And Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Saul has fallen, and Judah has just anointed David at Hebron — but the throne is not settled. Saul's old commander then takes a son of Saul and sets up a rival kingdom. That raises a question: what happens when a man defends the old order against the king God has chosen?
The act looks like loyalty to a fallen family. One writer measures it instead by who the Lord had anointed.
War has not yet ended. If it is not against enemies outside, it goes on against those inside. Whatever was tied to Saul's natural importance cannot support David. All is now changed, for Ish-bosheth was not the Lord's anointed, and to make him king was in fact to rebel against God.
Abner needed someone to crown. One writer notes what this son of Saul offered him, and what his name says.
Abner asks no counsel of God. His wisdom comes from himself, prompted by that ready adviser, self-interest — or by what looks like it. As commander of the army that had been Saul's, he had the opportunity, and in Ish-bosheth he had a man who carried whatever shadow of title could come from Saul... Ish-bosheth means "man of shame." You could easily suppose that name came from his history rather than being the one he was born with. Chronicles tells us that his original name was in fact Esh-baal (1 Chronicles 8:33). The same change happened to Jonathan's son Merib-baal, whose name became Mephibosheth. Hosea 9:10 calls Baal himself "that shame." There is no real question that this sense of the shameful character of idolatry led to the name changes.
Another writer saw the move as a measure of how low the nation had sunk.
Abner's move to set up Ish-bosheth, a younger son of Saul, announced how low Israel had fallen. He was not anointed and not gifted. He was only a tool in Abner's hands, used for Abner's purpose, and in the end two of his own captains murdered him.
Abner was not a villain by the world's reckoning. What he stood for, though, was a claim of birth dressed up as a claim of right.
Abner is an honourable man by the world's standards. He is very brave, with a natural nobility of heart. But his character is violent and proud. In supporting Ish-bosheth he supports the principle that the throne passes down by natural family ties. That principle wore the appearance of right, because God had chosen Saul. Men defend this principle to the extreme, for it is the principle of their fathers' religion... What objection is there? Only that this whole system stands against the mind of God and makes war on His anointed.
Abner was not acting in ignorance.
It should not surprise us that Abner resists the Lord by supporting Ish-bosheth, and that he does it knowingly and willingly. Abner knows that David is the Lord's anointed... Abner knows he is not on God's side. But the Lord is not the object of his plans and his activity, so he barely cares that his opinions and his conduct contradict each other.
The place Abner chose has its own history, going back to Jacob.
Mahanaim was the place where Jacob saw angels, and where God's host and his own camp made "two camps." It ends with Jacob's own camp split in two, just as Abner had now divided Israel — and these camps were hostile to each other. Reliance on human strength had worked like that all through the history in between. God will not be content to be one force among other forces. And half-way dependence on Him, which is more than half independence, soon turns into real hostility.
Two rival camps meant years of fighting. One writer names the cause.
All this shows the sorrowful conditions that existed in Israel... Wars and bloodshed will continue as long as God's true King is not on the throne, ruling in righteousness and in peace. Nothing can stop the sword until He reigns.
Commentators differ on how far the picture of a future false king can be pressed. One writer finds "many difficulties in the way of such a view."
Here are faint hints of what Israel's future history will repeat. Another Ish-bosheth, a pretender to the throne of Israel, the false king, will be on the earth. He comes in his own name, with no claim whatever to the throne. And only a faithful remnant of His people will acknowledge the true King, just as with David... But Ish-bosheth's weakness, and above all his end, make it impossible to press the picture any further.
- Rebellion. Ish-bosheth was not the Lord's anointed. Crowning him was not politics but rebellion against God.
- Shame. He carried only a shadow of title from Saul: not anointed, not gifted, a tool in Abner's hand, and named "man of shame."
- Flesh. Abner defended succession by family ties. The old system looked right, but it warred against God's chosen king.
- Division. Mahanaim was the place of "two camps." Half-dependence on God soon hardened into two camps at war in Israel.
- Sword. Where the true king is not on the throne, the sword never stops; peace waits on His reign.
and made him king over Gilead, and over the Asshurites, and over Jizreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
David has just been crowned king in Hebron, and Abner answers by crowning Saul's surviving son over nearly every tribe but Judah. That leaves Israel with two kings and one question: who has the right to the throne?
The list of regions is impressive, but nobody asked God. One commentator traces the whole move back to the way a soldier thinks.
Abner, the captain of Saul's army, could only understand natural succession. He did not seek the will of God, but decided to put Saul's son Ish-bosheth on the throne of Israel. How many since him have thought that the military has the right of such decisions! But this choice belongs to God alone, and He had already anointed David as king of Israel — not only of Judah.
A reference work fills in the dates. Its count of the tribes he actually held falls short of the list in the verse:
It seems he did not begin to reign until five years later. He then reigned two years, over all the tribes except Judah, Benjamin, and perhaps Simeon. Abner, the head of Saul's army, supported him, but he made his headquarters at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan. There was long war between the two houses, but David grew stronger and stronger, and Ish-bosheth grew weaker and weaker.
The verse traces the claim outward, region by region. One commentator follows that line, reading "the Ashurites" as Asher.
Ish-bosheth's kingdom grows from its beginning in Gilead, spreading to Asher, to Jezreel, and on, until there is a united Israel set against the one tribe of Judah that holds to David. How quickly the yeast of rebellion spreads! And for what is of God, a time of patience and seeming failure is just as surely appointed.
The new king's own name is a comment on him. Family records keep two forms of it.
Abner, who had been the captain of Saul's army, took a son of Saul named Ish-bosheth and made him king in Gilead. The original name of this son was "Esh-baal," which means "the fire of Baal" (1 Chronicles 8:33). "Ish-bosheth" was his other name; it means "man of shame." He seems to have been a weakling and a tool in Abner's hand.
The capital Abner chose carries its own irony. Its name describes what he has just done to the nation.
Mahanaim was the place where Jacob saw the angels. There God's army and Jacob's own company stood for "two camps." It ended with Jacob's own camp divided into two, just as Abner had now divided Israel — and here the two camps were hostile to each other. Reliance on human strength had worked the same way all through the history in between. God will not be content to be one force among other forces. Half-hearted dependence on Him is more than half independence, and it soon hardens into real hostility.
David says nothing and does nothing. His own claim was beyond question, and that certainty is what kept him still.
Ish-bosheth had no title at all. Yet David showed great tenderness toward him, and all the more because he knew his own title could not be disputed. When people are in the wrong, do not be surprised if they are touchy. When they have the confidence of the truth of God, they can afford to leave things alone, without worry or bluster... The pretender may have been very annoying, and a harm to the people as well. Even so, violent methods would not have suited the king God had chosen in grace. So David leaves it all with Him.
Kelly adds that this time was harder in one way than the years of running from Saul. "In Saul's case there was a title; in Ish-bosheth's there was none."
Two kings, one true and one propped up by men — readers have long looked here for a picture of something later. Commentators are cautious.
If we read the rivalry to David as a picture of things to come, Ish-bosheth might seem to stand for the Antichrist... Yet in Ish-bosheth himself, and in his history also, there are many difficulties with that view. The weak son of Saul is only a tool in Abner's hands, and Abner is all along the real heart and soul of the opposition to David.
Gaebelein sees the same faint hints: a false king accepted, while the true King is owned by only a faithful few. But he concludes that "Ish-bosheth's weakness and especially his end makes a fuller application on these lines impossible."
- Title. David held one tribe and God's word. Ish-bosheth held most of the tribes and no title at all.
- Tool. The man crowned here is a "man of shame," a weakling used by Abner, whose real quarrel was with God's choice.
- Two camps. Abner's capital was the place of "two camps." Half-dependence on God soon hardens into real hostility.
- Patience. David was sure of his right, so he used no force. Confidence in God's truth can afford to be quiet.
- Time. A long war followed, but David only grew stronger and Ish-bosheth weaker. What is of God is given a time of patience first.
Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. However, the house of Judah followed David.
Two men wear a crown at the same time here: Ish-bosheth over Israel for two years, and David over Judah. Why does the man God chose hold one tribe only, while a man God never chose holds the rest?
Saul had four sons. Only one outlived him, and his name carries its own verdict.
Saul's sons, as given here, are three, though we learn elsewhere of a fourth, who does not come into this picture — Ish-bosheth. According to the meaning of his name he is the "man of shame," the only one who survives his father.
The name in this verse was not the name he was born with.
The original name of this son was "Esh-baal," which means "the fire of Baal" (1 Chronicles 8:33). "Ish-bosheth" was his other name. He seems to have been a weakling and a tool in Abner's hand.
Abner commanded Saul's army. He settled the succession the way a soldier would.
Abner, the captain of Saul's army, could only understand natural succession. He did not seek the will of God, but decided to put Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, on the throne of Israel. How many since him have thought that the military has the right of such decisions! But this is God's right alone, and He had already anointed David as king of Israel — not only of Judah. Abner made Mahanaim the headquarters of Ish-bosheth's kingdom. Mahanaim means "two camps," which shows that Israel was divided. God would not allow this to continue, but Ish-bosheth did reign over Israel for two years.
Saul at least had a title. His son had none, and that difference shaped how David waited.
Ish-bosheth had no title at all. Yet David treated him with great tenderness, all the more because he knew his own title could not be disputed. When people are wrong, do not be surprised if they are usually touchy. When they have the confidence of the truth of God, they can leave things alone without anxiety or bluster… So patience did its perfect work in David — not only while he suffered under Saul, but now, even after God had sent him up to reign in Hebron as the anointed king. In a way it was perhaps harder now. Saul at least had a title; Ish-bosheth had none.
Everyone in Israel knew whom God had chosen. A rival throne still went up.
In a world like this, whatever is of God is sure to stir up opposition. Nobody thought of dividing the kingdom under Saul, though some might despise him. Everyone must have known long since that God had chosen David, and that God had set Saul's house aside along with Saul himself. Yet Abner is able to make the feeble Ish-bosheth king over the rest of the kingdom, as it slowly recovers out of the hands of the Philistines. He reigns two years over the whole of Israel, while David stays king over Judah only for all of that time — seven years and a half. In those last two years Abner must have found himself strong enough at last to try to conquer Judah too.
Hebron was a real crown, but far less than Samuel's anointing had promised. God uses the gap.
He was a king now, but this was far short of the place Samuel anointed him for. And there was still to be "long war between the house of Saul and the house of David," though David's house would grow stronger and stronger. By what slow and measured steps the Lord leads His servants to their appointed place… How often God's servant is, like David, set in Hebron for a season — that is, holding only part of the service appointed for him. And how necessary this is, to develop the right qualities in him.
Some read the divided kingdom here as a preview of Israel's future.
Here we see faint hints of what Israel's future history will repeat. Another Ish-bosheth, a pretender to the throne of Israel, the false king, will be in the earth. He comes in his own name, with no claim whatever to the throne. And only a faithful remnant of His people will acknowledge the true King, just as with David… But Ish-bosheth's weakness, and above all his end, make it impossible to push the comparison further.
- Shame reigns. The one survivor of Saul's house is the "man of shame," and he takes a throne he has no title to.
- Shame gets a crown. Abner decides it as a soldier, not by asking God, and bases him at Mahanaim, "two camps" — a split nation in one word.
- Patience answers shame. David neither argues nor strikes. He knows his title is beyond dispute, so he can leave the matter alone without bluster.
- Patience forms the man. Two years of a rival reign sit inside seven and a half years of waiting. God uses that partial holding to form David for the full place.
- Patience outlasts the pretender. Many own a false king; a few own the true one. Writers see a picture of a later day here, while noting its limits.