On this fine, breezy and chilly winter’s day that Our Lord created, He also guided me to The Second Book of Samuel, Chapter 2, in which, with His help, we shall look at King David and King Ishbosheth’s war, in which we see two kings attempting to control the lives of the people of God. We shall start by looking at David, the king of Judah.
“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, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron. So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, 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 Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul.”
- 2 Samuel 1-4 (KJV)
“David enquired of the Lord:” Certainly, this was key to success in David's life. With rare exceptions, he constantly “enquired of the Lord.” David wanted more than God's blessing on his plans, he wanted to be right in the middle of God's plan.
“Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” At this time David was still in Ziklag, in the territory of the Philistines. Out of great discouragement and despair he left the land of Israel and lived almost as a Philistine among the Philistines. Now that David is restored to the Lord, he wonders if it is time for him to go back to his homeland.
It isn't a simple question as we might think. David didn't want to appear opportunistic, as if he only came back to Israel because Saul was dead. While not being overly concerned with appearances before man, he was not unconcerned with appearances either.
“And the Lord said unto him:” God was faithful to answer when David inquired. Since David was just coming out of a period of spiritual decline, God could have put him on "probation" and refused to speak to him for a while. Instead, the Lord spoke to David and gave him guidance.
Some 15 to 20 years before this David was anointed king over Israel as we see in The First Book of Samuel:
“And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”
- 1 Samuel 16:12-13 (KJV)
As the promise seems almost fulfilled, David doesn't rush in blindly and seize it. Instead, he carefully sought the Lord. David knew the promise was from God, so he knew God could fulfill it without any manipulation from David.
“There they anointed David king:” This shows that David did not seize the throne. The elders of Judah approached him. David knew that it was better to let God lift you up through others instead of striving to advance yourself. We should strive to advance God's Kingdom and leave the advancement of self in His hands.
This also shows that there is a sense in which the first anointing wasn't enough. We need a fresh anointing from God, and ongoing experience with the Holy Spirit. This anointing couldn't come when David still lived among the Philistines virtually as a Philistine. He had to get things right in his own walk before this fresh anointing.
Christian brothers and sisters, have you fallen away from The Lord? Are you ready for a fresh anointing? Remember these words from The First Book of Corinthians:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
God bless!
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