The Second Book Of Samuel. Day 3, David Is Made King Over Judah

David knows that the Lord intends him to be king but he doesn't know when or where this will happen. King Saul is dead, along with his three oldest sons and nearest heirs to the throne, but David doesn't go up to Saul's capital city of Gibeah and declare himself the next king. He doesn't gather a huge band of supporters to take the throne of Israel by force. What David does is wait. He waits for the Lord to tell him what to do and when to do it. Living within the will of God is vitally important but so is living within the timing of God. We can know for certain that something is our destiny but if we get out of sync with God on the timing we are going to bring frustration and aggravation into our lives. Every time I've ever gotten ahead of God I've regretted it. Things just didn't fall into place. They actually fell more out of place because obedience isn't just doing what God says to do; it's also doing it when God says to do it.

In yesterday's passage we found David and his men mourning Israel's loss in battle and the loss of Israel's king and three of the sons of the royal household. We don't know how much time passes between the death of Saul and David's return to the territory of Judah in Israel. At the very least it must have been several days but the wording of the text indicates it could even have been weeks or months. "In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?' he asked." (2 Samuel 2:1a) He's still living in Philistine-controlled Ziklag, a city that is much the worse for wear since the Amalekites looted and burned it, but he and his people have worked hard to make it habitable enough for the time being. But now that Saul is dead it may be safe for David to go home. He wants to go home. He wants the destiny the Lord chose for him to begin falling into place but he doesn't want to get ahead of the Lord. He asks the Lord, probably with the help of the priest Abiathar, if now is when he should go.

When the Lord answers in the affirmative David seeks His counsel about where to reside in Judah. "The Lord said, 'Go up.' David asked, 'Where shall I go?' 'To Hebron,' the Lord answered." (2 Samuel 2:1b) We would do well to pattern ourselves after David. When making important decisions we should ask the Lord what we are to do, when we are to do it, where we are to do it, and how we are to do it. He knows every possible outcome of every decision we could possibly make; therefore, He knows best. He is a good and loving Father who wants to help us. He will guide us just as He guided David.

David doesn't delay after receiving his answer. The Lord said to go and he goes. The Lord said to go to Hebron and he goes to Hebron. "So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns." (2 Samuel 2:2-3) This is quite a large group. David has six hundred fighting men with him and if we estimate that each man has a wife and just one child then there are at least 1,800 people altogether, plus David and his two wives. I suspect there are far more than 1,800 because when the Amalekites attacked Ziklag they carried off everyone "young and old", which makes me think that many of the men and women brought their whole families to live there. That would explain why there were "old" citizens of the city as well as the fighting men in their prime and their wives and children.

The group is welcomed home and David is anointed king over his tribe of Judah. "Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah." (2 Samuel 2:4a) At last he is on his way to the throne of Israel! Scholars are in disagreement about how many years have passed since the prophet Samuel anointed David in Bethlehem to be the future king of Israel but the general consensus is that it was no fewer than fifteen years and was more likely twenty to twenty-two years. At this point he is king only over his own tribe. 

His first executive action is to reward the men who showed kindness to the house of Saul. These men bravely entered Philistine-controlled territory and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall of Beth Shan where the Philistines had so shamefully hung them on display after their deaths. "When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, he sent messengers to them to say to them, 'The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.'" (2 Samuel 2:4b-7) David says, "May the Lord bless you for the way you respected and honored the fallen leader of our nation. I too will bless you, and these are not just empty words, for I have been made king over Judah and am in a position now to reward you for the mercy you showed King Saul and his sons. I know you are sad because a great man, who saved your city from the Ammonites, is dead. But there is still much work to do and many battles to be fought and our country needs courageous men like you. So let's look to the future together. We can't change what's already happened but we can forge ahead and do great things in the name of the Lord."

We might expect the other tribes of Israel to follow Judah's example and declare David king. David may have expected that himself. But that's not what happens and I want to take a moment to point out something I've noticed in my own life: being in the Lord's will doesn't mean smooth sailing all the time. In fact, when we're in the Lord's will is usually when we face the most opposition from Satan. The devil doesn't mess with us much when we're going astray because why waste any energy on us if we're already on the wrong track? But when we're doing our best to follow the Lord is when Satan tries to strew enough obstacles in our path to get us to stop moving ahead. Or he'll try to entice us off the path altogether with various temptations. David is on the right path but he's going to face a huge obstacle in tomorrow's passage when King Saul's top army commander, Abner, declares one of Saul's surviving sons as the rightful king over all Israel. What follows is not David's immediate ascension to the throne but war.