Join us as we delve into 2 Samuel Chapter 2, uncovering David’s ascent to leadership over Judah following the death of Saul. We explore the cultural and historical significance of this transitional period in Israel’s history, marked by civil unrest and power struggles. David’s story offers timeless lessons about the importance of seeking divine guidance through prayer, and demonstrating patience and resilience in times of conflict.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in 2 Samuel chapter 2. In 2 Samuel chapter 2, all 32 verses will listen in from Faith Comes by Hearing. 2 Samuel 2
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After this, David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. David said, To which shall I go up? And he said, To Hebron. So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, It was the men of Jabesh Gilead who buried Saul.
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David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead and said to them, May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul, your lord, and buried him. Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you, and I will do good to you because you have done this thing. Now therefore let your hands be strong and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.
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But Abner, the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he made him king over Gilead and the Asherites, and Jezreel and Ephraim, and Benjamin and all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab,
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Let the young men arise and compete before us.
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And Joab said, Let them arise. Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazrim, which is at Gibeon. And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, Is it you, Asahel?
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And he answered, It is I. Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right hand or to your left and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.
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But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me.
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Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?
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But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Gaia on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. Then Abner called to Joab, Shall the sword devour forever?
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Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?
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And Joab said, As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.
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So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped, and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight any more. And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning they came to Mahanaim. Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner, and when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel. But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin three hundred sixty of Abner’s men, and they took up Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.
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After Saul’s death, the nation of Israel is without a king. There are 12 tribes in Israel, and the leader of Saul’s army, Abner, anoints Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, king of Israel. But David, who had been led of the Lord to locate at Hebron, had already been anointed king over the tribe of Judah. They preferred David, one of their own kinsmen, rather than a descendant of Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. So chapter 2 is about consolidating power. Is Israel going to be unified under one king or divided under two kings? It’s a bit like the civil war in the United States between the north and the south. Here the two sides, Judah and Israel, go to battle. And David’s men rout Abner and Saul’s former army. By doing so, the kingdom of Israel stays divided. What sets up this chapter? Well, remember Saul is dead, David is not in Israel, and he inquires of the Lord in verse 1. Shall I go into the cities of Judah? And so he wants to know from the Lord, is it safe for me to go back to my home country? David hears from the Lord, yes, go home. And notice how specifically David wants an answer from the Lord. He asks, which town should I go to? And God gives him a very specific answer. There’s a great lesson right there, isn’t there? How specific are our prayers? Do we ask specifically so we know that we’re following the Lord exactly, or do we ask generally and then sort of do what we want and think that God gave us some direction? So, for some of us, the first lesson in 2 Samuel chapter 2 may be, how’s your prayer life? How specific are we with our prayer requests before the Lord? The next thing that happens is David does not seek to become the king of Israel. He allows the Lord’s sovereignty to take place. He knows he’s been anointed by God to be king, but he simply goes and relocates and the men there anoint him king. They raise him up to be their leader. So a second lesson might be, don’t force God’s will. Allow God’s will to happen. Look how patient David has been as Saul chased him all over the place. He never turned on Saul. He waited for the Lord to take Saul out. And now he does accept becoming the king of the tribe of Judah because Saul, the anointed one of God, is gone. But nothing comes easy for David, does it? And it may not come easy for you in your life either. So now there’s going to be a battle to see if he can retain his kingship over the tribe of Judah. David prevails and remains king over the tribe of Judah, but only Judah, not the king of Israel. We will have to see what happens in the rest of 2 Samuel to see how David becomes king over all of Israel. Father, thanks for the reminder in this chapter about our prayer life. How specific is my prayer life? And how specifically you can answer us if we pray more carefully toward you. And also, Lord, thanks for the reminder to not, again, take matters into our own hands, but allow your sovereign will to unfold in our very lives, as David shows us in this chapter. Help us also realize, Lord, that even though you anoint us or call us to do something, it’s not easy as we see with the fight that David has on his hands to become king over Israel. Give us strength to fight the battles that you have before us with specific prayer, with patience, as you unfold your sovereignty in our lives so that we can give you the praise for what you do with us and through us In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You have probably noticed I refer to my personal Bible reading journals in AdBible. I took an honors English class in high school and learned about journaling. I kept a journal in high school probably related to that class, and then I quit. For some reason, I started journaling my Bible reading about 10 years later. I don’t know why I decided to journal my Bible reading, but my first journal is dated 1983. Back then, I bought spiral-bound notebooks from a retail store. Nothing fancy. But when I started the Ezra Project, I decided to publish Bible reading journals. You can find two of them on our website at ezraproject.net. Why journal? It will change the way you read the Bible. If you struggle with your daily quiet time, try it. If you know you’re going to write something down after you read, you will pay more attention to what you’re reading. It can be as simple as your favorite verse in the passage or the major point you got out of the passage. You decide. It’s your journal. And it’s not a personal journal. It’s a Bible reading journal. So you shouldn’t have to worry about someone finding it and reading it. I wanted to print a bumper sticker once called Real Men Journal. I figured it would look good on the back of the pickup trucks. Well, you know, I never printed it because I knew it wouldn’t sell. But get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal at EzraProject.net. I know you’re going to enjoy it. All of the Ad Bible radio programs are available to you in writing. We transcribed all of Ad Bible into an 11-book series called Day by Day Through the Bible, and we did it in a unique way by authors of the Bible. You can get the complete set or a book at a time at our website, EzraProject.net. For example, there are the writings of Moses, the writings of Solomon, the writings of the minor prophets, and the writings of the major prophets, the writings of the Old Testament historical books, and the writings of Old Testament leaders. Covering the New Testament, we have the writings of Matthew and Luke, the writings of John, the writings of Paul, and the writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. So this 11-book series covers all 66 books of the Bible, chapter by chapter. So if the radio program was on 1 Samuel, you would find the written version in day by day through the Bible, the writings of Old Testament historical books. If the radio program is covering Daniel or Jonah, you would find all the minor prophets in the writings of the minor prophets. But say you’re studying the gospel of John in your own personal quiet time. You can find our coverage of John’s gospel in the writings of John, which includes not just his gospel, but other writings like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and Revelation. Or you are going to be reading one of Paul’s epistles. You could find them all in the writings of Paul. Our Day by Day through the Bible series is a tremendous resource as you read and study any book of the Bible. It will deepen your understanding of God’s Word and enhance your personal quiet time because each book breaks down the passage with comments from my personal Bible reading journals, offers life applications, and prayers related to the passage. If you want more from your time in God’s Word, visit EzraProject.net and try one of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. Any of the 11 books are a great place to start or get the full set to use wherever you are in the Bible today or wherever you are heading in your Bible reading. I know you’re going to enjoy it. I know you’re going to like it and want to share it with others.
