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Chapter 69
David Called to the Throne
[This chapter is based on 2 Samuel 2 to 5:5.]
THE death of Saul removed the dangers that had made David an exile. The
way was now open for him to return to his own land. When the days of
mourning for Saul and Jonathan were ended, "David inquired of the Lord,
saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said
unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And He said,
Unto Hebron."
Hebron was twenty miles north from Beersheba, and about midway between
that city and the future site of Jerusalem. It was originally called
Kirjath-arba, the city of Arba, the father of Anak. Later it was called
Mamre, and here was the burial place of the patriarchs, "the cave of
Machpelah." Hebron had been the possession of Caleb and was now the
chief city of Judah. It lies in a valley surrounded by fertile hill
country and fruitful lands. The most beautiful vineyards of Palestine
were on its borders, together with numerous plantations of olive and
other fruit trees.
David and his followers immediately prepared to obey the instruction
which they had received from God. The six hundred armed men, with their
wives and children, their flocks and herds, were soon on the way to
Hebron. As the caravan entered the city the men of Judah were waiting to
welcome David as the future king of Israel. Arrangements were at once
made for his coronation. "And there they anointed David king over the
house of Judah." But no effort was made to establish his authority by
force over the other tribes.
One of the first acts of the new-crowned monarch was to express his
tender regard for the memory of Saul and Jonathan. Upon learning of the
brave deed of the men of Jabesh-gilead in rescuing the bodies of the
fallen leaders and giving them honorable burial, David sent an embassy
to Jabesh with the message, "Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have
showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried
him. And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you: and I also will
requite you this kindness." And he announced his own accession to the
throne of Judah and invited the allegiance of those who had proved
themselves so truehearted.
The Philistines did not oppose the action of Judah in making David king.
They had befriended him in his exile, in order to harass and weaken the
kingdom of Saul, and now they hoped that because of their former
kindness to David the extension of his power would, in the end, work to
their advantage. But David's reign was not to be free from trouble. With
his coronation began the dark record of conspiracy and rebellion. David
did not sit upon a traitor's throne; God had chosen him to be king of
Israel, and there had been no occasion for distrust or opposition. Yet
hardly had his authority been acknowledged by the men of Judah, when
through the influence of Abner, Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was
proclaimed king, and set upon a rival throne in Israel.
Ishbosheth was but a weak and incompetent representative of the house of
Saul, while David was pre-eminently qualified to bear the
responsibilities of the kingdom. Abner, the chief agent in raising
Ishbosheth to kingly power, had been commander-in-chief of Saul's army,
and was the most distinguished man in Israel. Abner knew that David had
been appointed by the Lord to the throne of Israel, but having so long
hunted and pursued him, he was not now willing that the son of Jesse
should succeed to the kingdom over which Saul had reigned.
The circumstances under which Abner was placed served to develop his
real character and showed him to be ambitious and unprincipled. He had
been intimately associated with Saul and had been influenced by the
spirit of the king to despise the man whom God had chosen to reign over
Israel. His hatred had been increased by the cutting rebuke that David
had given him at the time when the cruse of water and the spear of the
king had been taken from the side of Saul as he slept in the camp. He
remembered how David had cried in the hearing of the king and the people
of Israel, "Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in
Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? . . . This
thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy
to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed." This
reproof had rankled in his breast, and he determined to carry out his
revengeful purpose and create division in Israel, whereby he himself
might be exalted. He employed the representative of departed royalty to
advance his own selfish ambitions and purposes. He knew that the people
loved Jonathan. His memory was cherished, and Saul's first successful
campaigns had not been forgotten by the army. With determination worthy
a better cause, this rebellious leader went forward to carry out his
plans.
Mahanaim, on the farther side of Jordan, was chosen as the royal
residence, since it offered the greatest security against attack, either
from David or from the Philistines. Here the coronation of Ishbosheth
took place. His reign was first accepted by the tribes east of Jordan,
and was finally extended over all Israel except Judah. For two years the
son of Saul enjoyed his honors in his secluded capital. But Abner,
intent upon extending his power over all Israel, prepared for aggressive
warfare. And "there was long war between the house of Saul and the house
of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul
waxed weaker and weaker."
At last treachery overthrew the throne that malice and ambition had
established. Abner, becoming incensed against the weak and incompetent
Ishbosheth, deserted to David, with the offer to bring over to him all
the tribes of Israel. His proposals were accepted by the king, and he
was dismissed with honor to accomplish his purpose. But the favorable
reception of so valiant and famed a warrior excited the jealousy of Joab,
the commander-in-chief of David's army. There was a blood feud between
Abner and Joab, the former having slain Asahel, Joab's brother, during
the war between Israel and Judah. Now Joab, seeing an opportunity to
avenge his brother's death and rid himself of a prospective rival,
basely took occasion to waylay and murder Abner.
David, upon hearing of this treacherous assault, exclaimed, "I and my
kingdom are guiltless before the Lord forever from the blood of Abner
the son of Ner. Let it rest on the head of Joab; and on all his father's
house." In view of the unsettled state of the kingdom, and the power and
position of the murderers-- for Joab's brother Abishai had been united
with him--David could not visit the crime with just retribution, yet he
publicly manifested his abhorrence of the bloody deed. The burial of
Abner was attended with public honors. The army, with Joab at their
head, were required to take part in the services of mourning, with rent
garments and clothed in sackcloth. The king manifested his grief by
keeping a fast upon the day of burial; he followed the bier as chief
mourner; and at the grave he pronounced an elegy which was a cutting
rebuke of the murderers. "The king lamented over Abner, and said:
"Died Abner as a fool dieth?
Thy hands were not bound,
Nor thy feet put into fetters:
As a man falleth before wicked men,
So fellest thou."
David's magnanimous recognition of one who had been his bitter enemy won
the confidence and admiration of all Israel. "All the people took notice
of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the
people. For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it
was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner." In the private circle
of his trusted counselors and attendants the king spoke of the crime,
and recognizing his own inability to punish the murderers as he desired,
he left them to the justice of God: "Know ye not that there is a prince
and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak,
though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for
me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness."
Abner had been sincere in his offers and representations to David, yet
his motives were base and selfish. He had persistently opposed the king
of God's appointment, in the expectation of securing honor to himself.
It was resentment, wounded pride, and passion that led him to forsake
the cause he had so long served; and in deserting to David he hoped to
receive the highest position of honor in his service. Had he succeeded
in his purpose, his talents and ambition, his great influence and want
of godliness, would have endangered the throne of David and the peace
and prosperity of the nation.
"When Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were
feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled." It was evident that the
kingdom could not long be maintained. Soon another act of treachery
completed the downfall of the waning power. Ishbosheth was foully
murdered by two of his captains, who, cutting off his head, hastened
with it to the king of Judah, hoping thus to ingratiate themselves in
his favor.
They appeared before David with the gory witness to their crime, saying,
"Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought
thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul,
and of his seed." But David, whose throne God Himself had established,
and whom God had delivered from his adversaries, did not desire the aid
of treachery to establish his power. He told these murderers of the doom
visited upon him who boasted of slaying Saul. "How much more," he added,
"when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his
bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take
you away from the earth? And David commanded his young men, and they
slew them. . . . But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in
the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron."
After the death of Ishbosheth there was a general desire among the
leading men of Israel that David should become king of all the tribes.
"Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake,
saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh." They declared, "Thou
wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to
thee, Thou shalt feed My people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over
Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and King
David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord." Thus through
the providence of God the way had been opened for him to come to the
throne. He had no personal ambition to gratify, for he had not sought
the honor to which he had been brought.
More than eight thousand of the descendants of Aaron and of the Levites
waited upon David. The change in the sentiments of the people was marked
and decisive. The revolution was quiet and dignified, befitting the
great work they were doing. Nearly half a million souls, the former
subjects of Saul, thronged Hebron and its environs. The very hills and
valleys were alive with the multitudes. The hour for the coronation was
appointed; the man who had been expelled from the court of Saul, who had
fled to the mountains and hills and to the caves of the earth to
preserve his life, was about to receive the highest honor that can be
conferred upon man by his fellow man. Priests and elders, clothed in the
garments of their sacred office, officers and soldiers with glittering
spear and helmet, and strangers from long distances, stood to witness
the coronation of the chosen king. David was arrayed in the royal robe.
The sacred oil was put upon his brow by the high priest, for the
anointing by Samuel had been prophetic of what would take place at the
inauguration of the king. The time had come, and David, by solemn rite,
was consecrated to his office as God's vicegerent. The scepter was
placed in his hands. The covenant of his righteous sovereignty was
written, and the people gave their pledges of loyalty. The diadem was
placed upon his brow, and the coronation ceremony was over. Israel had a
king by divine appointment. He who had waited patiently for the Lord,
beheld the promise of God fulfilled. "And David went on, and grew great,
and the Lord God of hosts was with him." 2 Samuel 5:10.
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