Daily Thought

David had eventually heard about the tragic death of Saul and his sons. He deeply lamented Saul’s passing and that of Jonathan, 2 Sam. 1. 11-16, but now the question arose as to what he should do next. One possibility was to go straight home to Judah, and claim the crown - but how would he be received after living among the Philistines? Was it safe to go? If not, would it now be safe to stay? If he went, which city should he go to? The only thing to do was to pray about these matters.

David’s prayer is very definite and to the point - ‘Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? whither shall I go up?’. The Lord’s answers were equally as precise - ‘Go up unto Hebron’, 2 Sam. 2. 1. So David, his men and their families went to Hebron, one of his old haunts, and settled there. It was not long before the people of Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah, v. 4.

His first act as king was to honour the men of Jabesh-gilead who had removed the dead bodies of Saul and his sons from public display on the walls of Bethshan and given them a proper burial. David is fulsome in his praise; ‘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’, vv. 5-7.

A true person of prayer cannot be vindictive. Saul had been the Lord’s anointed, even though he had relentlessly persecuted David. David never gloated over his death, or even his humiliation in death, and was now happy that he had been given a decent burial. But now one of the dangers that David might have anticipated was opposition from the followers of Saul. In fact, they made Saul’s surviving son, the forty-year-old lshbosheth, king of Israel, v. 9. For six and a half years David was king of only Judah, during which time there was constant warfare between them, but ‘David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker’, 3. 1.

David asked the Lord about every important decision in his life. Do we bring our decisions before the throne of grace?