2 Samuel 2:1-32


Israel has become a divided nation.  David was anointed king in Judah, while Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, was made king in Israel.  It is definitely a difficult time for the nation and there is not a priest like Samuel to make the will of God known to all of the people, so they are all going on what they feel or think should be done.  The civil war that follows is tragic and demonstrates the consequences of not having a man like Samuel to give direction to the people.  Division is always a very dangerous thing and it is a tactic that Satan has repeatedly used to hinder the work and the people of God.  Many believers and churches today are in a state of civil war.  They don’t take up arms and try to kill one another, but they are divided none the less and do not cooperate for the work of the kingdom of God.  This happens because of a lack of spiritual sensitivity and leadership.

THE ANOINTING OF TWO KINGS: David has been in exile to this point, even though he is the anointed King of Israel.  When he hears that Saul is dead, he first of all inquires of the Lord if he should return to Israel as well as where he should return.  The Lord directs him to return to Hebron, and there the people recognized David as there king.  At the same time, Abner, Saul’s general takes Saul’s surviving son Ish-bosheth and makes him king.  This is the natural order of succession.  According to human reasoning this was the right thing to do.  However, Samuel had made it abundantly clear that God had rejected Saul and chosen David.  Saul himself had recognized this.  It is clear that nobody inquired of God as to what they should do in this situation.  It is a dangerous and disastrous thing when we follow our own human reasoning without consulting the Lord.

THE ANIMOSITY OF TWO GENERALS: Abner is Saul’s general and Joab is the general of David’s men.  The two generals come together in a very difficult situation.  They are from the same nation yet serve two different kings.  They appear to want to avoid war so they each select twelve men who they want to represent the two sides.  However, it appears that there was not winner of this competition as all the men end up killing one another.  All out war breaks out as the two sides fight one another.  The battle rages until Abner appeals to Joab to stop chasing his own brothers.  Joab listens to Abner and the battle ends with the men of David being the clear winners, having only lost 20 men in battle while 360 of Abner’s men had died.  War is a terrible thing that could have been avoided if both sides had simply stopped and earnestly sought the Lord for a solution to this problem.  We are always right in our own eyes, but when there is a conflict with a brother, we must be willing to stop and seek the Lord’s will and consider the fact that we might be wrong.

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