Sermon for Sunday Evening, July 6th, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Sermon Text:
[2Sa 2:1-11 ESV] 1 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.” 2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. 4 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,” 5 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. 6 Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7 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.” 8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, 9 and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. 10 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. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
Introduction
We continue in the triumphs of King David in the book of 2nd Samuel.
Last time we had “The Lying Amalekite and the Just David.” David put the Amalekite to death as the Lord had directed him, because (1) he was an Amalekite whom God had said to purge from the land, and (2) either the Amalekite had killed the Lord’s anointed (Saul) which David refused to do, or had lied about killed the Lord’s anointed. And then David lamented the death’s of the King (Saul) of of the King’s son, his best friend, Jonathan.
We now continue in the 2nd chapter of the 2nd Samuel.
And this is where I’m proud of each of you attending here this evening; this is where we go deeper; we get into the BIG chapters and the BIG history in the Old Testament. For we want to know the WHOLE counsel of the Lord.
I have titled this evening’s sermon “A King in Judah, a King in Israel.” That is in reference to David (the king of Judah) and Ishbosheth (the King of Israel).
We’ll have three points to consider in this text as we work through it.
I. David, who depends on God, is made King of Judah.
II. David reaches out to the men of Jabesh-Gilead.
III. Israel rejects David in favor of Ishbosheth
First we have:
I. David, who depends on God, is made King of Judah.
While Saul was the first king of Israel, and was chosen by God for that purpose, Saul was never a good example, never a type of the king that is to come in Jesus Christ.
Now, with David, God’s chosen (and approved) king rules on earth.
Part of earth anyways. Its a fairly small part. And not even all of the “holy land,” for we’ll see shortly that while Judah goes with King David, the North of Israel goes with another king, Ishbosheth (the son of Saul).
So we find that “THEY anointed David king.” That is, his men anointed him.
We keep seeing that David is not self-absorbed. David did not anoint himself king.
In 1st Samuel it was the Lord who anointed David to be king.
And now it is his men who anoint him king.
This is really quite downplayed, especially after all that has transpired, to now just say simply “And the men of Judah came; and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.” No party? No national event? No celebration. This is what was being looked forward to all throughout 1st Samuel. Now, Saul is dead and DAVID is king.
But there is a real honor, professionalism(?), humility (for sure), and sense of purpose in David. He is working for the Lord. So it is not time to through a party for himself because he is now king.
Application: We should learn this: When success comes to you, do not promote yourself, but look to the Lord. [REPEAT: When success comes to you, do not promote yourself, but look to the Lord.] There is that tendency of the natural man to glory in his success. But we all know that when we see others do that, it doesn’t look good. So we shouldn’t do it ourselves! Think, for example, of a football player who has just made an incredible catch in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. He should let THAT be a statement; what he is remembered for. A celebratory dance, or wagging of his finger in the face of his opponent doesn’t add to his glory, its takes away from it. So we are to do our job well and take whatever glory comes our way, but not seek for any additional praise. In fact, if at all possible, we are to directly that glory to the Lord who made us, and gave us all things.
Now, even before David is anointed king by his men, he’s already looking to the Lord. That is where the chapter starts.
David inquires of the Lord.
David waits upon the Lord.
Saul is dead, but not by David’s hands!
David goes FIRST to God in prayer. And he hears the Lord.
That is, David DEPENDS on God.
We sometimes “run ahead” thinking we know what God wants for us. We sadly make “prayerless decisions.” That was the problem with Joshua in “the Gibeonite Deception” in Joshua chapter 9. He took the word of the supposedly distant travelers, and he did not consult the Lord. A “prayerless decision.” We are rather, as Paul says, to act in this way: “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
Many do fail to remember to first pray to the Lord. But not David. He depends on God. He goes to God asking “where should I go?”
This isn’t just a general question he asks God everyday, but it is in the context of Saul’s death. “Now what should I do Lord” is what he is asking.
He might have prayed to God, or he might have asked through the high priest Abiathar. And when David here’s God’s response it is possibly through Abiathar or through the use of the Urim and Thummin stones. The text does not tell us the method by which David hears from the Lord. But we do have the response of God: Go to Hebron.
Now, why Hebron? Well, for one, Jerusalem is not much yet on the map.
Many argue that the reason for Hebron is that it is “strategically positioned” or “defensible” and fitting because of “sacred associations” being the place where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob were buried.
Others say also that “In the neighborhood of Hebron David had spent a considerable part of his fugitive life, and gained many supporters.”
“So David went up there.” David obeyed the word of the Lord. Against at stark contrast to Saul. David both asks of the Lord, and obeys the Lord’s command. So he goes to Hebron. And he is ordained by “the men of Judah.” So these are not just the men who have closely traveled with and alongside David. This is the “men of Judah,” not necessarily every single man in the tribe, but at least the prominent men. David has the support of the people. He has the support of God, and he has the support of the people to be the king.
II. David reaches out to the men of Jabesh-Gilead.
Now what is his first act as king? It is not to promote himself. It is to welcome to his side the men of Jabesh-gilead; to gain their allegiance.
5 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. 6 Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7 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.”
David gives an INVITATION for Jabesh-Gilead to join God’s people.
He praises them for their loyalty to Saul, and for burying him.
He is referencing 1 Samuel 31:11-13 (at the end of that book)
[1Sa 31:11-13 ESV] 11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
So David wants these “valiant me” on his side. He wants on his side THESE men who honor Saul, not the lying Amalekite who dishonored Saul.
The only other reference with have to Jabesh-Gilead before this time is Judges 21:8-14 where we find that “no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.” So there is a history of this being the place of trouble; of people not following the Lord. So if David can get THEM with him, he can get everyone with him. All the people of all the tribes.
And it would seem that David had a chance of success in all this, but for Abner, the commander of Saul’s army getting involved with an alternative plan.
III. Israel rejects David in favor of Ishbosheth
That’s what we find next, in our third section (verse 8 through 11) where Israel rejects David in favor of Ishbosheth.
8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, 9 and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. 10 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. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
Then Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, is made king over Israel.
He is in fact, the fourth son of Saul.
There was Jonathan (whom we know a lot about), and then Ishvi, and Malchi-Shua.
These three along with Saul were killed by the Philistines at the end of 1st Samuel.
Abner is the cause of the trouble, in making Ishbosheth to be king.
Abner is the commander of the army. That is often the person in world history who helps chose the next leader; often times choosing themselves!
But he clearly wanted to continue Saul’s policies and Saul’s ways. It brings “stability” to have the son of the king become the next king.
But I submit “stability” isn’t any good if the policies are bad!
Saul was not a follower of the Lord.
If Abner too is not a follower of the Lord, then there is the unfortunate circumstance of having a leader who is out for himself, rather than following the Laws of God.
And you must wonder, “why wasn’t Abner fighting alongside his father and his brothers?” Was he weak? Was he sick? A coward? Is this really the person you want in charge?
So a great problem is now in store; division between Judah and Israel.
Usually, you think of a division between Judah and Israel at a later time. After the death of King Solomon, there is division between King Rehoboam of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel.
But we find division here in David’s time.
Why is there this tendency to split between North and South? Israel in the North, Judah in the South. It is along tribal lines, no doubt. But why did some tribes make the Northern nation of Israel and why did some tribes form the Southern nation of Judah? The Northern kingdom in the time of Rehoboam was of 10 tribes (Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, and Manasseh.) The Southern Kingdom of Judah then was just 2 tribes; Judah and Benjamin.
A division among the people of God.
But underlying this division in David’s time is a division between believers and unbelievers.
David follows the Lord.
Ishbosheth, like his father Saul, does not follow the Lord. And, as the text tells us he reigns for 2 years. And that is 2 years where the people are not blessed to have a godly leader. And 2 years of fighting between The House of David and The House of Saul (Ishbosheth).
What can we learn from this?
Application: There’s always a rival to God’s king.
That might be a political rival.
But it can take other forms; anyone or anything that draws our attention away from God.
That is an anti-Christ; anyone or anything that opposes Christ.
And they don’t have to do so explicitly. Many who oppose God don’t believe God exists, so they don’t think they are against him; but they are. Satanist says they don’t worship Satan; but they do admit to be self-guided, which is exactly what Satan wants them to be; anything so long as they are not obeying the Lord.
Our goal, on the other hand, is to make the Lord our king. Yes, there are authorities that we should obey. And all authorities are ordained of God. We obey so that we do not bring a bad name upon the Lord. But it is not the king, even if he be a Christian king, that we ultimately obey. God is our God above all things; and He alone we worship.
Conclusion:
One final note. We don’t see this spoken of explicitly in the passage, but it’s getting there … one day a king will come who is greater than David. Though he comes after David he was before David. Jesus Christ is the true king. David knows that he himself is not the end all be all, but that God is in charge and God will provide for them.