2 Samuel 2

2 Samuel 2:1

B. Coronation as King of Judah (2:1-7)2:1-7 With Saul dead and Israel without a king, David sought guidance from the LORD and was directed to go to Hebron, one of the cities of Judah. There the men of Judah . . . anointed him as their king. When they informed him how the men of Jabesh Gilead had kindly buried Saul, David immediately sent a message of thanks to them and rather indirectly invited them to recognize him as king, as the men of Judah had done.

2 Samuel 2:8

C. Conflict with Saul’s House (2:84:12)2:8-11 But not all the tribes of Israel wanted to recognize David as their monarch. Abner, the commander-in-chief of the late Saul and also his uncle, took Saul’s only surviving son, Ishbosheth, and proclaimed him king. For seven years and six months . . . David reigned over the lone tribe of Judah, with Hebron as his capital. However, it was for only two of these years that Ishbosheth . . . reigned over the other eleven tribes. It may have taken Abner five years to push the Philistines back out of Israel and establish Ishbosheth on his father’s throne. David had never asserted his right to the throne. Neither did he do so now. Rather, he chose to leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. If Jehovah had anointed him as king, Jehovah would subdue his enemies and bring him into the possession of his kingdom. The Lord Jesus similarly awaits the Father’s timing to reign over the entire globe. His dominion is recognized only by a minority of mankind now, but there is an appointed day in which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phi_2:10-11). 2:12-17 In the course of time, Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of the army of Israel (the 11 tribes) met Joab, the son of Zeruiah, the military leader of David’s soldiers, at Gibeon. Seated at opposite sides of a pool, they decided to let some of their young men engage in a contest to determine who was militarily superior. When Abner suggested that the young men should arise and hold a contest, he did not expect that they would play. It was a military engagement. The twelve Benjamites fought the twelve men of Judah, and they destroyed each other. Since the result was inconclusive, a very fierce battle broke out between the rest of the men, with the result that Abner’s men . . . were beaten and fled in disarray. 2:18-23 One of Joab’s brothers, the swift-footed Asahel, chased Abner with the intent to kill him. At first Abner tried to persuade Asahel to be satisfied with capturing one of the young men. It seems that Abner realized that he could easily kill Asahel, but he did not want to do it because it would further antagonize Joab. When Asahel would not listen to Abner’s second plea to stop pursuing him, Abner turned on him in self-defense and killed him with the blunt end of his spear. 2:24-32 Joab and his other brother, Abishai, continued to chase until they came to the hill of Ammah. There Abner pled with Joab to stop this needless civil war. Joab’s reply may be understood in two ways. First, it may mean that if Abner had not issued the original challenge (in verse 14), then the young men would have gone home peaceably. Or it may mean, as in the NIV, that if Abner had not called for a truce, then the young men would have continued chasing their brethren until morning. In any case, Joab agreed to stop fighting. Abner and his men . . . crossed over . . . to Mahanaim, on the east side of the Jordan River where Ishbosheth had his capital. He had lost three hundred and sixty men. Joab and his soldiers returned to Hebron, with only nineteen men . . . missing.