2 Samuel 2 - The Place of Communion

Previously in 2 Samuel, we saw an Amalekite come to David and his men in Ziklag to inform them of the battle. When David and his men heard the news, especially of the death of Saul and Jonathan, they tore their clothes and mourned until evening. The man told David that he had killed Saul because it was apparent that Saul would not live. David was not pleased that this man would stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and he commanded one of his men to kill the Amalekite. Then David wrote a song of mourning for Saul and Jonathan and taught it to his men.

After this, David inquired of the Lord whether or not he should go up to one of the cities of Judah, and the Lord told him to go up to Hebron. Again, this was one of the marks of David’s life, he was in the regular habit of asking counsel of the Lord before making important decisions. Saul was dead, but Abner was still in charge of the army and Saul had an heir to the throne. Hebron means communion, and it was one of the cities of refuge appointed by Moses for manslayers (this will be important a bit later). So, David and his men, along with their families went up to the place of communion.

Once there, the men of Judah came and anointed him king. This was the second time David was anointed king, and was 13 years or so after he had been anointed king by Samuel. Being filled with the Spirit isn’t a one-time thing, but an ongoing one as we seek the Lord by faith and obedience to His word. He was anointed king, but only over the tribe of Judah. Sometimes, we want the total fulfillment of the Lord’s promises right away, but often the Lord prepares us over time. David would eventually be king over the nation, but it would still be another seven and a half years. The Lord still had more work to do in David and in the nation before they were ready. Before, not even the tribe of Judah wanted him, but the last 13 years had changed that.

The men of Judah told him that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead that had buried Saul, and David sent messengers to them, stating, “You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.” David handled the whole matter of Saul’s death with incredible wisdom: if he had shown lenience to the Amalekite, rejoiced at Saul’s death, or spoke negatively of him in any way, it would have set the tone for his reign that it was alright to overthrow your rulers if you disagree with him, even if you ultimately knew it was the Lord’s will to get rid of the guy. Then he reaches out to the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead to show kindness to them for doing the same. David demonstrated that he had nothing to do with Saul’s death, and that the Lord’s calling on someone’s life is serious business. To mess with this is really to put a person in direct opposition to the Lord Himself, and this is an unwise and dangerous position to be in.

Meanwhile, Abner made Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, king over the rest of Israel, and brought him to Mahanaim. Mahanaim was east of the Jordan, so in their retreat from the Philistines they had gone across the Jordan to set up their capital. We have been previously introduced to Abner, but we are going to find out a bit more about him in the next couple of chapters. If we recall from 1 Samuel 14, Abner was Saul’s cousin. We can presume that Abner had heard of the prophecies of David being the next king, for even Saul himself admitted this. So, Abner was walking in rebellion to the Lord. He was likely trying to be loyal to his family, and possibly seeking his own position in this new power vacuum. However, as the circumstances unfold, Abner will come around to see things correctly. Ishbosheth means man of the shameful thing (a nice name for a son), and it is possible he was an illegitimate son or a son of a concubine. He will reign only two years, and will be more or less a puppet king with Abner pulling the strings. Somehow, he and Abner both avoided dying in battle with Saul and his sons, so they possibly fled while Saul and Jonathan stood their ground.

Next, we are introduced to three more individuals, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, and these three were David’s nephews. These were incredibly gifted men, but their character, Joab’s in particular, was severely lacking. So, Abner and his men went from Mahanaim to Gibeon (back across the Jordan near Jerusalem), and met up with Joab and the servants of David at the pool of Gibeon. Abner was probably testing the waters here to see what he was up against. They sat across from each other on either side of the pool. Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us,” and Joab agreed. So, 12 men from David and 12 from Ishbosheth went and grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in the other’s side. They named the place Helkathhazzurim (the field of sharp swords). This was not exactly a successful dual, and it would turn into a bloody battle. Abner may have thought that David’s men would be a quick and easy fight, but David’s men were battle hardened. There was a fierce battle, and Abner’s men were beaten by Joab’s.

We are told that Asahel, David’s nephew, was as light of foot as a wild gazelle, and he began relentlessly pursuing Abner. Abner turned around to ask who it was, and when he found out, he told Asahel to borrow someone’s armor. Abner was an experienced soldier, and he knew it would be an unfair fight. However, Asahel would not listen. So, Abner attempts to reason with him again, saying, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” Again, Abner knew this was an unfair fight, and he did not want to kill Asahel. He also had respect for Joab, and did not want to have to face him, having killed his brother. Abner was showing some integrity here. A good soldier will kill out of necessity, but he does not enjoy it. Despite his attempts, Asahel still would not turn back, so Abner was forced to kill him out of self-defense. He struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear. The spear came out of his back, and he died on the spot. When the men came upon him, they stood still.

However, Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner and his men, and the sun was going down when Abner and his men stopped on the top of a hill. Abner cried out to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?” Joab replied that as the Lord lives, if he had not said anything, the men would have left off fighting by morning anyway. Some of the most bitter fights can happen between family (whether biological or Church), and it is the wise man, the wise woman that can choose to stop fighting before more damage is done. This was a needless battle really, one that resulted from what seemed to be a casual duel in the minds of Abner and Joab. Then, Joab blew the trumpet, and his men stopped pursuing Israel. Abner took his men back over Jordan to Mahanaim, and Joab and his men returned to Hebron where David was.

After taking count, Joab had only lost 20 men, while Abner had lost 360. This was a decisive win for David’s men, but a loss for the nation. It was a loss that could have been avoided altogether if the servants of Saul and the rest of Israel would have accepted the will of the Lord. The battle was done that day, but unfortunately, the fighting would continue for another seven plus years or so. The house of David grew stronger as time went on, but the house of Saul grew weaker.

In application, are we involved in bitter fights with others? If so, we would be wise to do some serious soul-searching to determine if we are in the will of the Lord. If we are not, we will only incur more loss as we persist in the battle. This loss will not only affect us, but those around us as well. If we are like David who was in the will of the Lord, not every battle has to be fought to the bitter end. There are some battles worth fighting for, but some just aren’t. Those needless battles become a field of sharp swords that turn into blood baths, and both sides lose. Sometimes, leaving off on needless battles or avoiding them altogether helps us win the war in the end. David’s men returned to Hebron, the place of communion, and we too, need to return to the place of communion, our time spent with Jesus. He is our city of refuge. It is in Him that we can find rest and direction for what comes next. We should never compromise what is right in order to make peace, but if both truth and unity can be accomplished, that is the Lord’s heart. In the next chapter we will see the tides shift more in David’s favor.