Second Samuel 2 Commentary
It should be obvious. Judah should be a safe place. The man who sought David’s life is dead. But not for David. He still wants to get guidance from the LORD. So admirable!
Destination? Hebron. Here at Hebron David is anointed king over the tribe of Judah. It can be a pain to understand why the throne came to David in installments. It is even more confusing when you look at the bloody civil war recorded in this chapter. Should the blessing of the throne cost so much?
The war between the house of David and the house of Saul mirrors the battles within. You would expect the LORD to simply walk in and establish His throne quietly. The reality is different. There is no red carpet. There is no peaceful surrender. Sin resists the rule of God in a man’s life very aggressively. When we shift our attention from the physical to the spiritual, we easily understand why there was war between the two houses.
While Jonathan graciously accepted God’s choice of David as the next ruler of Israel, and supported him, honored him, and wanted the very best for him, the rest weren’t quite similarly opinioned. The saint does well to appreciate that not everyone saw their appointment letter. Not everyone accepted it. Not everyone rejoiced.
Yes, Saul was the problem. But in reality, Saul was simply the shell of the real problem. So his death isn’t exactly the end of the problem. The problem still existed. So the war continues between the choice of God and the other side.
You cannot eliminate foolishness by eliminating fools. Similarly, you cannot eliminate sin by eliminating sinner. We all know the writer would not be here to write these lines and you would not be there to read them. This thought takes us to Calvary’s grace. David’s throne is shadowing this function but we are yet to see this picture.
David shows his class by thanking the men of Jabesh Gilead for taking care of the remains of King Saul and his sons. There is room for diplomacy in the kingdom!
Zeruiah was David’s sister. Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were therefore David’s nephews. Asahel is killed and buried. The violence in these pages can be shocking! The two opposing commanders, Joab and Abner are playing with human life as one plays with chickens. This is not part of the script. This kind of lack of respect for human life is what made Cain lose his position in the presence of God. We can call it the Cain-spirit – destroying what you didn’t create. The holocaust, the Rwanda massacre; it is the same sad story of sin.
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