Although Da'vid had known for many years that he was eventually to become king of Is'ra-el, and though it appeared that the death of Saul had opened the way for his immediate rise to the throne, he made no move until directed by the LORD. Eight years before the death of Saul he had been anointed by Sam'u-el as the future king of the nation; for several years after that momentous occasion he had faithfully served as harpist in the royal court and as a captain in the army; for the past two years or more he had been persecuted as an outlaw and an exile; and, now that the king was dead, one would expect Da'vid to press his demand for a prompt enthronement. Both Saul and Jon'a-than had admitted that the house of Saul had been rejected by the LORD, and had told Da'vid more than once that he would be the next king. True to his usual course at critical times, however, Da'vid sought the LORD'S guidance for his next step.
The LORD not only told him to return to his native land at once, but directed him to go to the city of He'bron in the mountains of Ju'dah, which was twenty miles south of Jer-ru'sa-lem and about the same distance north of Be'er-She'ba. Taking along all his men and their families, that those who had shared his hardships might also enjoy his prosperity, Da'vid went directly to the city appointed by the LORD. Here, in that most ancient city of the world, made sacred in the days of A'bra-ham, famous as the burying place of the great patriarch, given to Ca'leb for his bravery, and situated in the heart of Ju'dah, which was the royal and Mes-si'an-ic tribe, Da'vid was made king by the people of his own tribe.
The first official act of Da'vid was to send messengers to Ja-besh-Gil'e-ad to thank the princes and nobility for their kindness in providing an honorable burial for the ashes of Saul and Jon'a-than.
It would seem to us that all Is'ra-el would have rallied to the banner of Da'vid, and that he should have been recognized at once as the rightful king of the entire land. The people must have known of GOD'S will in this matter, and the crushing defeat suffered at Gil'bo-a should have convinced them that the time had come for the Divinely appointed ruler to take his place at the head of the nation.
Some of the tribes to the north and on the east side of the Jor'dan, however, were opposed to the rule of Da'vid. Under the leadership of Ab'ner, who had commanded Saul's armies for a number of years, they refused to accept Da'vid's coronation at He'bron, choosing as their king Ish-bo'sheth, a surviving son of Saul. Thus still greater trials were brought to Da'vid, for civil war prevailed in Is'ra-el over a period of seven years. For three or four years Da'vid had refused to lead a revolt against Saul, but now that he was king he had to face the rebellion of an ambitious army captain.
Ab'ner had known Da'vid for a number of years, and seems to have felt kindly toward him at the time of his triumph over Go'li-ath. During the days of Da'vid's service as captain in Saul's armies he must have had many occasions to observe the bravery of the young hero. Even while Da'vid was in exile, and was being constantly hunted down by Saul's armies, Ab'ner had been forced to recognize the loyalty which twice led him to spare the life of the king. He well knew the nobility of Da'vid's character, and he was familiar with the Divine command that the kingdom be transferred from the house of Saul to that of Da'vid; yet he was responsible for the raising up of Ish-bo'sheth as a rival to Da'vid and for the civil war which followed.
The first open clash between the rebels led by Ab'ner and Da'vid's men took place at Gib'e-on, in the western part of Ben'ja-min about six miles north of Je-ru'sa-lem. Ab'ner brought over from Ish-bo'sheth's capital on the east side of the Jor'dan a great force of men, and was apparently bent on subduing Ju'dah to the rule of Ish-bo'sheth.
