishbosheth
Son of Saul, no previous mention, maybe even
illegitimate (3 brothers dead I Sam 31:6)
Abner made Ishbosheth king (probably so Abner could be
the power behind the throne)
Ishbosheth reigned 2 years over all Israel
C. David
David is son in law to King
Saul, he was chosen and anointed of God to be king
David is the King over
Judah....we are seeing division amongst the Jews
God is never the author
of confusion
David reigned in Hebron
over Judah while Ishbosheth reigned in Israel propped by Abner
David waited patiently.
He will not force reign on anyone&neither will King Jesus
[12] And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth 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.
[15] Then 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.
[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
Helkath-hazzurim, 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.
4)
Apparent Grievances (Vs 12-17)
Abner is
Ishbosheth’s captain, general or commanding officer
Joab, David’s nephew (I
Chr 2:16) is David’s captain, general
or commanding officer
Abner & Joab gather
their armies, sit around a pool and try to negotiate a way to prevent war
Abner suggests a
competition or war games & Joab agrees
12 for each side fight
and quickly all 24 men are dead
This leads to argument,
jealousies, strife and grudges. Battle ensues and David’s men win victory
[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.
[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.
5)
Approaching Grave (Vs 18-23, 31)
Ashael (Joab’s brother) chases Abner.... thinking
Abner is afraid
Abner tries to warn Ashael. But Ashael will not quit
the pursuit as Abner seems at a disadvantage
Abner points out military honor.... an officer shouldn’t kill an
officer (retribution and leaderless army)
Ashael will not turn aside.... he has one goal and
is glory hungry and sees nothing else
Quickly Abner in self
defense, turns around and drove a spear through Ashael, killing him
[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?
[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.
6)
Appeasing Gesture (Vs 24-28)
Joab & Abioshai, motivated by brother’s death,
pursue Abner
Abner and his armies are
in full retreat & he pleads for peace “can’t we all just get along?”
Joab agrees to a cease
fire and blows the trumpet to avoid a long bloody civil war
[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.
[3:1] Now there was long war between the house of Saul
and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of
Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
7)
Appearing Grace (Vs 29-3:1)
David’s
men had 20 casualties and Abner’s men have 360 dead
Joab returns to Hebron (fellowship) with his
men
3:1 a long war results. A power struggle
continues- It was wrong to accept appeal for a cease fire
“RIGHTFUL AUTHORITY MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED”
The cease fire only made things worse.
There is no peace between the flesh and
spirit, between King Jesus and King Self
Just simply surrender and submit to the reign
of Jesus in your life
David
grew stronger and Saul grew weaker
(where sin
abounds grace doth much more abound (Rom
5:20)