Even though David was anointed to be the next king and now Saul was dead, David is not presumptuous and seeks God’s will (v1). David is then anointed at Hebron as king over the tribe of Judah (v4).

David reaches out to men of Jabesh-gilead and thanks them for burying Saul (v4b-7). David is calling for their loyalty but Abner the commander of Saul’s army takes Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and anoints him king over Israel (v8-11).

After a period of time a battle arose between David’s men led by Joab and Ish-bosheth’s men led by Abner (v12-17). David’s men are victorious and Abner flees from the battle pursued by Joab’s brother Asahel (v18-20). Abner out of respect for Joab doesn’t want to kill his brother and tries to get Asahel to stop the pursuit, but in the end, he is forced to kill him (v21-24).

Joab and his other brother Abishai pursue Abner seeking revenge but in the end wise counsel prevails (v25-29). But this battle between God’s people still brought a high price (v30-32). This reminds us of the horror of war but also how conflict among God’s people can cause many casualties. Pray for peace and harmony among God’s people and be prepared to work for this.