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With the death of Saul, David finds himself in need of some counseling, so he goes to the Lord. The Lord told him to leave Ziklag, where he had been for about 14 months, and go to Hebron. Now, why Hebron? Hebron was the city of the Priests and had been given to Caleb by Joshua. It was a "City of Refuge" and David at this time, may have considered himself as one in need of refuge. Many of the Patriarchs were buried at Hebron. It was, at that time, the Capitol of Judah. Why didn't God send David to his hometown of Bethlehem? Micah 5:2 tells us why. It was because Bethlehem was little among the thousands of Judah.
Notice who he took with him. All who had been faithful to him during his time of fleeing from the wrath of Saul, they would share in his kingdom. Notice that when the leaders of Judah hear that he is at Hebron, they come and crown him King of Judah.
When David got word that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul and his sons, he sent them a message, "May the Lord bless you for being loyal to your King and giving him a descent burial." He promised them, in return, that he would reward them for what they had done.
Meanwhile, there was trouble brewing in the northern tribes. Abner, Saul's Commander-in-Chief, had gone to Mahan-aim and crowned Ish-bo-sheth, Saul's son, King of Israel. Mahanaim was located on the north bank of the Jabbok River in the inheritance of Gad. It had quite a history. It was the place where Jacob, returning home from Mesopotamia, met and wrestled with Angels (Gen. 32). It was a city that the Lord had given to the Levites in Joshua 21. So Abner, still recognizing the Levites as Priests, chose this city to crown Ishbosheth King of Israel. Ishbosheth defined his kingdom as including all of the tribes with the exception of Judah and Simeon, both being on the south. He was 40 years old when he became King and reigned 2 years.
The remainder of the chapter records an encounter between the forces of David and the forces of Ishbosheth. Joab led the forces of David and Abner led the forces of Ishbosheth. They met at Gibeon. Abner suggested that they choose 12 men from each of the armies and let them determine the winner. Joab agreed and when it was over, all 24 men were dead. The place became known as "Sword Field".
Then the two armies began to fight each other and by the end of the day, the forces of Israel were defeated by the forces of David under Joab. Abner, who led the forces of Israel, ran and Joab's brother, Asahel, who could run like a deer, took off after him. When Abner saw him coming, he tried to persuade him from coming any closed for he did not want to kill a brother of Joab, but Asahel would not stop and Abner killed him with the butt end of his spear. Then Joab and his son Abishai, set out after Abner. When they met, Abner shouted to Joab, "Must our swords continue to kill each other?" Joab answered, "I swear by God that even if you had not spoken, I planned to go home tomorrow." Then a trumpet was sounded and David's troops stopped chasing the troops of Israel.
That night, Abner and his men retreated across the Jordan River and by morning, arrived at Mahanaim in the inheritance of Gad. The causalities were counted and Joab had lost 19 men and besides his brother Asahel and Abner had lost 360 men, all from the Tribe of Benjamin. (Asahel was the son of Zeruiah, David's half sister, both having the same father, Jesse.)
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