”But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only 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.“ II Samuel 2:8-11 NKJV
a. Abner the son of Ner: Abner was Saul’s cousin (1 Samuel 14:50) and the commander of Saul’s armies for many years. He first met David when David was a young man (1 Samuel 17:55-57). David once challenged Abner when David had the opportunity to kill Saul but did not. David pointed out that Abner failed to protect his king.
b. Ishbosheth the son of Saul: Saul had three sons who died with him in battle (1 Samuel 31:6). There is no previous mention of Ishbosheth among the sons of Saul, so it is possible that he was an illegitimate son or the son of a concubine.
i. We shouldn’t forget that David was also a son of Saul by marriage. David married Michal, the daughter of Saul (1 Samuel 18:17-30).
c. He made him king: Abner made Ishbosheth king, probably so that he could be the real power behind the throne of a weak king.
d. He reigned two years: For two years David allowed Ishbosheth to reign over most of Israel. These two years showed remarkable patience, longsuffering, and trust in God on David’s part. Ishbosheth was not the LORD’s anointed like Saul – David seemed to have every right to crush this man who stood in the way of his calling. Yet out of trust in the LORD and respect for Saul’s memory, David waited.
i. It seems strange that many of the tribes preferred Ishbosheth to David. Yet since the Philistines had overrun many of the other tribes of Israel, they were even more hesitant to come out-and-out for David. “We’ll just make the Philistines mad,” they thought. In the same way, if you will come out-and-out for the Son of David, you will have to be ready for the disapproval of the Philistines.
e. Seven years and six months: This describes the period of time David had his headquarters in Hebron. For the first two years of this time, he ruled over Judah alone and Ishbosheth (propped up by Abner) ruled the rest of Israel.
i. David refused to force his reign on his subjects – and neither will the Son of David. Like David, Jesus will battle against pretenders to the throne, but He will not force His reign on mankind – yet. (Guzik)
Patience, Longsuffering and Trust!
As we study through the Old Testament it amazes me of the patience, longsuffering and trust everyone went through!
Moses waited forty years!
Joseph was sold into slavery and imprisoned for years!
David lived in caves and waited on the Lord to become the king of all of Israel!
God molds and strengthens us through adversity.
We may not like it but He has a purpose through it all.
It would be well for us to trust in God, to have patience with longsuffering the next time we are going through a trial and to ask, Lord what are You trying to teach me?
Blessings
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