2
Samuel chapter 2 describes the civil war that developed in Israel
after the death of Saul. Although David had been anointed as king
almost 20 years earlier, changing from the familiar is hard. Saul
and his three sons were dead, but Abner, the commander of Saul’s
army, still had military control. The chapter begins with David
humbly consulting with God to inquire if he should return to the
region of Judah (something he did not seem to do while he was on the
run). David and his men and their families returned to the town of
Hebron, “Then
the men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David as king over the
house of Judah“.
Judah was the southernmost tribe sharing a border with the
Philistines. The first thing David did as King was to reward the
valiant men
of Jabesh Gilead who had honored and buried Saul.
“The
Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul… May the Lord now
show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same…
be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the house of
Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Meanwhile,
Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, had made Ish-Bosheth, son of
Saul, King over the northern tribes. “He
made him king over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.”
This is the first mention of Ish-Bosheth so perhaps he was the son
of one of Saul’s concubines? “Ish-Bosheth,
son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel…
The house of Judah, however, followed David.”
This frustrating struggle for control between the two commanders
eventually led to a battle between the two competing armies at the
pool of Gibeon. “Let’s
have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of
us.”
Each general chose twelve men and allowed them to face-off. “Then
each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into
his opponent’s side, and they fell down together“.
All twenty four men died and the full scale battle began. “The
battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were
defeated by David’s men.”
“Nineteen
of David’s men were found missing. But David’s men had killed three
hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner.”
The conflict was bloody and painful, but necessary for David to lead
the whole nation. Jesus said, “Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every
city or house divided against itself will not stand”
(Matthew 12:25).
Becoming
a follower of Christ can also be hard. Many of us that have accepted
Christ as adults have a lifetime of experience living as our own
boss. The apostle Paul calls it living “according
to the flesh“.
He contrasts the flesh and the spirit and says they are at odds with
each other. Many people remain at war with themselves; they want to
honor God, but they are drawn back to old habits. Ephesians 4:22
exhorts us to “Put
off your old self which is being corrupted by deceitful desires“.
But how? The next verse explains the key is to continually renew
your minds. We require reprogramming. We need to replace the old
junk from our life with the goodness of God. Ephesians 5:26
describes how Christ loves us and is preparing His church for
eternity “that
He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the
word“.
If you bathe in polluted water, you will remain polluted. Are you
struggling? There is power in reading and meditating on God’s
Word. Note the result of being renewed by the Word of God. “that
He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without
blemish”
(Eph 5:27). Don’t let pride hold you back from the goodness God
has for you.