“Lead on, O King Eternal”
Yesterday, in chapter 1, David tore his garments and taught Israel how to grieve with honesty rather than with propaganda. Chapter 2 opens at dawn. The tears have not dried, but God’s purposes move forward. The transition is abrupt in the text and in real life: the work of mourning never ends, yet life insists on continuing.
“After this David inquired of the LORD…” (2 Samuel 2:1, New International Version).
The Hebrew verb shaʾal—“to ask” or “to seek”―was the very word from which Saul’s own name (Shaʾul) was formed. Saul seldom inquired; David almost never acts without doing so. In one deft stroke the narrator contrasts the fallen king with the rising one.
Suggested cross-references: 1 Samuel 23:2, 4; Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:5.
Yahweh sends David not to Jerusalem (still Jebusite) but to Hebron, a city soaked in covenant memory. Abraham built an altar there (Genesis 13:18), Sarah was buried nearby (Genesis 23). Archaeologists have uncovered Middle Bronze walls and the stair-stepped tomb complexes that match the patriarchal period. For seven and a half years Hebron will serve as David’s incubator kingdom.
Key insight: David is anointed “a second time” (cf. 1 Samuel 16). The first anointing was private—promise. This one is public—partial fulfillment. God’s call often unfolds in stages; each anointing carries fresh obedience.
David’s first official act is not self-promotion but gratitude. He blesses the men of Jabesh-Gilead for burying Saul’s body at great risk.
Hebrew ḥesed—steadfast covenant love—appears in verse 6. David recognizes ḥesed wherever it is found, even in potential rivals. Theologians from Augustine to Calvin point out that true kingdom leadership delights in goodness, even when it poses political complications.
Western readers may miss how bold David’s letter is. By praising Saul’s loyalists he extends a hand across tribal lines. In the honor-shame culture of the ancient Near East, such magnanimity was unexpected, even dangerous.
Abner installs Ish-bosheth at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan. The land is now split: Judah under David, Israel under Saul’s heir. Archaeology locates Mahanaim near modern Tell ed-Dahab—high ground, defensible, a wise military choice.
The narrator quietly notes that Ish-bosheth reigned “two years… but David reigned in Hebron seven years and six months.” Israel’s king has a countdown; Judah’s king has a buildup. God’s hidden arithmetic is at work.
Themes to ponder
• God’s timing vs. human hurry (cf. Psalm 27:14).
• Legitimacy that rests on appointment (Abner) vs. on anointing
(David).
• The foreshadowing of Jesus, the rightful King who endures rejection
yet stays the course (Luke 19:11-14).
At the enormous pool—unearthed in the 1950s, a 37-foot-wide, 82-foot-deep limestone spiral—Abner proposes a contest: “Let the young men arise and play (sâchaq) before us” (v. 14). The verb can mean laughter, sport, even mockery (Genesis 21:9; 26:8). The irony is biting: what begins as “play” ends with 24 corpses and a civil war.
The battle escalates; Asahel races like a wild gazelle (v. 18). Abner’s spear butt, likely tipped with a counter-weight, slides clean through Asahel’s abdomen. Ancient readers would hear not only tragedy but revenge brewing—blood calls for blood under Near-Eastern custom (Numbers 35:19). Joab’s later murder of Abner (2 Samuel 3) is seeded here.
Yet there is restraint: Abner calls, Joab answers, the trumpet sounds, swords lower. The narrative pauses on the cost: Judah loses 20 men; Israel loses 360. Numbers that once described conquest of Canaan now speak of brothers killing brothers.
Cross-references: Matthew 26:52; Galatians 5:15.
• Contrast & parallel: Two anointings, two thrones, two
commanders, and ultimately two paths—one of divine dependence, one of
human engineering.
• Slow revelation: The kingdom will unite, but by God’s timetable, not
the hero’s.
• Ethical leadership: Grace shown to former enemies lays the groundwork
for future reconciliation.
• Christological lens: David’s partial reign anticipates Christ’s
“already but not yet” kingdom. Augustine wrote, “The City of God is ever
advancing, though it seems divided in time.”
• Origen: saw Hebron as the “place of alliance,” urging believers to
make covenant with God before seeking public recognition.
• John Chrysostom: highlighted David’s self-restraint as a model for
pastors tempted to expand influence prematurely.
• Martin Luther: read the pool of Gibeon as a warning against
“Anfechtungen” (spiritual assaults) that begin in jest but end in
despair.
• Charles Spurgeon: preached that David’s letter to Jabesh shows “the
best retaliation—returning blessing for loyalty unmet.”
Ask:
1. Do I seek God (shaʾal) before strategic moves?
2. Where can I honor ḥesed in those outside my circle?
3. Is there a “pool of Gibeon” in my relationships—rivalry disguised as
harmless banter that could turn deadly?
4. Am I willing to wait in “Hebron seasons” until God opens the full
door?
“Lead On, O King Eternal” (Ernest Shurtleff, 1888).
Its themes of patient advance and divine timing echo David’s journey
from Hebron to Jerusalem.
Sovereign Lord,
Teach us to inquire before we act,
to celebrate loyalty wherever we find it,
to wait for Your hour without forcing our own,
and to lay down the weapons of rivalry.
Unite our divided hearts as You united the tribes,
through Jesus Christ, the true and better King.
Amen.