2 Samuel 3:1 - Meaning and Application

Here is the struggle David had with Saul’s house before his rule was fully settled, in 2 Samuel 3:1. Both sides kept fighting. Saul’s family, though cut down and weakened, did not give up quietly. It is not surprising that there was conflict, but it is striking that the war lasted so long, since David’s side had the right on its side, and therefore God on its side. Yet God, for wise and holy purposes, allowed the struggle to continue.

That long conflict tested David’s faith and patience, and it made his final rise to the throne even sweeter. Saul’s house grew weaker and weaker. It lost land, lost men, and lost respect, and it was beaten in every battle. David’s house, by contrast, grew stronger and stronger. Many people left Saul’s failing cause and joined David, because they were convinced he would win.

This can also picture the struggle between grace and sin in believers who are being made holy, that is, sanctified, or gradually set apart for God. There is a long war within them. The flesh, the old sinful nature, fights against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. But as sanctification goes on, sin grows weaker and weaker, like Saul’s house, while grace grows stronger and stronger, like David’s house, until the believer becomes fully mature and justice finally wins.

The passage also notes the growth of David’s own household. It gives the names of six sons born to him by six different wives during the seven years he reigned in Hebron. This may be mentioned because it strengthened David’s position. Every child whose future was tied to the nation’s safety gave the people another reason to trust David’s care. As Psalm 127:5 says, a man with many children has a full quiver, and he can face his enemy at the gate.

Just as the deaths of Saul’s sons weakened Saul’s cause, the birth of David’s sons strengthened his. Still, David was wrong to multiply wives in this way, because the law forbade it (Deuteronomy 17:17), and it became a bad example for later kings. It also does not seem that he had more than one son by each wife during those seven years. Some people have had many children, with far more honor and comfort, by one wife alone.

We also read that none of these sons became especially famous. In fact, three of them were sadly notorious, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah. So we have reason to be glad for a growing family, but also to do so with caution. David’s son by Abigail is called Chileab here, while in (1 Chronicles 3:1) he is called Daniel. Some Jewish teachers said the first name meant, “God has judged me,” since God had judged in David’s favor against Nabal. Later, because David’s enemies mocked him and said the child was really Nabal’s son, God arranged that the boy should grow to look very much like David, and David then gave him the name Chileab, meaning “like his father” or “the father’s picture.”

Absalom’s mother is said to be the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, a Gentile ruler. David may have hoped that marriage would strengthen his support, but the son from that marriage became a source of grief and shame. The last wife is called simply David’s wife, and some think this was Michal, his first and rightful wife, called here by another name. If so, even though she had no child after she mocked David, she may have had one before that.

So David’s house grew stronger. But it was Abner who made himself strong for Saul’s house, and that is mentioned here to show that, if Abner failed them, their house would fall by itself.