Changing Allegiance

Reflections on 2 Sam. 2:1-7

After receiving news of Saul’s death, David inquired of God whether he should return to Judah. God told him to go to Hebron, which was located in the hill country about 15 miles south of Bethlehem. As a city of refuge (Josh. 20:7) and a city designated for priests (Josh. 21:13), Hebron was probably the leading city in Judah at the time. When David arrived in Hebron, the men of Judah gathered there and anointed him a second time making him king over the house of Judah. When David finally became king of all Israel, he had been anointed three times. What was the significance of each anointing?

CHOSEN OF GOD. At God’s command, the prophet Samuel anointed David privately the first time. David had not yet reached adulthood, and he was not proclaimed as king to Israel. The anointing did, however, signify that God had chosen him to replace Saul as king (see 1 Sam. 16:1-13).

RECOGNIZED BY THE ELDERS OF JUDAH. When David went up to Hebron from Ziklag, the men of Judah anointed him as king. This probably was not merely a declaration of their choice as king, but a recognition that God had chosen him to be their king (see 1 Sam. 25:30).

BROADER RECOGNITION SOUGHT. Although David was chosen of God to be king of all Israel, he did not seek to subdue the other tribes through force of arms. Instead, he sought their favor. One of David’s first official acts as king was to promise to show the people of Jabesh Gilead the same kindness Saul had as king, and announced that Judah had already anointed him. He introduced this offer by praising them for taking the bodies of Saul and Jonathan down from the walls of the Philistine outpost at Beth-shan and giving them a proper burial. Eventually, David did win the favor of the rest of Israel and was anointed a third time when all Israel recognized him as the king God had chosen (2 Sam. 5:1-3).

GOD’S CHOICE IGNORED. The three kings over united Israel, Saul (1 Sam. 10:1), David (1 Sam. 16:13), and Solomon (1 Kings 1:39), were anointed privately as an indication of God’s choice. After these three, a private anointing occurred only once when Jehu was appointed to destroy the house of Ahab (1 Kings 19:16; 2 Kings 9:6; 2 Chron. 22:7). Gradually, tradition (publicly anointing the oldest son of the king in Judah) and expediency (publicly acknowledging the strongest rival in Israel) became the norm, and little consideration was given to the kind of person God would want to be king.

God's choices don't depend on human recognition. God chose many prophets whom men persecuted, and he chose Jesus whom they killed. Jesus chose twelve apostles without seeking men's recognition, and God gave special spiritual gifts to some people according to his own will (Heb. 2:4). Although God's choices don't depend on human recognition, God does desire our recognition of his chosen leaders. The apostles told the brothers in Jerusalem to choose seven men whom God had filled with the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3). These leaders upon whom God had bestowed his favor were chosen by men to care for the widows in the church. Similarly, elders are chosen from among those whose lives are demonstrations of God's workmanship (1 Tim. 3:1-7). How we recognize leaders should never become a mere tradition. Instead, we should seek and recognize those whom God has chosen.