And it came to pass after this that David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.
Saul is dead and the throne stands empty. David has already been anointed king and is free to take it. Yet his first move is a question, not a march. What follows shows how a man who is sure of God's promise still refuses to take a single step without God's word.
David's certainty about God's promise is what makes him unhurried.
Instead of using political schemes or violence to win the throne, he asks Jehovah, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" This is admirable. He well knew that he was anointed, but he will not take a step without Jehovah. Anyone else would have had himself introduced at once with a flourish of trumpets. David could wait, and all the more because Jehovah had anointed him. He knew very well that Jehovah's purpose could not fail. For that reason he could afford to be quiet.
David had not always acted this way. Earlier he went down to king Achish at Gath without asking God. Now he asks — and the place God names carries its own lesson.
David was in no hurry at all to take advantage of the situation Saul's death had created. Though he had not enquired of the Lord about going down to king Achish at Gath (1 Sam. 27:1-2), he does enquire now about leaving Ziklag and returning to Judah. The Lord tells him to do so. Yet he feels his dependence on God, so he asks further which city. God's answer, "Hebron," is not just meant to point out a good location. Its name means "communion," which would be a strong reminder to David that if he is to reign as king, he will need the place of constant communion with God.
Events alone had put the crown within David's reach. He would not read events as instructions.
He is assured of being Jehovah's anointed king. Saul is now dead, and his army defeated. The crown has come, in a way little to be expected, into his hand. Yet he will not let circumstances guide him. He must have the plain word of God to direct him — not just whether to go up to Judah, but to what part of it. … It is good when a man of such a brave and energetic spirit can wait on God, at the very hour when circumstances invite action.
That is why one answer is not enough for him. Told to go up, he asks where, and the reply narrows a whole region to a single town.
It is God who chooses the special place where His anointed is to go. Left to himself, David might have hesitated over many possible places. But God names one place alone for His servant: Hebron.
We might assume that with Saul gone, David's path was clear. It was not.
The kingdom had its beginning there, for God had not yet set His king on His holy hill of Zion. There was still room for faith, patience, and dependence on God. We might have thought that with the death of Saul the last obstacle had been cleared out of David's way, but it was not so. Seeing God's purpose is not enough. We must submit to Him, and depend on Him to bring it about.
Commentators differ on what Hebron pictures. One takes its name as communion; another looks at its old use as a burial place.
In the book of Joshua we noted the meaning of Hebron: a burial place, a place of death, the end of man, a striking picture of what the cross of Christ is for us. According to God's mind, David had to go up to Hebron. Hebron was where his reign had to begin, because David's reign is a picture of Christ's reign, and Christ's reign is based on the cross. Christ's kingdom is the consequence and the reward of His cross.
The answer came, and David moved at once — into a throne that was still only partial.
With the simplicity of a child, and in a few words, he asked Him… David obeyed at once. He went to Hebron with his two wives, and his men went with him, each with his household. Then "the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah." He still had to wait seven and a half years before all Israel submitted to his rule.
- Ask — David asked before he moved, though he was already the anointed king. He was sure of God's purpose, so he could wait instead of grabbing.
- Ask again — one answer did not satisfy him; he asked not only whether to go but where, and God named a single town.
- Not circumstances — events had dropped the crown into his hand, yet he refused to let circumstances guide him and waited for the plain word of God.
- Not knowledge either — knowing God's plan is not enough; we must submit to Him and depend on Him to bring it about.
- Then obey — he went at once to Hebron, where the men of Judah anointed him king, and still waited seven and a half years for all Israel.
So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
David goes up to Hebron because the LORD named the town — and he does not go alone. Two wives who shared his years on the run travel with him, so the verse leaves two questions: why this town, and why name these women?
One writer watches how fast David moved once God answered — and how long he still waited afterwards.
With the simplicity of a child, and in few words, he asked Him: "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." And David said, "To which shall I go up?" And He said, "To Hebron." David obeyed at once. He went to Hebron with his two wives. The men were with him, every man with his household. "And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah." He still had to wait seven and a half years before all Israel submitted to his rule.
One writer looks at what the town of Hebron itself stands for.
In the book of Joshua we have already noted what Hebron means. It is a burial place, a place of death, the end of man — a striking picture of what the cross of Christ is for us. According to God's mind, David had to go up to Hebron. Hebron was the point where his reign, as a type, must begin. David's reign is only a type of Christ's reign, and that reign rests on the cross. Christ's kingdom is the consequence and the reward of His cross. The elders gathered around the throne sing a new song: "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain."
The verse names Abigail by her first husband: the widow of Nabal. One writer traces what she gave up when she married David, and what she gained.
Having gained her freedom by death, Abigail becomes the wife of David. She leaves her high position, along with the ease and comfort that normally belonged to a woman of substance. She joins David in his sufferings and wanderings. On this new path she will indeed know suffering and hardship. David's enemies will even take her captive in the day of Ziklag. But she will also share his throne in the day of his reign at Hebron.
Another writer asks whether she had read David's future rightly.
Were her convictions about David's future wrong, or right? Right indeed they were, and she saw it proved. With Nabal's body sleeping in the tomb, she went with David as king over Judah to Hebron. A sharer in his sufferings, she saw the day of his exaltation and power.
One writer takes the two wives as pictures of two companies close to Christ.
The man of sorrows, the rejected king, not only has companions and a people at Hebron, but also his wife and bride. Abigail (the father's joy), like Rebekah, is one of the rare types in the Old Testament that pictures the Church. She is the Bride, David's willing, humble, joyful companion during the days of his rejection. Ahinoam (the son's grace) stays more in the background. She stands instead, as I see it, for the remnant of Israel who have entered into relationship with the Messiah before His reign begins.
Commentators differ. Another writer stops short of calling Abigail the church.
This is not strictly the church, but she is on the principle of the church. Abigail goes to meet David before the death of Nabal: so it is with the church before the nation is judged. The faith of this woman is very remarkable.
The verse counts two wives. At Hebron David took more, and one writer weighs that against what God had already written.
David takes several wives at Hebron besides Ahinoam and Abigail, his companions in his wanderings. Had he inquired of the Lord before doing so, what would the Lord have answered? Read my Word! Dependence on God and dependence on His Word are one and the same thing. David had the books of the law in hand, and he needed only to meditate on them to see his path. Does it not say in Deuteronomy 17:17 about the king: "he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away"?
- Asked. David did not pick his own city. He asked, the LORD answered Hebron, and he went at once.
- Answered. The LORD sent him to a burial place. The reign begins there, because Christ's kingdom is the reward of His cross.
- Shared. The wives who went up had shared the wandering. Abigail gave up ease and comfort for David, and reached his throne.
- Pictured. One writer sees Abigail as the Bride and Ahinoam as the remnant of Israel. Another stops short of calling her the church.
- Unasked. David asked about a city but never about a wife. God's Word had already answered him: the king must not take many wives.
And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, It is the men of Jabesh-Gilead that have buried Saul.
David has just mourned Saul, and the throne God promised him years ago is finally within reach. Yet he first asks the Lord where to go, and the answer, Hebron, brings him one tribe while the rest of Israel holds back.
David already had God's word on the throne. That is exactly why he refused to grab it.
Instead of using politics or force to seize the throne, he asks Jehovah, "Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?" This is admirable. He well knew that he was anointed, but he will not take a step without Jehovah. Anyone else would have had himself introduced at once with a flourish of trumpets. David could wait, and all the more because he was anointed by Jehovah. He knew perfectly well that Jehovah's purpose could not fail. For that reason he could afford to be quiet.
David then asked which city. The answer was a name with meaning.
God's answer, "Hebron," was not just meant to point to a good location. Its name means "communion." That would be a strong reminder to David: if he is to reign as king, he will need the place of constant communion with God.
Why begin a kingdom in a burial place? Commentators see the choice as deliberate.
Hebron was a burial place, a place of death, the end of man, a striking picture of what the cross of Christ is for us. In God's mind, David had to go up to Hebron. That was where his reign must begin, because David's reign is only a picture of Christ's reign, and Christ's reign is based on the cross. Christ's kingdom is the consequence and the reward of His cross.
Only Judah crowns him; the other tribes hold back. Commentators read that delay as a pattern, not a failure.
Just as with David's reign, so the reign of Christ will not be established in this world by a sudden dramatic stroke. His judgment will be sudden, but not His reign. That would not fit the mind of God. He wants to give His own people time for their consciences to be exercised... Here David is first recognised by those who had been his companions during his rejection, and next Judah gathers around him. Then the other tribes come after they have lost the support of the flesh.
This is not the first oil poured on David's head, and not the last. One writer counts all three.
Samuel anointed David among his brothers in 1 Samuel 16:13. David was anointed three times, and that was the first. In 2 Samuel 2:4 the men of Judah anointed David "king over the house of Judah," and in 2 Samuel 5:3 the elders of Israel anointed him "king over Israel."
Saul's anointing had no witnesses. David's were public, and there is a reason:
No one else was present when Samuel anointed Saul... God could have David anointed in public because David was God's own choice, a picture of Christ. Saul, on the other hand, was really the people's preference for king.
The verse ends with news reaching David about the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had buried Saul. His response sets the tone of the reign.
First, out of the spirit of grace that marks him, David praises the men of Jabesh-gilead. They had shown kindness toward Saul and had buried him. He tells them that Judah has anointed him as king, and so this news reaches the far borders of Israel's territory.
They had honoured a king who had deeply offended God.
This is beautiful, this is grace — that God should single out the deed of these men in a special way, even though the king they honoured had so deeply offended Him. How little we enter into the mind of God! We would probably have thought the men of Jabesh-Gilead were very foolish. Why should they get involved? No doubt many of David's followers would have blamed them. David did not. David understood the mind of God.
- Ask — David had the promise and still asked twice: whether to go up, and where. Certainty about God's purpose made him patient, not pushy.
- Place — the Lord named Hebron, a name that means "communion": a king who must rule needs to stay close to God.
- Grave — Hebron was a place of death, and a reign that starts there pictures a kingdom founded on the cross.
- Part — Judah crowns him while Israel waits. The kingdom comes in stages, not by one sudden stroke, so consciences have time.
- Grace — his first royal act is to bless men who honoured his old enemy. David judged by the mind of God, not by rivalry.