BLOG

The solution to Saul's bad precedent, final

In the aftermath of Saul’s death, the tribes of Israel were in a state of civil war for at least two years. David and his men moved from Ziklag to Hebron in the territory of Judah. There he was anointed king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4). But Saul’s general, Abner, took Ish-bosheth, Saul’s 40-year-old son, to Mahanaim on the other side of the Jordan River and crowned him king of the other tribes of Israel. 2 Samuel 2:8-10 says,

⁸ But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. ⁹ He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. ¹⁰ 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.

We also read in 2 Samuel 3:1,

¹ Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually.

It is clear that David tried very hard to honor Saul and his house, but the house of Saul remained antagonistic toward David. No doubt they considered David to be a usurper and the cause of division within the tribes of Israel. As with Saul, his son too could always point back to the day that Samuel anointed Saul, making him a legitimate king who was crowned on the day of wheat harvest (1 Samuel 12:17), later called Pentecost.

Even David himself recognized that Saul was the Lord’s anointed one, and for this reason, David refused to kill Saul when the opportunity presented itself.

Saul’s supporters, then, refused to recognize the fact that Saul had been rejected by God for his sin of rebellion—for refusing to be obedient to the word of God (1 Samuel 15:23). It seems that the only man of Saul’s household to recognize the truth was Jonathan. But kings never believe that their dynasty will end, and empires always assume they will retain power forever.

Confusion in Israel

There is usually a transition when one age ends and another begins. The transition is usually a time of confusion and disruption. The transition from Saul to David was no different, and it also set a prophetic pattern in our time for the transition from the Pentecostal Age to the Tabernacles Age. Saul’s death did not mean that his son accepted the end of his dynasty.

Ish-bosheth was formally crowned king at Mahanaim, “two camps.” This was the place where Jacob camped as he was returning to Canaan. Genesis 32:1 says, “the angels of God met him.” It was also the place where he learned that his brother Esau was coming to meet him in order to kill him (Genesis 32:6). For this reason, Jacob divided his family and flocks into two camps, so that if Esau attacked one group, the other might escape.

So when Ish-bosheth was crowned king over Israel, and David was crowned king of Judah, the nation was again divided into two camps.

Ish-bosheth’s name means “Man of Shame” or “Man of Confusion.” Men probably called him by this name later on account of the nature of his reign. I doubt that he got that name at birth. It appears that he was born the same year that his father became the king of Israel.

David honored the men of Jabesh-gilead for giving Saul a proper burial. Most kings would have punished them for this, but David told them in 2 Samuel 2:6,

⁶ “Now may the Lord show you lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing.”

Civil War

The civil war was really between the two generals: Joab and Abner. In the end, Ish-bosheth insulted Abner, and Abner decided to defect to David’s side (2 Samuel 3:20, 21). However, Abner had also killed Joab’s younger brother, Asahel, and so Joab carried a grudge against Abner. Joab pretended to befriend Abner but then killed him (2 Samuel 2:27).

David was distressed over this and immediately denounced Joab’s actions. In fact, David conducted an elaborate public funeral for Abner (2 Samuel 2:31, 32) and wrote a lament for him. 2 Samuel 2:33, 34 says,

³³ The king chanted a lament for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies? ³⁴ Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters; as one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.” And all the people wept again over him.

Essentially, David called Joab “wicked.” Joab had undermined David’s reputation, causing many Israelites to doubt his sincerity in honoring Saul. Perhaps this is why it took 7½ years for the other tribes of Israel to accept David as their king. When Ish-bosheth heard of Abner’s death, “he lost courage, and all Israel was disturbed” (2 Samuel 4:1).

Not long after this, two commanders in Israel’s army from the Gibeonite town of Beeroth (Joshua 9:17), came to the house of Ish-bosheth and assassinated him. 2 Samuel 4:5, 6 says,

⁵ So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, departed and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. ⁶ They came to the middle of the house to get wheat, and they struck him in the belly, and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

These assassins were not Israelites by genealogy but were Gibeonites whose forefathers had made a covenant with Joshua. Politically speaking, their town was incorporated into the tribe of Benjamin. The people of Beeroth, however, had fled from Saul’s persecution and had settled in the vicinity of Gath (Gittaim)—much like David had done when he lived in Ziklag.

Nonetheless, these two commanders had managed to gain positions in Ish-bosheth’s army. They came to take wheat for the army, but instead they killed Ish-bosheth. It seems that they held a grudge against the house of Saul for persecuting the people of Beeroth. In prophetic symbolism, wheat points to the feast of Pentecost. Hence, this speaks of Pentecostals putting an end to the Pentecostal Age.

They too misunderstood the mind of David, thinking that David would reward them for killing Ish-bosheth. But David executed them (2 Samuel 4:12), just as he had executed the Amalekite for claiming that he had killed Saul.

So Ish-bosheth ruled just two years over Israel while David ruled Judah from Hebron. For the next 5½ years, there was no king in Israel, and David made no attempt to force the other tribes to submit to his rule.

David Crowned King of Israel

2 Samuel 5:1-3 says,

¹ Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. ² Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel’.” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the Lord at Hebron; then they anointed David king over all Israel and Judah.

During the 5½ years when there was no king in Israel, the people recalled how David had served Saul faithfully and effectively. Perhaps some prophets who had known Samuel reminded them that Samuel had anointed David to succeed Saul many years earlier. So finally, they agreed to extend David’s rule “over all Israel and Judah.”

The parallel event in our time occurred on November 30, 2000, where I attended a meeting in Wisconsin at a place called The House on the Rock. At that prophetic gathering, God revealed that the overcomers were given a greater measure of authority and were charged with the responsibility to bring righteousness to the earth by the anointing of the feast of Tabernacles.

Conclusion

We have entered into a new era in the progression of the Kingdom. The rise of the house of David shows part of the progression, especially from 1993-2000. However, in our time God has gone further by adding the rise of the house of Joseph (2000-2009). Then He added the prophetic anointing to this—not the Elijah ministry but the Elisha ministry—to prepare the way for Christ’s second coming.

John the Baptist was the “Elijah” of his day, preparing the way for Christ’s first appearance. The overcomers today are collectively the “Elisha” company that is called to prepare the way for Christ’s second coming. Where Pentecost fell short, the feast of Tabernacles will succeed.

Urdu Translation