Twice it is recorded in 2 Samuel 2:that David "inquired of the Lord," as if to attract our attention to this in a special way; because immediately afterwards he takes a most important step, and no inquiry of the Lord is mentioned. Saul had perished, and "David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And He said, Unto Hebron. So David went up thither," and his wives and his men with him.

But note what happens next. "And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah." There is no waiting to inquire of the Lord, and no appeal to the other tribes, at least, so we are bound to infer. And a step is taken that is manifestly not of God, because not according to His word. David was not marked out to be king over the house of Judah, but to be king "over Israel."

And the two humble inquirings of the Lord, pointedly mentioned just before, surely are meant to call attention to the lack of any such inquiring here. It reminds one of Paul being ensnared at Jerusalem. David was now amid his friends. When humbly inquiring his way, step by step, he was still an exile; but now, as it were, at home again, it would seem that both he and the men of Judah acted by impulse, and not by the Spirit of God. And the consequences that follow are full of warning and instruction.

Abner made Ish-bosheth king over the other tribes, and war ensues; and acts of vile treachery and murder mark those years. And not until over seven years after is David anointed king over all Israel.

Surely all this had its influence towards the final rending of the ten tribes from Judah. And the later history of David’s career shows the same spirit at work in him. When being brought back to his throne after the overthrow of Absalom, David’s failure in this line is more signal than before. He now impatiently challenges the men of Judah for not being more forward to welcome him back when the other tribes were making demonstrations in his favor. The result is bitter words between the men of Israel and the men of Judah, because of Judah doing what David had himself incited them to do. "The king is near of kin to us," was the men of Judah’s plea.

Let us beware of sectarian thoughts! David’s failure in these two cases, and the consequences-for war ensued again in this latter case-are full of solemnity and full of warning and instruction. What far-reaching results may ensue from one step taken, at an important juncture, and especially by one whose responsibility is great, without inquiring of the Lord!

May the lesson be deeply impressed upon our hearts! and may we be well assured that any step taken without God must have an evil result!