CLASH OF KINGS
Opening Prayer
I praise you Lord. There is no power on earth like yours. You have done wondrous things.
Read 2 SAMUEL 2:1-17
David Anointed King Over Judah
2 In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The Lord said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,” the Lord answered.
2 So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.
When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6 May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7 Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”
War Between the Houses of David and Saul
8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9 He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.
10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.
12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”
“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.
15 So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.[a]
17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 2:16 Helkath Hazzurim means field of daggers or field of hostilities.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Worship Jesus before you read further, ‘who, being in very nature God … made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant’ (Philippians 2:6,7).I marvel at David’s wisdom here. How many of us have ever made a bad decision immediately after a big high or having suffered a big loss? Instead, David’s instinct is to seek the Lord rather than to rashly make any significant decision (v 1). Again, we see David’s integrity through his reaction to the news that the faithful men of Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul (v 4). He genuinely had not sought the kingship for personal gain or fulfillment as shown by his blessing and commitment to do good to them (vs 5,6). Is there anything in your life that you are currently pursuing too keenly and perhaps putting ahead of God?
During some situations, do you ever get the feeling, ‘This is not going to end well…’? 2 Samuel 2 is exhibit A: opposing sides, young men, swords, competition… ‘The battle that day was very fierce’ (v 17) is probably a masterful understatement. This tragic story is repeated around the world: those in power vie for position and control – and people suffer and even die. It’s likely that Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, was a puppet for Abner who installed him as king (vs 8,9). How different to the way that Jesus taught us to serve rather than ‘lord it over’ others (see Matthew 20:25,26).
Apply
‘Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves’ (Romans 12:10). Who can you ‘honor’ today?
Closing prayer
Merciful Father, keep open the ears of my spirit to hear your voice, but keep me deaf to the voices that call me away from you.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
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