Bible Study on 2 Samuel 2

Bible Study on 2 Samuel 2
As shared by Rev. Don Schink

David Anointed King Over Judah:

1 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 house of Judah.
When David was told that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead 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 house of Judah has 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 [a] 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 house of Judah, however, followed David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over the house of 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. [b]
17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's men.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. 19 He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20 Abner looked behind him and asked, "Is that you, Asahel?"
"It is," he answered.
21 Then Abner said to him, "Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
22 Again Abner warned Asahel, "Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?"
23 But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. 25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
26 Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"
27 Joab answered, "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued the pursuit of their brothers until morning. [c] "
28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.
29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the whole Bithron [d] and came to Mahanaim.
30 Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner and assembled all his men. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David's men were found missing. 31 But David's men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. 32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.

Footnotes:
2 Samuel 2:9 Or Asher
2 Samuel 2:16 Helkath Hazzurim means field of daggers or field of hostilities .
2 Samuel 2:27 Or spoken this morning, the men would not have taken up the pursuit of their brothers; or spoken, the men would have given up the pursuit of their brothers by morning
2 Samuel 2:29 Or morning; or ravine; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Research and Comments:

David King of Judah - Verses 1-7:

If there's one thing that David had learned before now, he needed the Lord. You do. So do I. So did David. He is never painted as a perfect man but David, overall, is appropriately described as "a man after God's own heart." I trust that you and I have that same heart. In Hebrews 12:14, the Bible says, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." In 1 Peter 1:16, we read, "For it is written, "Be holy, because I am holy.""

The Bible stresses the importance of seeking the Lord in all things. In Deuteronomy 4:29, we read, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and will all your soul." In Psalm 105:4, we find, "Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." In Isaiah 55:6, Scripture says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." Hosea 10:13 says, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness upon you."

Some New Testament Scriptures emphasize this also. Here are a couple: Luke 11:10, "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." In Acts 17:27, we find, "God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." So we see David, in beginning his reign as king of Judah, and as a man after God's own heart, sought the Lord his God. We need to seek the Lord in all that we do. Too many times people wait until things are already a mess before consulting the Lord. We need to consult Him first. We need to seek His Word and His will before we step out in an endeavor. David did here. So should we.

David moved his entire group of people from Ziglag to the cities of Hebron . There were four towns close to one another. This place was previously known as Kirjath-arba [Joshua 20:7], which means "fourfold city," or "tetropolis." Upon arriving at their new destination, the men of Judah gathered around David, anointing him as king over the house of Judah [4].

In viewing verses 1-4, we see the finding and doing of God's will stressed as of utmost importance. As circumstances of life change, our hearts and minds should turn toward seeking what direction that God would have us to take. God's guidance is often very specific [1]. Human obedience is necessary with divine direction [2-3]. Blessing follows obedience.

Upon learning of the heroic act of the men of Jabesh-Gilead in burying Saul and his sons, David sent a sincere letter of appreciation to them. He also relates as to how the men of Judah had now made him king over Judah [5-7]. At this time nothing seems to have come of that, however. This was probably due to the deep-seated animosity that existed between Abner, captain of Saul's military, and Joab, who served as David's right-hand man.

Questions For Thought:

In review, what do we learn regarding David's relationship with the Lord?
What impact did David's seeking the Lord's direction have on events?
How important is it that we seek the Lord in all issues in our hearts and lives?
Why do we seek guidance in decisions before we stop out to take action?

Ish-Bosheth, King of Israel - Verses 8-11:

Following Saul's death, Abner [8] took it upon himself to set up Ish-Bosheth, Saul's forth son [1 Chronicles 8:33, 9:39] as king over Israel, taking him to Mahanaim, east of Jordan. He would have been far enough away to be safe from the Philistines. In Chronicles, Ish-Bosheth is referred to as Esh-baal, a name later changed when baal, "lord," was altered to bosheth, "shame" in protest against baal-worship in Israel.

Ish-Bosheth had apparently not been present at the battle of Gilboa. In his relationship with Abner, he appears to have a milder personality, as seen by Abner's assertiveness. Ish-Bosheth's kingdom included all Israel [9], Gilead east of Jordan, the Asherites, the territory around Jezreel, to the north of Gilboa, and the territory of the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin.

The chronology of verses 10-11 is difficult. Various ones have attempted to reconcile the two years of Ish-Bosheth's reign with the seven and a half years of David's reign over Judah in Hebron. It has been suggested that David may have stayed in Hebron five and a half years after Ish-Bosheth's death, making Jerusalem his capital. However it is more probable that the clue to the discrepancy is all Israel [9]. That is, Ish-Bosheth headed a refugee government in Mahanaim for five and a half years after Saul's death and up to the point as to where Israelite rule had been established, at least in part, west of the Jordan. He began to reign Israel when he was forty years old, just two years before his assassination.

Abner and Joab, Verses 2:12-3:1:

This scripture gives and account of the campaign waged by Abner, captain of Ish-Bosheth's forces, against Joab, David's captain [12-16]. David's men met the invading force by the pool of Gibeon [13], far north of the capital of Judah at Hebron, where remains of a large reservoir have been found. It is there that twelve young soldiers were chosen from each side for a contest [as in 1 Samuel 17]. This was a deadly conflict. When this event ended in the death of the participants, a full-scale war erupted. Abner and his men were put on the run.

The major point stressed in this battle is the explanation of the blood feud between Joab, David's captain, and Abner. Joab, David's nephew [1 Chronicles 2:15-16] had two brothers in the army, Abishai [1 Samuel 26:5] and Asahel. Asahel was noted as being fast on his feet. As such, he set out to provoke Abner. Although he was no match for Abner in hand-to-hand combat, he still persisted. So it cost him his life. The soldiers stopped their pursuit as they came upon Asahel's body [18-24]. There was a pause in battle as they regrouped forces. Abner appealed to Joab to stop the senseless slaughter, which could only result in continued bitterness.

Joab consented to the truce. His wording can be interpreted in more than one way. Either he meant that if Abner had not asked for a truce the pursuit and subsequent slaughter would have continued through the night and on into morning, or he meant that if Abner had spoken sooner, the battle would either not have taken place or else it wouldn't have gone on as long. The two forces stopped and returned to each of their own capitals. Joab had lost 20 soldiers. Abner had lost 360 [28-32]. Asahel was buried at Bethlehem in his father's tomb, on their way back to Hebron [32]. 2 Samuel 3:1 indicates continuing hostilities, not necessarily initiated by David, with the result of the growing strength of his cause as Ish-Bosheth's reign became weaker.

Questions For Thought:

What do we learn from the animosity between Abner and Joab?
Could Asahel's death have been prevented?
Why was Asahel so intense on keeping his pursuit, knowing what we know that he was a better runner than a fighter?
What was gained and/or lost by this?
When is conflict acceptable?
When is conflict to be avoided at all cost as unacceptable?
How do we see God's hand upon these events?
What does this say to us?

As I pray today:

What does the Word say regarding the events in today's lesson?
How do these events speak to us in our day and time?
How do you plan to apply truths as seen in today's lesson in your own heart and life and in your relationships with others around you, friend or foe, alike?




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Since Update on December 4, 2004