_BEGINNING OF DAVID'S REIGN AT HEBRON._
2 SAMUEL ii. 1-7.
The death of Saul did not end David's troubles, nor was it for a
good many years that he became free to employ his whole energies
for the good of the kingdom. It appears that his chastisement for
his unbelieving spirit, and for the alliance with Achish to which
it led, was not yet completed. The more remote consequences of that
step were only beginning to emerge, and years elapsed before its evil
influence ceased altogether to be felt. For in allying himself with
Achish, and accompanying his army to the plain of Esdraelon, David
had gone as near to the position of a traitor to his country as he
could have gone without actually fighting against it. That he should
have acted as he did is one of the greatest mysteries of his life;
and the reason why it has not attracted more notice is simply because
the worst consequences of it were averted by his dismissal from the
Philistine army through the jealousy and suspicion of their lords.
But for that step David must have been guilty of gross treachery
either in one direction or another; either to his own countrymen, by
fighting against them in the Philistine army; or to King Achish, by
suddenly turning against him in the heat of the battle, and creating
a diversion which might have given a new chance to his countrymen.
In either case the proceeding would have been most reprehensible.
But to his own countrymen he would have made himself especially
obnoxious if he had lent himself to Achish in the battle. Whether
he contemplated treachery to Achish is a secret that seems never to
have gone beyond his own bosom. All the appearances favoured the
supposition that he would fight against his country, and we cannot
wonder if, for a long time, this made him an object of distrust and
suspicion. If we would understand how the men of Israel must have
looked on him, we have only to fancy how we should have viewed a
British soldier if, with a troop of his countrymen, he had followed
Napoleon to the field of Waterloo, and had been sent away from the
French army only through the suspicion of Napoleon's generals. In
David's case, all his former achievements against the Philistines,
all that injustice from Saul which had driven him in despair to
Achish, his services against the Amalekites, his generous use of
the spoil, as well as his high personal character, did not suffice
to counteract the bad impression of his having followed Achish to
battle. For after a great disaster the public mind is exasperated;
it is eager to find a scapegoat on whom to throw the blame, and it
is unmeasured in its denunciations of any one who can be plausibly
assailed. Beyond all doubt, angry and perplexed as the nation was,
David would come in for a large share of the blame; his alliance with
Achish would be denounced with unmeasured bitterness; and, probably
enough, he would have to bear the brunt of many a bitter calumny in
addition, as if he had instigated Achish, and given him information
which had helped him to conquer.
His own tribe, the tribe of Judah, was far the friendliest, and the
most likely to make allowance for the position in which he had been
placed. They were his own flesh and blood; they knew the fierce and
cruel malignity with which Saul had hunted him down, and they knew
that, as far as appearances went, his chances of getting the better
of Saul's efforts were extremely small, and the temptation to throw
himself into the hands of Achish correspondingly great. Evidently,
therefore, the most expedient course he could now take was to establish
himself in some of the cities of Judah. But in that frame of recovered
loyalty to God in which he now was, he declined to take this step,
indispensable though it seemed, until he had got Divine direction
regarding it. "It came to pass, after this, that David inquired of the
Lord saying, Shall I go up to 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." The form in which he made the inquiry shows that
to his mind it was very clear that he ought to go up to one or another
of the cities of Judah; his advisers and companions had probably the
same conviction; but notwithstanding, it was right and fitting that no
such step should be taken without his asking direction from God. And
let us observe that, on this occasion, prayer was not the last resort
of one whom all other refuge had failed, but the first resort of one
who regarded the Divine approval as the most essential element for
determining the propriety of the undertaking.
It is interesting and instructive to ponder this fact. The first
thing done by David, after virtually acquiring a royal position, was
to ask counsel of God. His royal administration was begun by prayer.
And there was a singular appropriateness in this act. For the great
characteristic of David, brought out especially in his Psalms, is
the reality and the nearness of his fellowship with God. We may find
other men who equalled him in every other feature of character--who
were as full of human sympathy, as reverential, as self-denying, as
earnest in their efforts to please God and to benefit men; but we
shall find no one who lived so closely under God's shadow, whose
heart and life were so influenced by regard to God, to whom God was
so much of a personal Friend, so blended, we may say, with his very
existence. David therefore is eminently himself when asking counsel
of the Lord. And would not all do well to follow him in this? True,
he had supernatural methods of doing this, and you have only natural;
he had the Urim and Thummim, you have only the voice of prayer; but
this makes no real difference, for it was only in great national
matters that he made use of the supernatural method; in all that
concerned his personal relations to God it was the other that he
employed. And so may you. But the great matter is to resemble David
in his profound sense of the infinite value and reality of Divine
direction. Without this your prayers will always be more or less
matters of formality. And being formal, you will not feel that you
get any good of them. Is it really a profound conviction of yours
that in every step of your life God's direction is of supreme value?
That you dare not even change your residence with safety without
being directed by Him? That you dare not enter on new relations
in life,--new business, new connections, new recreations--without
seeking the Divine countenance? That endless difficulties, troubles,
complications, are liable to arise, when you simply follow your own
notions or inclinations without consulting the Lord? And under the
influence of that conviction do you try to follow the rule, "In all
thy ways acknowledge Him"? And do you endeavour to get from prayer
a trustful rest in God, an assurance that He will not forsake you,
a calm confidence that He will keep His word? Then, indeed, you
are treading in David's footsteps, and you may expect to share his
privilege--Divine direction in your times of need.
The city of Hebron, situated about eighteen miles to the south of
Jerusalem, was the place to which David was directed to go. It was a
place abounding in venerable and elevating associations. It was among
the first, if not the very first, of the haunts of civilised men in the
land--so ancient that it is said to have been built seven years before
Zoan in Egypt (Numb. xiii. 22). The father of the faithful had often
pitched his tent under its spreading oaks, and among its olive groves
and vine-clad hills the gentle Isaac had meditated at eventide. There
Abraham had watched the last breath of his beloved Sarah, the partner
of his faith and the faithful companion of his wanderings; and there
from the sons of Heth he had purchased the sepulchre of Machpelah,
where first Sarah's body, then his own, then that of Isaac were laid to
rest. There Joseph and his brethren had brought up the body of Jacob,
in fulfilment of his dying command, laying it beside the bones of
Leah. It had been a halting-place of the twelve spies when they went
up to search the land; and the cluster of grapes which they carried
back was cut from the neighbouring valley, where the finest grapes
of the country are found to this day. The sight of its venerable
cave had doubtless served to raise the faith and courage of Joshua
and Caleb, when the other spies became so feeble and so faithless. In
the division of the land it had been assigned to Caleb, one of the
best and noblest spirits the nation ever produced; afterwards it was
made one of the Levitical cities of refuge. More recently, it had
been one of the places selected by David to receive a portion of the
Amalekite spoil. No place could have recalled more vividly the lessons
of departed worth and the victories of early faith, or abounded more
in tokens of the blessedness of fully following the Lord. It was a
token of God's kindness to David that He directed him to make this city
his headquarters. It was equivalent to a new promise that the God of
Abraham and of Isaac and Jacob would be the God of David, and that his
public career would prepare the way for the mercies in the prospect of
which they rejoiced, and sustain the hope to which they looked forward,
though they did not in their time see the promise realised.
It was a further token of God's goodness that no sooner had David
gone up to Hebron than "the men of Judah came and anointed him king
over the house of Judah." Judah was the imperial or premier tribe,
and though this was not all that God had promised to David, it was
a large instalment. The occasion might well awaken mingled emotions
in his breast--gratitude for mercies given and solicitude for the
responsibility of a royal position. With his strong sense of duty,
his love of righteousness and hatred of wickedness, we should expect
to find him strengthening himself in the purpose to rule only in the
fear of God. It is just such views and purposes as these we find
expressed in the hundred and first Psalm, which internal evidence
would lead us to assign to this period of his life:--
"I will sing of mercy and of judgment:
Unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing.
I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.
O when wilt Thou come unto me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set no base thing before mine eyes:
I hate the work of them that turn aside;
It shall not cleave to me.
A froward heart shall depart from me:
I will know no evil thing.
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I destroy;
Him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I
suffer.
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land that they
may dwell with me:
He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall minister unto me.
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He that speaketh falsehood shall not be established before
mine eyes.
Morning by morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land;
To cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the
Lord."[1]
By a singular coincidence, the first place to which the attention
of David was called, after his taking possession of the royal
position, was the same as that to which Saul had been directed in
the same circumstances--namely, Jabesh-gilead. It was far away from
Hebron, on the other side of Jordan, and quite out of the scope of
David's former activities; but he recognised a duty to its people,
and he hastened to perform it. In the first place, he sent them a
gracious and grateful message of thanks for the kindness shown to
Saul, the mark of respect they had paid him in burying his body.
Every action of David's in reference to his great rival evinces
the superiority of his spirit to that which was wont to prevail in
similar circumstances. Within the Scriptures themselves we have
instances of the dishonour that was often put on the body of a
conquered rival. The body of Jehoram, cast ignominiously by Jehu,
in mockery of his royal state, into the vineyard of Naboth, which
his father Ahaz had unrighteously seized, and the body of Jezebel,
flung out of the window, trodden under foot, and devoured by dogs
are instances readily remembered. The shocking fate of the dead body
of Hector, dragged thrice round the walls of Troy after Achilles'
chariot, was regarded as only such a calamity as might be looked for
amid the changing fortunes of war. Mark Antony is said to have broken
out into laughter at the sight of the hands and head of Cicero, which
he had caused to be severed from his body. The respect of David for
the person of Saul was evidently a sincere and genuine feeling; and
it was a sincere pleasure to him to find that this feeling had been
shared by the Jabeshites, and manifested in their rescuing Saul's
body and consigning it to honourable burial.
In the next place, he invokes on these people a glowing benediction
from the Lord: "The Lord show kindness and truth to you;" and he
expresses his purpose also to requite their kindness himself. "Kindness
and truth." There is something instructive in the combination of these
two words. It is the Hebrew way of expressing "true kindness," but
even in that form, the words suggest that kindness is not always true
kindness, and mere kindness cannot be a real blessing unless it rest
on a solid basis. There is in many men an amiable spirit which takes
pleasure in gratifying the feelings of others. Some manifest it to
children by loading them with toys and sweetmeats, or taking them to
amusements which they know they like. But it does not follow that such
kindness is always true kindness. To please one is not always the
kindest thing you can do for one, for sometimes it is a far kinder
thing to withhold what will please. True kindness must be tested by its
ultimate effects. The kindness that loves best to improve our hearts,
to elevate our tastes, to straighten our habits, to give a higher tone
to our lives, to place us on a pedestal from which we may look down on
conquered spiritual foes, and on the possession of what is best and
highest in human attainment,--the kindness that bears on the future,
and especially the eternal future, is surely far more true than that
which, by gratifying our present feelings, perhaps confirms us in many
a hurtful lust. David's prayer for the men of Jabesh was an enlightened
benediction: "God show you kindness and truth." And so far as he may
have opportunity, he promises that he will show them the same kindness
too.
We need not surely dwell on the lesson which this suggests. Are
you kindly disposed to any one? You wish sincerely to promote his
happiness, and you try to do so. But see well to it that your
kindness is true. See that the day shall never come when that which
you meant so kindly will turn out to have been a snare, and perhaps a
curse. Think of your friend as an immortal being, with either heaven
or hell before him, and consider what genuine kindness requires of
you in such a case. And in every instance beware of the kindness
which shakes the stability of his principles, which increases the
force of his temptations, and makes the narrow way more distasteful
and difficult to him than ever.
There can be no doubt that David was moved by considerations of
policy as well as by more disinterested motives in sending this
message and offering this prayer for the men of Jabesh-gilead.
Indeed, in the close of his message he invites them to declare for
him, and follow the example of the men of Judah, who have made him
king. The kindly proceeding of David was calculated to have a wider
influence than over the men of Jabesh, and to have a conciliating
effect on all the friends of the former king. It would have been
natural enough for them to fear, considering the ordinary ways of
conquerors and the ordinary fate of the friends of the conquered,
that David would adopt very rigid steps against the friends of his
persecutors. By this message sent across the whole country and across
the Jordan, he showed that he was animated by the very opposite
spirit: that, instead of wishing to punish those who had served
with Saul, he was quite disposed to show them favour. Divine grace,
acting on his kindly nature, made him forgiving to Saul and all his
comrades, and presented to the world the spectacle of an eminent
religious profession in harmony with a noble generosity.
But the spirit in which David acted towards the friends of Saul did
not receive the fitting return. The men of Jabesh-gilead appear
to have made no response to his appeal. His peaceable purpose
was defeated through Abner, Saul's cousin and captain-general of
his army, who set up Ishbosheth, one of Saul's sons, as king in
opposition to David. Ishbosheth himself was but a tool in Abner's
hands, evidently a man of no spirit or activity; and in setting him
up as a claimant for the kingdom, Abner very probably had an eye to
the interests of himself and his family. It is plain that he acted
in this matter in that spirit of ungodliness and wilfulness of which
his royal cousin had given so many proofs; he knew that God had given
the kingdom to David, and afterwards taunted Ishbosheth with the
fact (iii. 9); perhaps he looked for the reversion of the throne if
Ishbosheth should die, for it needed more than an ordinary motive to
go right in opposition to the known decree of God. The world's annals
contain too many instances of wars springing from no higher motive
than the ambition of some Diotrephes to have the pre-eminence. You
cry shame on such a spirit; but while you do so take heed lest you
share it yourselves. To many a soldier war is welcome because it is
the pathway to promotion, to many a civilian because it gives for the
moment an impulse to the business with which he is connected. How
subtle and dangerous is the feeling that secretly welcomes what may
spread numberless woes through a community if only it is likely to
bring some advantage to ourselves! O God, drive selfishness from the
throne of our hearts, and write on them in deepest letters Thine own
holy law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
The place chosen for the residence of Ishbosheth was Mahanaim, in
the half-tribe of Manasseh, on the east side of the Jordan. It is a
proof how much the Philistines must have dominated the central part
of the country that no city in the tribe of Benjamin and no place
even on the western side of the Jordan could be obtained as a royal
seat for the son of Saul. Surely this was an evil omen. Ishbosheth's
reign, if reign it might be called, lasted but two short years. No
single event took place to give it lustre. No city was taken from
the Philistines, no garrison put to flight, as at Michmash. No deed
was ever done by him or done by his adherents of which they might
be proud, and to which they might point in justification of their
resistance to David. Ishbosheth was not the wicked man in great
power, spreading himself like the green bay-tree, but a short-lived,
shrivelled plant, that never rose above the humiliating circumstances
of its origin. Men who have defied the purpose of the Almighty have
often grown and prospered, like the little horn of the Apocalypse;
but in this case of Ishbosheth little more than one breath of the
Almighty sufficed to wither him up. Yes, indeed, whatever may be the
immediate fortunes of those who unfurl their own banner against the
clear purpose of the Almighty, there is but one fate for them all in
the end--utter humiliation and defeat. Well may the Psalm counsel
all, "Kiss ye the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way,
if once His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that
put their trust in Him."
FOOTNOTE:
[1] From the use of the expression "city of the Lord," it has been
inferred by some critics that this Psalm must have been written after
the capture and consecration of Jerusalem. But there is no reason
why Hebron might not have been called at that time "the city of the
Lord." The Lord had specially designated it as the abode of David; and
that alone entitled it to be so called. Those who have regarded this
Psalm as a picture of a model household or family have never weighed
the force of the last line, which marks the position of a king, not
a father. The Psalm is a true statement of the principles usually
followed by David in public rule, but not in domestic administration.