LESSON LXXXIX.

DAVID KING AT HEBRON.

B.C. 1055 TO 1050.-2 SAM. ii. 1—17.

And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto

Go up.
Hebron.

So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezcelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite.

And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.

And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

Ish-bosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of

David.

And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword

in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

COMMENT.-The overthrow and destruction of Saul's army had been so terrible that the Philistines were overrunning all the land of Israel west of Jordan, and would have conquered it entirely but for David and his gallant little band, the Manassite captains, the lion-faced men of Gad, with his original adventurous band from Adullam, and all his mighty men, the great Levite Benaiah, and his fierce nephews, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, the sons of his sister Zeruiah and of a man called Suri. This little band, trained by many years of hardship, were the saving of Israel. David saw the time was come, but first he "inquired of the Lord," and received from Him permission to return into Judah. Thence then he came to Hebron, the city close to which Abraham had dwelt and received · the promise, and now lay buried. He made his followers bring all their families with them, as returning to their homes, and was gladly welcomed by all the men of his own tribe of Judah, who called on the priest to anoint him again as their king. He was now thirty years old, and from this time his reign is reckoned as having begun. The beautiful 27th Psalm, which begins "The Lord is my light," is thought to have been his thanksgiving at this time. It contains a verse that shows the longing of his heart, now that prosperity was setting in upon him in the freshness of his kingdom:—

One thing have I desired of the LORD, which I will require : That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the fair beauty of the LORD, and to visit his temple. This was his prime desire, he who had never seen the tabernacle all his days. Still he had to exhort his soul to patience:

O tarry thou the LORD'S leisure.

Be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart;

And put thou thy trust in the LORD.

And so it was that David began his reign at the same age at which our Lord began his ministry.

His faithful love to Saul and Jonathan were shown in the grateful thanks he sent to the men of Jabesh-gilead for their pious care for their bodies. Still he was only king over the Judean hills. After

• The field of heroes.

five years of disorganization, Abner, the brave cousin of Saul, who had been captain of his host—a stern, honourable old soldier, faithful to his master and his family, but with little more sense of an obedience to the will of God than Saul himself-succeeded in rallying the remnant of the family at Mahanaim, on the eastward of the Jordan, the place that Jacob had named from the camps of angels he saw there on his return from Padan-aram. Saul's elder and braver sons had all died on Mount Gilboa, but there remained Ishbosheth, who was forty years old, and who seems to have been a weak and helpless creature. Abner placed him on the throne, but could not anoint him; and David had no scruple in opposing him. Indeed, David had been an anointed king five years when Ishbosheth was set up against him, and Abner marched forth from Mahanaim into the land of Judah to call for the submission of the tribe. David did not go forth against them himself, but sent his three nephews with his forces. They met on the east side of the hill of Gibeon, where, beneath a low cliff in the valley clothed with olives, lay a large pool or reservoir of water. Here the captains met and discoursed together, and Abner made his proposal, “Let the young men arise and play before us." This play is believed to have meant that the decision, whether David or Ishbosheth should reign, should be made by a combat between twelve men of Judah and of Benjamin, as champions on either side, before the whole army. The twelve were equally matched on either side, and all killed one another! This brought on a general battle between both armies, in which Abner and his men were routed and forced to take to flight.

LESSON XC.

THE PURSUIT FROM GIBEON.

B.C. 1050.—2 Sam. ii. 18—32; iii. 1, 2, 6.

And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.

And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.

And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to rass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.

Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.

Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.

And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron,* and they came to Mahanaim.

And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.

But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.

And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

Now 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.

And unto David were sons born in Hebron:

And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.

COMMENT.-The battle between the followers of Abner and of Joab had become a rout. The supporters of Ishbosheth fled along the winding valleys between the hills of Judah, closely pursued by David's men, headed by Joab and his two brothers. The

youngest of them, Asahel, was a youth, and swift of foot as a gazelle, and he kept in advance of the rest till he was close upon Abner, hoping perhaps to strike the decisive blow of all. But the mighty old warrior had pity on the spirited youth, who was no match for him, and whose brothers had once fought under him. He bade him turn aside and take the armour of one of the fallen. Whether he meant this as a spoil and trophy such as might content the boy, or whether it was the generous desire not to fight with an undefended person, is not clear; at any rate young Asahel would not take the friendly advice, even when again entreated by the old captain not to force on his own death, and thus leave ill-feeling between his slayer and Joab. At last Abner was unwillingly obliged to defend himself, and with one thrust from the hinder end of his spear, where there was a spike to fasten it into the ground, he ended young Asahel's pursuit and life. Every one who came to the bleeding corpse of the brave lad stood still in dismay, but his brothers were pressing hotly on till sunset, when Abner had gained the top of a hill, and thence shouted in a commanding tone to Joab, “Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it shall be bitterness in the latter end?"—the true account of all civil war-reminding him that these were their brethren whom they were slaying. Joab, with the old habit of obedience to the mighty captain of the host, obeyed, and Abner and his broken army crossed the Jordan by night and returned to Mahanaim. There is certainly something grand about Abner. His error seems to have been in never trying to own or follow the will of God.

As Joab and Abishai returned they came upon the body of their young brother, the only man whom they had lost except the twelve in the battle ordeal at Gibeon, a loss that filled Joab with bitter hatred and malice against Abner, unheeding his long forbearance. They turned aside to Bethlehem, near at hand, where the family sepulchres were, and there young Asahel was buried, with the Eastern dirges and lamentations sounding for the gazelle-footed youth all night long, ere the victorious army returned to Hebron. For two years more the warfare continued between the two kings, but always with advantage to David, while Ishbosheth's sole defence was the skill and boldness of Abner.