Two Kingdoms, Two Anointings Text: 2 Samuel 2:8-11
Introduction: The Politics of Impatience
When God is at work establishing His kingdom, you will always find men attempting to build a rival kingdom in the shadow of it. God's work is often slow, organic, and rooted in promises. Man's work, in contrast, is typically hurried, pragmatic, and rooted in a lust for control. After the death of Saul, the Lord had made His will abundantly clear. David was the anointed king. He had been anointed by Samuel years before, and now he has been anointed by the men of Judah in Hebron. God's man is in God's place, following God's timing. But for many, this was not enough. It was not fast enough, not comprehensive enough, and it did not include the right sort of people, meaning, themselves.
And so we come to this passage, which details the establishment of a rival kingdom, a political stunt, a paper monarchy. Abner, the son of Ner, was Saul's cousin and the commander of his army. He was a formidable man, a shrewd political operator, a man of the world. And when he saw the kingdom slipping away from the house of Saul, he did what ambitious men always do. He decided to manufacture a king. He found a pliable heir, a weak son of Saul named Ish-bosheth, and propped him up as a puppet. This was not a movement of the people; it was the political maneuvering of one powerful man.
What we are seeing here is the formal beginning of a division that would plague Israel for centuries. It is the conflict between the house of Saul and the house of David, between the man-made kingdom and the God-ordained kingdom. It is a contest between raw political power and covenantal legitimacy. Abner's project was an attempt to build a kingdom from the top down, through military might and political deal-making. David's kingdom, in contrast, was growing from the ground up, beginning with his own tribe, Judah, who recognized God's hand upon him. One is the way of the flesh, the other is the way of the Spirit. And in this conflict, we learn a fundamental lesson about the kingdom of God: it cannot be rushed, it cannot be faked, and it will ultimately triumph over all rivals.
The Text
Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
(2 Samuel 2:8-11 LSB)
The Kingmaker and His Puppet (v. 8-9)
We begin with the actions of Abner, the real power behind this new throne.
"Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel." (2 Samuel 2:8-9)
Notice the verbs here. Abner "had taken" Ish-bosheth. Abner "brought him over." Abner "made him king." Ish-bosheth is entirely passive in this affair. He is an object being moved around on a political chessboard by a more powerful player. His name itself is instructive. His original name was Eshbaal, meaning "man of Baal." Later scribes, rightly squeamish about writing the name of a pagan deity, changed it to Ish-bosheth, which means "man of shame." And that is precisely what he was, a shameful, weak, and ultimately tragic figurehead.
Abner's motives are not difficult to discern. He was the commander of Saul's army. His entire career, his identity, and his power were tied to the house of Saul. A Davidic kingdom meant, at best, a demotion for him and, at worst, an execution. So he acts out of self-preservation and ambition. He is not seeking the will of God; he is trying to preserve the collapsing status quo that benefited him. He is a pragmatist. The kingdom needs a king, and he will provide one.
The location is also significant. He takes Ish-bosheth to Mahanaim, which is east of the Jordan River. Why? Because the Philistines controlled much of the territory west of the Jordan after their victory at Mount Gilboa. Abner sets up his puppet government in a secure, remote location, far from the center of power and far from the Philistine threat. This is not a confident, robust kingdom; it is a government in exile within its own land. It is a pretense. He claims Ish-bosheth is king "over all Israel," but this is a boast, not a fact. It is political spin. The heartland of the nation is either under Philistine control or, in the case of Judah, has already pledged allegiance to David.
A Tale of Two Timelines (v. 10-11)
The historian now gives us a summary of the reigns of these two rival kings, and the contrast is stark.
"Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months." (2 Samuel 2:10-11 LSB)
Ish-bosheth was forty years old. He was not a boy; he was a mature man. Yet he had done nothing of note. He was not a warrior like his father or his brother Jonathan. He was simply a name, a placeholder. And his reign was a paltry two years. It was a flash in the pan, a brief and shameful interlude that ended, as we shall see, in his murder. His kingdom had no foundation. It was built on the ambition of one man, and it collapsed as soon as that man was gone.
Then we have the simple, contrasting statement: "The house of Judah, however, followed David." The word "however" sets up the great distinction. While Abner was playing his political games, a genuine movement was happening in the south. The men of Judah, David's own tribe, came to him. They recognized him. They anointed him. This was not the work of one man's ambition, but the organic recognition of God's choice. David does not seize the throne. He does not rush to consolidate power. He waits. He allows God to bring the kingdom to him.
And his initial reign in Hebron lasts seven years and six months. There is a discrepancy here. Ish-bosheth reigns for two years, but the civil war and the period of division last for over seven. What happened in the intervening five years? The text doesn't say, but it seems there was a period of uneasy stalemate after Ish-bosheth's two-year reign before David was finally acclaimed king over all Israel. But the main point is the contrast in durability. David's reign in just one city, over just one tribe, outlasts the entire reign of the man who claimed to be king over "all Israel."
This teaches us that what God builds, lasts. What man builds out of impatience and self-interest is temporary and destined for the ash heap of history. David was content to be king over Judah. He was willing to wait for God to give him the rest. He understood that a partial kingdom, given by God, is infinitely more valuable than a total kingdom seized by the flesh.
God's Sovereignty in a Messy World
It is tempting to look at this situation, a divided nation, two kings, and an impending civil war, and see only chaos. It looks like God's plan has been derailed. God anointed David, but here is another king, propped up by the old regime. It looks like a mess. And it was a mess. But it was God's mess.
God is sovereign over the political machinations of ambitious men. He is sovereign over the pride of Abner and the weakness of Ish-bosheth. He uses this period of conflict to test and refine David, to teach him patience, and to solidify his trust in the Lord's promises. He also uses it to expose the bankruptcy of the house of Saul. The "man of shame" is a fitting end to the reign of the king who rejected the word of the Lord. The dynasty that began in rebellion ends in farce.
This is a profound comfort. We live in a world full of Abners, men who believe that power, strategy, and control are what make the world go 'round. They build their kingdoms of sand, their political parties, their international organizations, their corporate empires. And they boast that they rule "over all Israel." But God has another king, the true Son of David, Jesus Christ. His kingdom did not come with worldly power or political maneuvering. It began small, a mustard seed. He was anointed not in a palace but at the Jordan River. His first followers were not generals and aristocrats, but fishermen and tax collectors.
The Unwinnable War
Abner's project was doomed from the start. He was fighting against God. He was trying to prop up a house that God had determined to tear down. The Lord had said to Saul, "the LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you" (1 Samuel 15:28). Abner was fighting against a settled decree of Heaven. It was an unwinnable war.
And this is the state of every person, every institution, and every nation that resists the crown rights of King Jesus. They are fighting an unwinnable war. They may have their two years of apparent success. They may crown their own Ish-bosheth, their "man of shame," whether it is the idol of secular humanism, or financial security, or political revolution. But their reign is short. Their kingdom is a house of cards. For God has declared that the kingdom belongs to His Son.
The house of Judah followed David. And we, by faith, are of the true house of Judah, the tribe of the Lion who has conquered. Our loyalty is not to the manufactured kings of this age, but to the one true King in Hebron, which means "fellowship" or "league." We are in league with Him. And we, like David, must learn to wait. His kingdom is growing, not by the sword, but by the Spirit. It is growing as the gospel is preached and sinners are brought from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. And we can be patient, because we know how the story ends. The seven years will pass. The rival kingdoms will crumble. And every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The question for us is simple. Which king are you following? Are you trying to build your own little kingdom in Mahanaim, a safe distance from the battle? Or have you bent the knee to God's anointed in Hebron? Have you joined the house of Judah and declared your allegiance to the Son of David? For one kingdom is a kingdom of shame, destined to last but two years. The other is an everlasting kingdom, and of its increase there will be no end.