Civil war

The state of the civil war is summarized in the first verse. This conflict lasted for approximately seven and a half years. With each battle, David’s side grew stronger, while Ish-bosheth’s side weakened. For David, this must have been a time of testing his patience. However, through that patience, David learned obedience and was further refined as a vessel of God. We, too, experience a “spiritual civil war” within our hearts. The life of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh are in constant battle. Yet, if we endure and learn obedience, the enemy (the desires of the flesh) will surely be overcome.

The sons of David

In Hebron, six sons were born to David: (1) Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, (2) Chileab by Abigail the Carmelite, (3) Absalom by Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (a Gentile woman), (4) Adonijah by Haggith, (5) Shephatiah by Abital, (6) Ithream by Eglah. Among these sons, the most problematic were Amnon and Absalom. Later, they would be at the center of a major crisis. Amnon fell in love with Absalom’s sister, Tamar, and became deeply troubled. He was manipulated by his cousin Jonadab and ultimately assaulted Tamar. Afterward, Amnon was consumed by intense hatred toward her and drove her away. As a result, Tamar was left to live in sorrow and isolation in her brother Absalom’s house. This incident caused Absalom to develop deep hatred toward Amnon. Two years later, during a feast where he invited all his brothers, Absalom orchestrated Amnon’s murder. This marked the beginning of the conflict between David and his son Absalom. The root of this turmoil was David, getting himself into bigamy. David too, was not a perfect person. When he acted outside of the Lord’s will, he also had to face the consequences of his actions. Let us learn from both David’s faith and his failures. Living a life of faith is the greatest legacy we can leave for future generations.