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II Samuel
Chapter
2
1~~And
it came to pass after this
{the events of the previous chapter - 'achar - used when the
subject is going in sequence - one historical setting to another},
that
David inquired of Jehovah/God, saying,
{the words used here indicate that David is using the High Priest's
breastplate (Urim and Thummim) which was the establish vehicle
for establishing God's will in David's dispensation}
"Shall
I go up into one { 'echad} of the cities of Judah?"
{David probably asked many questions receiving no answers. So,
now he asks this general question}
And
Jehovah/God said unto him, "Go up."
{Urim's yes light flashes - gets a 'green light' - David should not
stay there and rebuild Ziklag.}
And David said, "Where {where shall I go up} {`alah}?"
And
He {God} said, "Unto Hebron."
{Chebrown - means alliance/fellowship/'intimate relationship' - in
the southern part of the land once was called Kirjatharba - it
was the place where Jacob sent Joseph to seek his brothers in
Genesis 37:14 - and is 4 miles from Ziph in Judea. It was also a
city of refuge (see Joshua 20:7) and the men of Hebron were
friends to David and David rewarded them in I Samuel 30:31}
{Note: Getting to the throne will take David over 7 years. But David is going to get there the right way. He is patient and waiting for the Lord's timing. Here, once more, he is asking for divine guidance in his life.}
2~~Consequently,
David was caused to go up there {to Hebron} . . and his two wives also:
Namely,
Ahinoam {'Achiyno`am - sounds like 'Ahhh-hin-o-am'}
the
Jezreelitess
and
Abigail, Nabal's wife {Nabal died and David married the widow} the
Carmelite {See I Samuel 25:3 and following}.
{Note: When a soldier is changing geological locations, Psalm 18 is pertinent (but is poorly translated in KJV - but RBT did not translate it now).}
{Note: David was a polygamist. Here he has 2 wives and will have as many as 6 wives. This is prohibited a king in Deuteronomy 17:17 and David will suffer from doing so.}
3~~Now
David had brought up the men who were with him
{this was an entire battalion - these were the men David mustered
at the cave of Adullam - many great men - the basis of David's
very successful military operations},
every
man with his household
and
they 'dwelt in prosperity' in the vicinity of Hebron.
{Note: The army was placed on alert in an area where it could be quickly banded together in case of trouble in any direction of danger. This is the nucleus of the famous Royal Army of David.}
{Coronation
of David as King over Judah}
4a~~And
the men of Judah came
{the leaders of the Tribe of Judah - represent entire tribe},
and
there they anointed/appointed {mashach}
David
king over the house of Judah.
{Note: This is a coronation here in 1004BC. This reign over Judah only will last 7.5 years to 998 BC when he will become King of all Israel for 33 more years - 40.5 years total.}
{Verse
4b-7: David's First Task - Begins with Getting the Facts}
4b~~And
they 'were caused to tell'/'gave an intelligence report to' David,
saying, "It was the men of Jabesh-Gilead who buried Saul."
{Note: RBT said these men were unpopular for this act because it would have riled the Philistines against the rest of the Jews. The other tribes were trying to have peace through tolerating the atrocities of the Philistines. Similar sentiment is found in the US today. 'Peace at any cost' is an anti-biblical concept.}
{David
Sends an Embassy to Praise Them and Give Them Security}
5~~And
David sent an embassy unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead,
and
said unto them,
"Being
blessed {barak Qal passive participle} . . . you . . .
with
reference to Jehovah/God
{Hebrew idiom means 'You are being blessed by the Lord' - David is
recognizing their blessing},
who
have done/manufactured { `asah} this grace {checed}
{David's recognizes their grace function in retrieving the body of
Saul and burring it- it is the doctrine in their souls that motived
the deed that is blessed by God, not the deed itself}
unto
your lord/ 'adown {Saul} . . .
even
unto Saul, and have buried him."
{Note: Remember that Jabesh-Gilead is a small city state and very vulnerable to the retaliation of the Philistines. David is offering his protection. Principal: GRACE seeks GRACE. So, David is reaching out to other grace believers.}
{Grace
Man David Offers His Help to Other Grace People}
6~~"Therefore,
Jehovah/God 'shall provide'/
manufacture
{`asah} for you
grace
{checed} and Doctrine/Truth {'emeth}.
And
I {David} also will do {`asah} for you
good
{towb - here meaning a protective alliance},
because
you all have done/manufactured {`asah}
this
'thing {from doctrinal communication in their souls}'/
word
{dabar}."
{Note: 'Grace' is the name of the plan of God for all mankind. It is 'all that God can do for mankind based on the work of His Son on the cross'. You do nothing to earn or deserve this grace - it is a gift of God. All you can do is take in His viewpoint - through the intake of doctrine - and imitate Him - by applying His Divine Viewpoint to your experiences in life.}
{Warning
from David - All Freedom is from Military Victory or Military Preparedness}
7~~"Therefore,
at this time, your hands must be strong,
{means they must have a standing army and keep alert for the
attack}
and
'maintain a standing army'
{idiom: literally "be you all 'sons of the army'/soldiers" -
- meaning to continue mobilization of the army}
because
your lord/master {'adown} Saul is dead,
and
also the house of Judah has appointed me king over them."
{Note: David is saying he has not been appointed king of all Israel, but only of Judah. So, David has NOT replaced Saul. They need to be able to protect themselves. So, David will help them but he can not pledge the help of all of Israel, only of that of Judah.}
8-9~~"But
Abner, the son of Ner,
{'Abner - name means 'father of Ner' but he really is the son of Ner
- so 'Abner' is like a Junior in reverse (humorous)! Abner was Saul's
cousin and per I Samuel 14:50-52 Abner was a good soldier
(though was once lax in security when David snuck into Saul's
camp). And sat at the right hand of Saul in cabinet meetings},
'Chief
of Staff' {sar - also means 'prince'} of Saul's army/host,
had
taken away {from Gibeah} Ishbosheth, the son of Saul,
{'Iysh-Bosheth - name means 'man of shame' - original name was
Eshbaal ('Ish-Baal) (I Chronicles 8:33 and 9:39) - means 'fire of
Baal' (a false God) mature believers see him as being shameful}
and
He {Abner} caused him { Ishbosheth}
to
pass over {the river} to Mahanaim
{Machanayim - Genesis 32:2 God sent an angel army to guard
Abraham and his people here it became a famous border town and
a safe city protected by a narrow pass to get there} 9~~
and
He {Abner} caused him {Ishbosheth} to be made king
{took Abner 5 years of fighting - and he really ran the kingdom
with Ishbosheth as his 'puppet king' for 2 years more - total of 7
and ½ years before David takes over}
over
Gilead
{strip along right bank (east) of Gordan River - 60 miles long by 20
miles wide Abner had to consolidate this piece of land first},
and
over the tribe of Ashur
{name means Assyria - but this is a reference to the tribe of Ashur
to the extreme north - north of Sea of Galilee},
and
over Jezreel
{area south and west of the Sea of Galilee near where battle of
Mount Gilboa was fought - strong point of the Philistines},
and
over Ephraim {South of Jezreel},
and
over Benjamin, {this was the area of Saul's home territory}
even
over this much of Israel
{taken over where the tribes of Israel had been except the area
of Judah}."
{Note: David warns them of a coming civil war between himself (and Judah) and the house of Saul (with the other tribes of Israel).}
{Rival
Kingdoms - Basis for Civil War}
10~~Ishbosheth,
Saul's son, was forty years old
when
he became king over Israel, and reigned two years
{in 998 BC, Ishbosheth is assassinated}.
But
the house of Judah had remained loyal to David.
{Note:
So this is really poising David against Abner.}
11~~Now
it came to pass {micpar}
the
time {yowm} that David was king in Hebron
over
the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
{Note: Abner (with puppet king Ishbosheth - was the dictator for 7 and ½ years.}
12~~And
Abner, the son of Ner,
and
the army/servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul
{the new army that Abner established after Saul's defeat at Mt
Gilboa},
'strategically
advanced/'went out' {yatsa'} from Mahanaim to Gibeon
{Gibeon is important because it has a large water supply there - it
is located 8 miles north west of where Jerusalem is today - this
indicates that Abner's army is the aggressor army in the conflict
with David that is coming}.
13~~And
Joab the son of Zeruiah
{Joab is one of the three sons of Zeruiah - who is the sister of
David - other sons are: Abishai (a very decorated soldier - he
thrived on combat) and Asahel (`Asah'el - name means 'God
manufactured from something else' - will die in this chapter)},
and
the soldiers/servants of David, went out,
and
{accidentally} encountered them {Northern Army of Abner}
by
the pool of Gibeon
and
they sat down {on opposite sides of the pool},
these
{Joab's men - we will find is the stronger force here}
by
the pool on this side,
and
those {Abner's men} on the other side of the pool.
{Note: The encounter came from the logistical function to obtain water for each army. Abner feels trapped and is in a jam - he needs time to bring up his main body of troops and concentrate his forces. He has to think of a sly plan. He suggests that 12 of his men fight 12 of Joab's men (equal numbers). Remember these are two GREAT, well-trained, and disciplined armies, with seasoned veterans and good leadership, facing each other. Only difference is the Southern Army is in better spiritual condition under David and the Southern Army is a bit better trained than the Northern Army.}
{Abner's
Ploy to Give Him Time to Get Out of the Jam}
14~~And
Abner {the fast thinker} said to Joab,
"Let
the 'young soldiers' {na`ar} be selected/appointed please
{a polite request to have personal combat of new recruits instead
of an all out battle}
and
skirmish/fight {sachaq - Piel intensive stem} before us."
And
Joab said, "Let them arise."
{Note: RBT says the top part of the pool would be about right for a 12 against 12 hand to hand combat. And, Abner's strategy worked here. Joab agreed to the contest - for his own reasons - he wanted to 'blood' some of his new recruits to get them used to combat before the battle to come.}
{Verses
15-16: Battle of the Arena of the Swords/Battle of the Pool - 1st of
2 Battles of the Day}
15~~Therefore,
they were appointed and 'marched by'/'went over'
numbering
twelve of Benjamin,
belonging
to the army of Ishbosheth the son of Saul,
and
twelve of David's soldiers.
16~~And
each one grabbed vigorously
{chazaq - Hiphil stem indicating motivation - eager new troops}
by
the head
{either by the hair or by the ears - push their heads down so they
could not see},
and
stabbed/thrust his sword in his opponent's side
{kidney strikes resulting in 24 dead men}
with
the result that they fell down together.
Therefore
that place would be called Helkathhazzurim
{Chelqath hats-Tsuriym - means 'the arena of the swords'},
which
is located in Gibeon.
{Note: The lesson here is it is good to be eager to kill the enemy, but you can not get too emotional. These men were all worked up emotionally and none appeared to be thinking - result - all died. The best soldiers keep their emotions under control and kill professionally, without emotion.}
{Abner
Now Has Troops Concentrated and Skirmish Turns into Battle}
17~~Therefore
the battle became extremely sever that day
{details are in 30 and 31 - Southern Army loses 19 men and
Asahel; Northern Army 360 casualties};
and
Abner was defeated with the men of Israel
{Northern Army defeated and routed},
before
the army/servants of David.
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