2 Samuel 2:1-11

I Am for Peace

Intro

As we continue the saga of David and his rise to kingship, we have come at last to his ascension to the throne. It was quite common in the ancient world that when there was a change of dynasty, the incoming king would put to death, or exile any from the old dynasty to prevent any competition in the future to the throne. But that is not at all what we find David doing. Instead, in a Christ-like manner, David makes peace with the house of Saul. Meanwhile, Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, eager to prove his loyalty to the old dynasty, takes the son of Saul, Ish-bosheth and sets him up as a rival king in the north. Thus beginning a long civil war, and one that will not reward Abner.

We are continuing to develop the picture of who David was, filling out also the picture of who the Christ, David’s greater son, would be as well. David began his kingship by attempting to establish peace. Christ Jesus also began His reign by establishing an everlasting peace. So what kind of king will you have as Lord? A peaceful king, or a puppet king?

2 Samuel 2:1-11

A Peaceful King

The drama of the buildup to this moment may be lost on us since we have had several years’ break in between my series on 1 Samuel and taking this up again today. Let me remind you that after David was anointed king by Samuel, he was little more than a boy. Then, for the next at least ten, some scholars think as long as twenty years, David faced persecution and hardship, eventually being exiled from the land and sojourning among the Philistines. Now that Saul is dead, it's time for him to reassess the situation. I want to draw out two central characteristics of David as he begins his kingship. First, his dependence on God. Second, his attempts to make peace with the household of Saul.

Dependence on God

Before doing anything, before making any move, David does what we all should do when beginning some project, or embarking on a journey, or really before we do anything. David asks the Lord. Should he leave Ziklag and the Philistines and return to his homeland? And if so, which city should he return to? David, begins his reign on the right foot, having learned the lessons from his past, specifically his failure to seek the Lord when he fled Saul and found refuge amongst the Philistines. The Lord tells him to go up to Hebron, a strategic city, politically. Not only for its location, as the highest city in Palestine but also for the ties it carries to famous patriarchs, such as Abraham and Caleb, but also for the close family ties David has there. (A town in Judah, close to both of His wives’ families also).

The important thing to notice is that David still refuses to seize the throne, but will wait for the Lord to give it to him. He becomes a model for the Christian life. I see a lot of red-pilled, postmil guys, eager to seize the kingdom of God by force, who have yet to undergo the kinds of trials that would enable them to be fit rulers in His kingdom. Sadly, they are often barely able to discipline themselves, addled with addictions, with the only form of dominion they take being online. You are kings and priests, but until you learn to rule your own heart, don’t grasp after more.

David was humbled enough to recognize there is no rule worth having that is not given (sought) by God. So he seeks the Lord, and he waits. He moves back home to Judah, with his wives and his army, and they settle in. Only then, after they have made that place a home, do the elders of Judah come and anoint him king. Here, we often falter. We pray and then expect the Lord to act within five minutes. We don’t wait on the Lord in prayer. Which is the prayer of trust in a sovereign God whose every action comes at exactly the right time.

A Peace Maker

After hearing about the brave actions of the men of Jabesh-gilead who rescued Saul's body, David wisely commends them for their loyalty to their lord. Loyalty is the word chesed, often translated as "steadfast love." He then gives the Lord's benediction and promises his loyalty to them. Jabesh-gilead represents the northern tribes, and because of their close alliance with the house of Saul, they provide David with an opportunity to extend an olive branch.

Jabesh-gilead was rescued by Saul when Nahash, the serpent-king of the Ammonites, threatened to gouge out their eyes. But their ties to Benjamin go back even further. After the episode in Gibeah (Judges 21), when the tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out, daughters were given to them from the clan of Jabesh-gilead. This created marriage alliances between Benjamin (Saul's tribe) and Jabesh-gilead.

David's actions here are not just shrewd politics—he is being a peacemaker. This aligns with his consistent behavior when fleeing from Saul's persecution, during which he had multiple opportunities to take Saul's life but chose not to. David’s response runs counter to our natural tendency. Why should I commend someone for doing something good, to someone who tried to kill me? And why should I promise to be loyal to them? David does this not because it makes sense, but because it is right.

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Rom. 12:18) Paul exhorts us. And Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Mt. 5:9). What keeps you from being a peacemaker? Most often we fail to seek peace with others, because we are too busy trying to get even with them. There is this nagging thought in the back of your head that if you make peace with them, you will be letting them get away with whatever offended you. So, for the sake of justice, you refuse to make peace. Either by passively aggressively avoiding them, or by actively seeking to do them harm. But implicit in that behavior is the subtle confession that God is not just, and so you must take matters into your own hands.

Now there are certainly times when making peace with someone will mean confronting them in their sins, but even this must be done with a certain attitude of heart and motivated by love. You simply cannot make peace with someone when you have hatred in your heart towards them. In order to be a peacemaker, you must believe that the Lord is just, and you must have a forgiving heart. Only when you see yourself as a sinner, justly deserving God’s wrath and displeasure will you ever be in a place to look at someone who has done you wrong and love them, forgive them, and seek to do them good.

And you can do that because David’s greater Son, came and did that for you. He loved you even when your sins were piled on him and suffered and died for each one; and he forgave you when you were an enemy of Gods and neck-deep in sin; then he died so that he could make peace between you and God, taking on himself the stroke of God’s justice. Sons of God make peace, because The Son of God made peace with you through the blood of His cross.

A Puppet King

But the same cannot be said for the other characters in our story. After the men of Judah had made David king, Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth, Saul’s surviving son, and made him king “over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.” But did you notice what is inconspicuously absent from this episode? No reference to God.

Abner's actions were politically motivated, driven by personal ambition rather than divine guidance. This contrasts sharply with David's God-centered approach, highlighting their different leadership styles. While David sought to build a kingdom under God's authority, Abner merely propped up a puppet king to maintain his own power.

Ish-bosheth, meaning "man of shame," became a figurehead in Abner's political maneuvering. Unlike David's active pursuit of God's guidance and peace, Ish-bosheth remained passive, allowing Abner's manipulation. This contrast further emphasizes David's qualities as a divinely chosen leader, underscoring the importance of godly leadership in establishing a just kingdom. Already we are told that Ish-bosheth’s reign would only last for two years. Abner’s puppet king, would end bitterly.

As the story unfolds, we will find out that Abner is a complex character, he’s a good man, on the wrong-side of the aisle. And this is because his family loyalties apparently run deeper than his loyalty to the Lord.

Matthew 10:34–39 (ESV) — 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

There is a wrong and right way of making peace. Evangelicals are steadily making shipwreck of their faith by making peace with the cultural zeitgeist. When their son or daughter comes “out” to them, suddenly their mind is changed and they are OK with homosexuality. Or you’ve got a promotion at work, but it will mean you have to work Sundays. You take it because it’s the best option financially for your family. Or, you and your spouse haven’t been intimate in a while, and you feel you deserve better, so you gratify your lusts by looking at porn. All these are a kind of peace-making. You have to subtly redefine what the Lord calls evil as good. And when you make that kind of peace with sin, a small part of you dies. You get hardened to sin, and soon you’re making peace with sin in areas and places you never thought possible.

Are you for peace? That’s good, only be sure it’s for the right kind. Amen.