The King Who Asks: Inaugurating a Kingdom of Grace Text: 2 Samuel 2:1-7
Introduction: The Messy Inauguration
We live in the messy middle. We are always in the messy middle. The story of our lives, the story of the Church, and the story of redemption is rarely a clean jump from promise to fulfillment. There is almost always a wilderness in between. David was anointed king by Samuel as a boy, a promise made in the presence of his sneering older brothers. And what followed that glorious promise? Years of being hunted in the wilderness, living in caves, feigning madness, and seeking refuge among the very enemies of God's people. The anointed one was an exile. The king was a fugitive.
And now, Saul is dead. The throne is vacant. The Philistines have triumphed. Israel is a rudderless, defeated nation. This is the moment a carnal man, a man like Saul, would see as his opportunity. He would march on the capital, rally his private army, and seize the power that was promised to him. He would say, "Finally! My time has come." But David is a man after God's own heart, and that means his heart beats to a different rhythm. It beats in time with the patient, sovereign, and methodical will of God.
This chapter is about the inauguration of David's kingdom. But it is a partial inauguration, a contested one, a messy one. And in this, it is a master class in godly leadership and a beautiful foreshadowing of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. David shows us that the first move of a godly leader is not to grab, but to ask. The first act of a gracious king is not to crush old enemies, but to bless old loyalties. This is how God builds His kingdom, not with the frantic grasping of men, but through the patient obedience of His chosen servants.
The Text
Now it happened afterwards that David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And Yahweh said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.”
So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
And David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron.
Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed of Yahweh because you have shown this lovingkindness with your lord, with Saul, and have buried him.
So now, may Yahweh show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing.
So now, let your hands be strong and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
(2 Samuel 2:1-7 LSB)
The Foundational Question (v. 1)
The entire chapter, and indeed David's entire reign, pivots on the first thing he does.
"Now it happened afterwards that David asked of Yahweh, saying, 'Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?' And Yahweh said to him, 'Go up.' So David said, 'Where shall I go up?' And He said, 'To Hebron.'" (2 Samuel 2:1)
David inquires of the Lord. This is the fundamental contrast between David and Saul. Saul's reign was characterized by presumption, by acting without consulting God, by offering the sacrifice himself because he was impatient. Saul's kingship was a monument to the flesh. David's first step toward the throne is an act of total submission. He has the promise, he has the anointing, he has the army, but he will not move a single step without a direct command from God.
Notice the specificity of his prayer. He doesn't just say, "God, what now?" He asks a practical, strategic question: "Shall I go up?" This is not abstract piety; it is applied faith. When God says, "Go up," David doesn't assume he knows the details. He asks again: "Where?" This is the heart of a servant. True faith does not resent direction; it craves it.
And God's answer is specific: "To Hebron." This is not a random choice. Hebron is a city dripping with covenantal history. It is where Abraham, the father of the faith, lived and was buried. It was a Levitical city, a city of priests. It was a city of refuge. By sending David to Hebron, God is anchoring this new monarchy deep in the soil of His ancient promises to Israel. David's kingdom is not a novelty; it is a continuation and escalation of the covenant God made with Abraham. God is establishing His king in a place that screams, "I have not forgotten my promises."
Obedience and Community (v. 2-4a)
David's response to God's command is immediate and comprehensive.
"So David went up there, and his two wives also... And David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron. Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David king over the house of Judah." (2 Samuel 2:2-4a LSB)
Simple obedience follows pious inquiry. David goes. But he doesn't go alone. He brings everyone. His wives, his 600 loyal men, and all their households. This is crucial. David understands that a king is not just a warrior; he is a shepherd of families. He is building a society, not just leading a raid. For years, these families have been fugitives with him. Now, as he steps into his kingly role, his first concern is to settle them. The wandering is over. The work of building can begin.
And what happens when David obeys God and settles in the place God appointed? The people of God respond. "The men of Judah came and there anointed David king." This is the divine pattern. God gives the command, the leader obeys, and the people confirm. This is David's second anointing, this time a public one by his own tribe. It is not the whole kingdom yet. It is just Judah. This is an inaugurated kingship. It is already, but not yet. God is teaching David, and us, that His kingdom does not always arrive all at once. It often grows tribe by tribe, heart by heart. David must learn to rule the one tribe God has given him before he is entrusted with all twelve.
The Politics of Grace (v. 4b-7)
David's first act as the newly anointed king of Judah is a stroke of political genius, precisely because it is an act of profound spiritual grace.
"And they told David, saying, 'It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.' And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead..." (2 Samuel 2:4b-5a LSB)
Someone tells David that the men of Jabesh-gilead, a town across the Jordan, had risked their lives to retrieve and honorably bury the bodies of Saul and his sons. Now, how would a typical pagan king react? He would see the men of Jabesh-gilead as Saul's loyalists, a potential fifth column, a threat to be neutralized. Their loyalty to the old king would be interpreted as disloyalty to the new one.
But David's mind operates on a different, higher logic. He sees their loyalty to Saul not as a threat, but as a virtue. He understands that a man who is faithful to his obligations to a dead king is exactly the kind of man you want in your kingdom. He doesn't want fickle men who follow the prevailing wind; he wants men of hesed, of covenant loyalty. So he sends messengers with a blessing.
"May you be blessed of Yahweh because you have shown this lovingkindness with your lord, with Saul... So now, may Yahweh show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you..." (2 Samuel 2:5b-6 LSB)
He commends them for their "lovingkindness," their hesed, to Saul. He blesses them in the name of Yahweh. Then he positions himself as the earthly administrator of that same divine blessing. He is saying, "God will reward your faithfulness, and so will I." This is not a threat. It is an invitation. He is demonstrating that his reign will be one that honors and rewards faithfulness, even faithfulness to his former rival. He is co-opting their virtue and making it a foundation stone for his own kingdom.
Then comes the masterful conclusion to his message:
"So now, let your hands be strong and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them." (2 Samuel 2:7 LSB)
He calls them to be strong and valiant, the very qualities they displayed in rescuing Saul. But he subtly reframes their situation. He says, in effect, "Your lord Saul is dead. You have fulfilled your duty to him with great honor. That chapter is now closed. A new chapter has begun. God's people in Judah have anointed me as the new king. The logical, honorable, and valiant thing to do is to transfer your magnificent loyalty to the new, living, God-appointed king." He is not forcing their hand. He is appealing to their character. He is making it easy for them to join him, not by forgetting their past loyalty, but by celebrating it as the very reason they should now follow him.
David's Greater Son
In all of this, David is a magnificent type of Christ. The true King, Jesus, waited patiently for the Father's timing. He did not seize power, but humbled Himself, even to death on a cross. And having been raised and seated at the right hand of the Father, He has been anointed King over the house of Judah, that is, the Church.
And what is His first act from the throne? It is to send messengers, the apostles and evangelists, into the world. And what is their message? It is not a message of condemnation for our past loyalties to our old lord, Satan. It is a message of grace. The King sees any scrap of faithfulness, any hint of honor, even in a fallen world, and He commends it. He says to us, "You were trying to be loyal to a master who is now dead and defeated. You have done all you can in that old kingdom of darkness."
"So now," Jesus says, "let your hands be strong and be valiant. Your old lord is dead. A new King has been anointed. Take all that energy, all that loyalty you wasted in the service of sin and death, and transfer it to Me. I will not hold your past against you; I will honor the principle of faithfulness you were trying to uphold and give you a true and living King to be faithful to."
This is the gospel. It is the politics of grace. It is how the kingdom is built. We were loyal to a dead king, and the living King sent messengers to bless us and invite us into His kingdom. He builds His church not by threatening Saul's holdouts, but by graciously winning them over, turning their misguided loyalty into true and righteous worship.