How to Avoid Self-Serving Prayers (2 Sam 2.5–6)
“May you be blessed by the LORD because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him! Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you!”
Background
This prayer follows almost immediately after the last prayer, when David inquired of God whether he should go into Judah. God indicated that David should go to Hebron in Judah. David did so, taking with him his wives and all his men and their families. After they were settled, the people from all Judah came and anointed David as king.
David heard that the people in Jabesh-Gilead had given Saul a burial. Jabesh-Gilead was in the north, on the east side of the Jordan. These were people loyal to Saul because he had saved them from the Philistines.1 If David could get their loyalty, it would go a long way to helping him consolidate his kingship throughout all Israel. He sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-Gilead, offering them a blessing (above). The blessing is offered, David says, because they showed loyalty and respect to Saul as king. David asks God to bless the Jabesh-Gileadites with love and faithfulness—just as they had demonstrated to Saul. David then adds that he will reward them for their actions. A literal translation reads “I will do good,” and is a phrase often found in the language of ancient near eastern treaties. Though one does not offer treaties to one’s own people, this makes sense for the Jabesh-Gileadites because their land was part of the Transjordan—not part of the Israelite tribal lands until later2. So, David offers them a blessing and a treaty—just as one would expect a king to do.
Meaning
The message is compelling for two more reasons. First, David makes no mention of Saul’s heir, Ishbaal. Second, (and related to the first), David implies that since Saul is dead, the Jabesh-Gileadites have no reason not to support David as king (or, more accurately, accept his treaty). He will protect them, just as Saul did. It is a clever message on David’s part, and right in line with his ongoing mission to consolidate all Israel under his kingship.
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