CIVIL WAR. 2nd Samuel 2 In the plans of God, there is a "course of time" in which His work is to be carried out. The first lesson we learn in this chapter is that we must take the time and apply ourselves to discern the will of God as precisely as possible. Our decisions regarding important life changes have far-reaching effects on others and ourselves. To presume we know what is right and what we should do without taking time to get divine guidance can have terrible consequences. When uncertain about God's will, it is never wrong for us to ask specific questions and then wait for clear answers.
David wisely waited as long as necessary for the kingdom of Israel under Saul's leadership to be concluded. He knew it was God's will that he be king because Samuel had anointed him several years before. He was not power-hungry, nor was he grabbing a position when he asked for God's guidance, given that there was a vacancy in the leadership of God's people. By waiting for divine guidance and praying in precise questions, the Lord guided him to Hebron, the largest city in Judah at that time, located strategically for safety and commerce. Hebron was composed of several “cities” that must have been close together.
By faith, David recognized that God knew the whole situation and simply acted in wisdom for divine guidance. When David, his family, and those who followed him arrived in Hebron, it was under the authority of divine direction. When the area's population increased by well over six hundred people, there would have been quite a significant impact on the region economically and militarily.
Our choices impact the lives of others that we do not consider unless we are in fellowship with God and take the time to put ourselves in the place and think of others. The place we leave and the place we move to have a right to know why we are doing what we are doing and to be assured that it is not for selfish reasons.
Hebron was the largest city in Judah and a geographical center with roads from different directions. There were villages around it, and because of its size and location, it was a secure area. When David moved his family and six hundred other men with him from Ziklag to Hebron, the men of Judah were delighted. Their public recognition by anointing him as king would have confirmed Samuel's private anointing several years earlier when he was a young man. He would have learned leadership skills from the Lord during the seven and a half years at Hebron that would stand him in good stead as the kingdom of Israel expanded during his reign. In addition, the men of Judah gathered together to inaugurate David as their king. His office as king had long been established. It was time for him to go forward in divinely appointed leadership.
David's commendation of the men of Jabesh-Gilead was a good act of diplomacy, and those who had an appreciation for the deliverance from the Philistines under the leadership of Saul were commended. Therefore, they took the body of Saul and buried it with a certain dignity appropriate to a king designated by God as Israel's first king. The location of Jabesh-Gilead was near the city where Ishbosheth lived. His message was clear: he would show them favor as the king of Judah even though they were not living in Judah.
His message to them was an act of kindness, appreciation, and gratitude. It included a carefully stated suggestion that they might want to follow the lead of the men of Judah and acknowledge him as their king also. However, the veiled appeal was ignored, and David no longer pursued it. Their allegiance was still toward the family of Saul under the domination of Abner, a nephew of Saul.
In peril of their lives, a few valiant men from Jabesh Gilead were able to deprive the Philistines of their prize of the bodies of Saul and his sons. David prayed on their behalf that the Lord’s kindness and truth would be given to those men. How often have we shown the same kindness and truth toward others? It may not be deserved, but God, for His own reasons, makes it known that those two things together give all that is needed to live for Himself, so we need to look for ways to show kindness and live truth.
If we are willing to look for a reason to encourage and bless others, there is often an opportunity to settle differences of opinion without confrontation. "A soft answer turns away wrath" makes it much easier for two opposing parties to come together and conclude a matter with dignity. Yet, each party retains its honor and individuality. Acting in haste can create unnecessary problems, but lagging can leave a gap that is hard to fill if left in uncertainty.
Our assurance of God’s guidance and the action we should take may not always be accepted or appreciated by others. When there is hesitation and legitimate reservation on the part of others who do not want to associate with us, we are best not to push any further. Wait on God, watch and pray, be faithful and kind, but step back and let God bring His desired results in His own time. Often, people have personal reservations about a matter that they have to work through themselves, and we should respect their right to do that.
When the Lord Jesus came, He brought grace and truth in fullness in His own person when He lived among people. Many overlook the need for grace and truth to be personified in human form and their worth to those around us. We need grace to overcome all the things that we lack in ourselves. Truth in words and deeds is needed to keep all we do in life on track in a way that is a testimony to our faith in Christ. There was no mistaking His grace; He who was rich became poor so that poor and needy sinners could enter heaven. The truth He taught has deep value in every word that reaches the intellect and conscience like a two-edged sword.
Now, I pray that these two characteristics will be evident to others as they watch and listen to me. If kindness and grace can be seen through me somehow, perhaps the truth I speak will become important to others. If kindness and truth can be honestly lived out from day to day, then I won’t have to shout to get my message across, but with grace in my lips and truth in my heart, people who hear will believe and have a new start in life.
When these two characteristics are lived out and passed on, the critical things will draw God’s people as one to model what we have prayed for, for which Christ sheds new light. Then kindness and truth, modeled in life, will bring lasting fruit in a future day of reckoning.
The men of Hebron recognized and submitted to David's leadership for seven and a half years before the rest of the nation turned to David for leadership. Abner, a commander in Saul's army and Saul's cousin was the leader of the ten tribes for five years before he put Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, into leadership from a city on the east side of Jordan. In essence, he was a pawn of Abner, who put him into that role and intimidated him into ruling in Abner's way for two years.
David had served under Abner’s leadership when he was in Saul’s army. He knew the man and his character. Loyalty to Saul would have made him want to keep the leadership of Israel in the hand of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, who was a kinsman of Abner. Abner made Ishbosheth king, not the Lord nor the people. Abner was the power and guiding hand for Ishbosheth during the years of civil unrest and civil war.
A good and faithful man's well-meaning personal desire may make him blind to what is right and necessary when changes have to be made to accommodate present circumstances. That is why “In the multitude of counselors, there is safety.” A person may have good intentions, be strong in integrity, be brave in opposition, be honest in business, and be loyal to a fault, but without knowledge and wisdom, divine guidance, and a willingness to wait on God’s timing, serious consequences cannot be avoided.
Abner acted of his own volition and ran up against Joab, who was also brave, strong, and a leader in his own right, but he had a cruel streak in him that made him unreliable and dangerous to oppose. The battle by proxy of twenty-four soldiers ended with twenty-four dead men and no solution to the problem. A civil war followed with three hundred and sixty of Abner’s men dead and twenty of Joab’s.
Abner, Saul's nephew, and Joab, David's nephew, were probably in opposition since Saul was hunting David to kill him. Abishai and Asahel also probably had bitterness against those of Saul's household and those who followed him to kill David, their kinsman. Bitterness has a way of defiling many, and the "battle-by-proxy" in which twenty-four men died in hand-to-hand combat ended in a full-scale civil war. The death of Asahel at the bottom end of Abner's spear infuriated Joab, who was prepared to attack the losing army by himself with his brother Abishai. The battle by proxy didn't accomplish a thing, and the struggle that followed didn't either.
Civil strife is usually caused by stubbornness, which many think is necessary to retain their honor or gain. Persistence in a good thing is a valuable trait. Stubbornness promotes disunity. A goal must be correct and worthy of our commitment before we pursue it with vigor.