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Wednesday, June 20, 2018

JEHOVAH Says To David, "Go Up To Hebron"






2 Samuel 2:1-32 NIV








David Anointed King Over Judah







1In the course of time, David inquired of The LORD. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.



The LORD Said, 


“Go up.”



David asked, “Where shall I go?”


“To Hebron,” 


The LORD Answered.



2So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 


4Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.


When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, 5he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The LORD Bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6May The LORD Now Show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”







War Between the Houses of David and Saul






8Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.


10Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.


12Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.13Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.


14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”


“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.


15So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.a


17The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.


18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. 19He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”


“It is,” he answered.


21Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.


22Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”


23But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.






24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. 25Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.


26Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”


27Joab answered, “As Surely As GOD Lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”


28So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.


29All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hoursb and came to Mahanaim.


30Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. 31But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. 32They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.








David Became Anointed King over Judah






David inquired of The LORD - By Urim (1Samuel 23:6, 9; 30:7, 8). He knew his destination, but he knew also that the Providence of GOD would pave the way. Therefore he would take no step in such a crisis of his own and the nation's history, without asking and obtaining the Divine Direction. He was told to go into Judah, and fix his headquarters in Hebron.


There his interests were very powerful; for he was not only within his own tribe, and near chiefs with whom he had been long in friendly relations (1Samuel 30:26), but Hebron was the capital and center of Judah, and one of the Levitical cities; the inhabitants of which were strongly attached to him, both from sympathy with his cause ever since the massacre at Nob, and from the prospect of realizing in his person their promised pre-eminence among the tribes. The princes of Judah, therefore, offered him the crown over their tribe, and it was accepted. More could not, with prudence, be done in the circumstances of the country (1Chronicles 11:3).











JEHOVAH Allows The Rise Of David's Kingdom After Saul's Death






2 Samuel 1:1-27 NIV

















David Hears of Saul’s Death






1After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.2On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.


3“Where have you come from?” David asked him.


He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”


4“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”


“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”


5Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”


6“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’


8“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’


“ ‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.


9“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’


10“So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”






11Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of The LORD and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.


13David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”


“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.


14David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy The LORD'S anointed?”


15Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed The LORD'S anointed.’ ”









David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan








17David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 18and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):


19“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel.
How the mighty have fallen!
20“Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
21“Mountains of Gilboa,
may you have neither dew nor rain,
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.b
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
22“From the blood of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24“Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
25“How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.

27“How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”









THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL 




Chapter 1



1:1-16. An Amalekite Brings Tidings of Saul's Death.



As the narrative of Saul's death, given in the last chapter, is inspired, it must be considered the true account, and the Amalekite's story a fiction of his own, invented to ingratiate himself with David, the presumptive successor to the throne. David's question, "How went the matter?" evinces the deep interest he took in the war, an interest that sprang from feelings of high and generous patriotism, not from views of ambition.

The Amalekite, however, fabricated a story improbable and inconsistent, which he thought would procure him a reward. Having probably witnessed the suicidal act of Saul, he thought of turning it to his own account, and suffered the penalty of his grievously mistaken calculation (compare 2 Samuel 1:9  with 1 Samuel 31:4, 5).




1:17-27. David Laments Saul and Jonathan.



It has always been customary for Eastern people, on the death of great kings and warriors, to celebrate their qualities and deeds in funeral songs. This pathetic elegy is supposed by many writers to have become a national war song, and to have been taught to the young Israelites under the name of "The Bow," in conformity with the practice of Hebrew and many classical writers in giving titles to their songs from the principal theme (Psalm 22:1; 56:1; 60:1; 80:1; 100:1).



 Although the words "the use of" are a supplement by our translators, they may be rightly introduced, for the natural sense of this parenthetical verse is, that David took immediate measures for instructing the people in the knowledge and practice of archery, their great inferiority to the enemy in this military arm having been the main cause of the late national disaster.









Saul Became A Murderer of His Own Life







1 Samuel 31:1-13 NIV









Saul Takes His Life











1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.


4Saul said to his armor-bearer, 


“Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”






But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.






7When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.


8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 






9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.


11When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.







Saul Kills Himself





We cannot judge of the spiritual or eternal state of any by the manner of their death; for in that, there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Saul, when sorely wounded, and unable to resist or to flee, expressed no concern about his never-dying soul; but only desired that the Philistines might not insult over him, or put him to pain, and he became his own murderer.


As it is the grand deceit of the devil, to persuade sinners, under great difficulties, to fly to this last act of desperation, it is well to fortify the mind against it, by a serious consideration of its sinfulness Before GOD, and its miserable consequences in society. But our security is not in ourselves. Let us seek protection from Him WHO Keeps us to the end of the ages. Let us watch and pray; and wear the whole armor of GOD that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.


The Scripture makes no mention what became of the souls of Saul and his sons, after they were dead; but of their bodies only: secret things belong not to us. It is of little consequence by what means we die, or what is done with our dead bodies. If our souls and spirits are saved, our bodies will be raised incorruptible and glorious; but not to fear HIS Wrath, WHO Is Able To Destroy both body and soul in hell. 


While pompous funerals, grand monuments, and the praises of men, honor the memory of the deceased, the soul may be suffering in the regions of darkness and despair!




Let us seek that honor which comes from GOD only, whether 

we live or die.  




Amen!