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II Samuel 1-5
We are in the Nation Stream. David is now official king of Israel as we read through the International Standard Version today.
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Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis
Lord, these changes we see today were steps in the right direction. Yes, things were turbulent and messy but growth is rarely clean and neat and your hand was upon David in spite of all the intrigue and surprises that were not always pleasant. May our faith be equally as unshakable as we find David’s to be – even when our days are stormy. Amen
The Book of II Samuel IS the reign of David
Saul is gone and what’s worse for David is that his dear friend Jonathan is dead. The opening of II Sam. is grief for David. Yes, Saul spent much of his years on the throne trying to kill David. But David had a character rooted in his walk with God and Israel was God’s land and Saul was Israel’s King and David respected authority. So he had respect for Saul – odd as it may seem. David’s reaction to someone who had ‘finished off’ Saul is another testament to the depth of honor that David had for the Lord’s anointed. It is in order to mention that II Sam. 1-6 and I Chron. 11-16 is a different perspective on the same time- period. The two portions are worth reading concurrently so to get the full picture.
He was now king of Israel, but needed to grieve a bit. His “farewell song” is a treasure.
2 – David was rightful king now but some of Saul’s men just couldn’t accept the transfer of power though the time had come and there was no other way to perceive this development. The battles and skirmishes are gruesome and unnecessary but Saul’s “groupies” who couldn’t see the bigger picture nor the changing times were ebullient and there were needless deaths because of it. It never is wise to be committed to a dead cause. Nevertheless those loyal to Saul had installed Saul’s son; Ish-Bosheth as king over Israel. The move was illicit but so it goes. He was there as “king” for two years while David was the rightful king installed at Hebron. He was there for 7+1/2 years
These years before he was moved up to Jerusalem there was warring between Saul’s followers and David’s. During these years David had children with six different wives. That was one way to pass the time… Though David’s movement was growing and strengthening, Saul’s was becoming weaker.
3 – Abner changes to become one of David’s followers and supporters. If he hadn’t been so intense and spiteful prior to doing this, perhaps there would have been more credibility to his move toward David. But since he joined with David before convincing everyone of David’s men, Abner was murdered. The intrigue and entanglement seemed to mark these years between the death of Saul and David being fully enthroned in Jerusalem.
4 – In another incident, there were two ruffians that went to the house of Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and killed him and brought I-B’s head to David thinking it would please David. David’s reaction was opposite and David had these two men killed. These were wild times in Hebron!
5 – Finally all the tribes gathered at Hebron and David is anointed King. He moves on Jerusalem even though the Jebusites living there vowed David would not come in. But David being valiant, he and his soldiers prevailed and Jerusalem became “the City of David”. King Hyram of Tyre soon heard of David’s triumph in Jerusalem and sent gifts. The Philistines too heard of David’s ascension as King and they marched out twice to end this movement. David was victorious and decisively so. It’s still “The City of David” almost 3030 years later!
