071. XLVIII. The Two Hebrew Kingdoms Under David And Ishbaal
§ XLVIII. THE TWO HEBREW KINGDOMS UNDER DAVID AND ISHBAAL 2 Samuel 2:1 to 2 Samuel 5:6
1. David king at Hebron. Now after this David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah answered him, Go up. And when David said, Whither shall I go up, he said, To Hebron. So David went up with his two wives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David brought up the men who were with him, each with his household, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came and there anointed David king over the house of Judah.
2. His message to the Gileadites. And when they told David about the men of Jabesh in Gilead who had buried Saul, David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh in Gilead and said to them, May you be blest of Jehovah, because you have shown this kindness to your lord Saul and have buried him. Even so may Jehovah show kindness and truth to you; and I also will do well by you, because you have done this thing. Now therefore be courageous and valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.
3. Ishbaal’s kingdom. Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbaal the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. 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.
4. Battle of Gibeon. Now Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ishbaal 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. Then Abner said to Joab, Let the young men arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin and Ishbaal the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And they each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called, Field of the Enemies (which is in Gibeon). And the battle was very fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were vanquished before the servants of David.
5. Death of Asahel. And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was as swift of foot as one of the gazelles which are in the field. And Asahel pursued Abner; and as he went he turned neither to the right nor to the left from the pursuit of Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, Is it you, Asahel? And he answered, It is I. Therefore Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right or to your left and seize one of the young men and take his spoil. But Asahel would not turn aside from pursuing him. Therefore Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me. Why should I smite you to the ground? How then could I look Joab your brother in the face? But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner smote him with a backward stroke in the body, so that the spear came out at his back; and he fell there and died in his place. Then all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.
6. Abner’s escape. But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner. And as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah on the highway in the wilderness of Gibeon. And the Benjamites assembled behind Abner and formed a solid phalanx, and stood on the top of a hill. Then Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitterness? How long then will it be before you command the people to turn from pursuing their kinsmen? And Joab said, As Jehovah liveth, if you had not spoken, then assuredly not until morning would the people have ceased each from pursuing his brother. So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight any more. But Abner and his men marched all that night through the Arabah and crossed the Jordan and went through the whole Bithron and came to Mahanaim.
7. Losses in the battle. And Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen of David’s servants besides Asahel were missing; while the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin and of Abner’s men three hundred and sixty. And they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s sepulchre, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and day dawned upon them at Hebron.
8. Results of the war. And the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was prolonged; but David kept growing stronger, while the house of Saul grew gradually weaker.
9. Abner’s quarrel with Ishbaal. Now, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner made himself strong in the house of Saul. And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal the son of Saul said to Abner, Why do you go in unto my father’s concubine? Then Abner was very angry because of the words of Ishbaal and said, Am I a dog’s head, who am at this time showing kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his kinsmen, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David, that you now charge me with guilt in connection with a woman? God do to Abner whatever he pleaseth, if, as Jehovah hath sworn to David, I do not even so to him, by transferring the kingdom from the house of Saul and by establishing the throne of David over Israel and over Judah from Dan to Beersheba. And he did not dare to make Abner any answer, for he feared him.
10. Negotiations between Abner and David. So Abner sent messengers to David to Hebron, saying, Make your league with me, then I will co-operate with you in bringing over all Israel to you. And he said, Good, I will make a league with you, but one thing I require of you, that is, you shall not see my face unless you bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me. Then David sent messengers to Ishbaal, Saul’s son, saying, Give me my wife Michal, whom I bought for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. And Ishbaal sent and took her from her husband, Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband followed her, weeping as he went, to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, Go, return; and he returned.
11. His visit to David. And when Abner came to David at Hebron, accompanied by twenty men, David gave Abner and the men who were with him a feast. And Abner said to David, I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you and that you may be king over all which you desire. Then David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
12. His murder by Joab. Just then the servants of David and Joab came from a raid, and brought in with them great spoil; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. So when Joab and all the band that was with him came home, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace. Then Joab went to the king and said, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why have you now sent him away, so that he is gone? Do you not know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to note your going out and your coming in and to know all that you are doing? And when Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the Cistern of Sirah without David’s knowing it. And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him apart to the side of the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there in the body. So he died for the blood of Asahel Joab’s brother.
13. David’s condemnation of the act. But afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before Jehovah of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house, and may there not fail from the house of Joab one who has an issue, or who is a leper, or who is effeminate, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.
14. His lamentation over Abner. And David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, Tear your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner! And King David followed the bier. And when they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept with a loud voice at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. And the king sang a dirge for Abner and said, Must Abner die as dies the impious fool?
Thy hands were not bound, Thy feet were not put into fetters; As one falls before ruthless men, thou didst fall.
Then all the people wept still more over him. Afterward all the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David took oath, saying, God do to me whatever he will, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down. And when all the people observed it, they were pleased; for everything that the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had nothing to do with the slaying of Abner the son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen to-day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king, for these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too strong for me. May Jehovah requite the evil-doer according to his wickedness!
15. Assassination of Ishbaal. Now when Ishbaal, Saul’s son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became limp and all the Israelites were thrown into confusion. And Ishbaal, Saul’s son, had two men who were captains of guerilla bands: the name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the Benjamites (for Beeroth is also reckoned to Benjamin, and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day). And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went and came about mid-day to the house of Ishbaal, as he was taking his rest at noon. And just then the doorkeeper of the palace was cleaning wheat, and she became drowsy and slept. So Rechab and Baanah his brother slipped in and thus entered the house, while the king was lying on his bed in his sleeping room, and they smote and killed him and cut off his head.
16. David’s attitude toward it. Then they took his head and went all night by the way of the Arabah. And they brought the head of Ishbaal to David to Hebron and said to the king, Here is the head of Ishbaal, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life. But Jehovah hath avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and his descendants. Then David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, As Jehovah liveth, who hath delivered my life out of all adversity, when one told me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, to give him the reward for his news. How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his own bed, shall I not now require his blood from you and destroy you from the earth? Then David commanded his young men, and they slew them and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the grave of Abner at Hebron.
17. David king of all Israel. Then all the tribes of Israel came to David to Hebron and said, See, we are your bone and your flesh. In times past when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel, and Jehovah hath said to you, ‘Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel.’ And all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah, and they anointed David king over Israel.
18. Length of David’s reign. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
I. David, King of Hebron. The overwhelming disaster on Mount Gilboa led the Hebrew and allied tribes of southern Palestine to look to David for leadership. As a vassal of the Philistines, he was in a position to deliver them from the danger which they most feared. They had evidently never been strongly loyal to the house of Saul. It was, therefore, easy for them to transfer their allegiance to a chieftain who came from their own ranks, and especially so, since David had proved his ability in many different crises. The message which David sent to the men of Jabesh suggests that he aspired at this time to the kingship of all Israel; but Saul’s able commander, Abner, still lived, and succeeded in saving certain fragments of the dismembered kingdom and in placing Saul’s son, Ishbaal, on the throne. By later generations Ishbaal was called Ishbosheth, the man of shame, because his name contained the hated word, Baal.
II. Hostilities between the Two Kingdoms. Both David and Ishbaal appear to have ruled as vassals of the Philistines and to have paid yearly tribute to these powerful foes, whose authority was again reëstablished in central Canaan. The fact that they were subject to an outside power did not prevent the two rival kingdoms from making war upon each other. It was a war, however, inspired not by the desire for conquest but by the jealousy of the rival leaders, Abner and Joab. It is in this connection that Joab first comes into prominence. As a kinsman of David, he had evidently shared his leader’s outlaw experiences. He was a man without fear or conscientious scruple. Pity and forgiveness were also foreign to his nature. His one virtue and also his fault was his supreme devotion to David’s cause. Unfortunately for Abner, Joab soon became involved in a blood feud with this rival commander of the northern forces.
III. Abner’s Negotiations with David. Of the two men, Abner appears to have been much the nobler character. His endeavor to avoid bloodshed and his loyalty to the unworthy son of Saul are virtues rare in this early age. When at last it became evident that the rule of the jealous and incompetent Ishbaal could no longer be maintained, Abner entered into negotiations with David with the aim of uniting the two kingdoms. A peaceful union seemed imminent, when Joab, prompted by the spirit of jealousy and blood-revenge, treacherously slew Abner. The act was prompted by such personal and unworthy motives that no palliation is possible.
IV. David’s Election as King. On the eve of its realization David’s fondest ambition was endangered. The treacherous murder of the popular northern leader in David’s territory and by his own kinsman and commander-in-chief was a crime difficult to overlook. David’s supreme tact and that marvellous fortune, which followed him throughout his career, are well illustrated at this crisis, but the real explanation of his ability to escape this seemingly impossible dilemma lies deeper. His upright record and the personal confidence, which he had inspired even in his foes, alone enabled him to dispel suspicion. His lament over Abner might have been deemed mere hypocrisy, but it was evidently not so regarded by the people of Israel. His frank confession of his own weakness in the hands of Joab and his ruthless kinsmen perhaps also carried great weight before the bar of public opinion. The news, which quickly came of the assassination of Ishbaal, undoubtedly aided much in turning the tide in David’s favor. His prompt action in slaying the assassins, who came expecting reward, still further confirmed the people in their belief that David was sincere. Back of the action of the elders of Israel, as they came to Hebron to anoint David king over all Israel, was the fact that the only choice which remained for them was to endure the Philistine yoke or else to accept the leadership of the one man who was able to restore their freedom. Through perils at the hands of friend and foe, through many crises and temptations, David had passed unscathed. By his reserve and moderation, as well as by his courage and diplomacy, he had at last won the highest honor that his race could confer. Israel had also, in divine providence, at last found the man supremely fitted to lead it on to the realization of its highest material hopes.