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Hebron was a city that was closely associated with Abraham, at the time of his
separation from Lot.
"Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art northward, and
southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I
give it, and to thy seed for ever . . . . . Then Abraham removed his tent, and came and
dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord"
(Gen. 13: 14-18).
Hebron was also sacred to the Israelite, for there Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were
buried (Gen. 23: 19; 35: 27; 49: 30; 50: 13). The burial of the patriarchs here must
not be looked upon in any mournful way. They await the promise of God, and, as it
were, claim the land by their presence there. Joseph's command "concerning his bones"
(Gen. 50: 24, 25; Heb. 11: 22) was an act of faith, for he said: "God will surely visit you."
In addition to these hallowed and encouraging associations, the meaning of the word
itself is suggestive. The word "Hebron" means "a ford", as in Gen. 32: 22, and so
suggests those that "pass over"--in other words, the redeemed. It was here at Hebron
that David was anointed by the men of Judah.
After this anointing there follows the incident of David's magnanimity to the men of
Jabesh-Gilead, who had "buried Saul". In his message to them David says: "You master
Saul is dead." Instead of this kindness to the inhabitants of Gilead moving them to
loyalty towards David as king--for he had added the words: "And also the house of
Judah have anointed me king over them"--we have an act of rebellion and attempted
usurpation. Saul was dead and buried, but he had a captain Abner, who was Saul's
cousin (I Chron. 9: 36), and also a son, a man who is called Ish-bosheth in II Sam. 2: 8,
and Esh-baal in I Chron. 8: 33. Ish-bosheth means a "Man of Shame", and Esh-baal a
"Man of Baal". Both are significant names for a type of Antichrist.
Ish-bosheth was brought over to Mahanaim, a place associated with Jacob's return to
his home and his meeting with Esau (Gen. 32: 2). The word means "Two Camps", and
the place was so named because of the angels that met the returning patriarch. When Ner
took Ish-bosheth to Mahanaim, however, the word took on a new significance. Israel
were divided into "two camps", one section following David ("The Beloved"), the Lord's
anointed, and the other a man who was "made king", Ish-bosheth ("The Man of Shame").
With the exception of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Ish-bosheth himself belonged, the
places and tribes enumerated were all on the West side of Jordan. The reader will
remember that the tribes of Reuben, and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, asked for
the land of Jazer and Gilead, and so never crossed the Jordan, so far as their inheritance
was concerned. These facts surely have a spiritual significance. Believers whose
interests are largely "on this side of Jordan" are those who are most likely to come under
the dominion of the usurper to-day. So we read that at the place called "Two Camps",
Ish-bosheth was made "King over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and
over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel" (II Sam. 2: 9). Inasmuch as David
was already King of Judah, and the name "Israel" had not at that time come to indicate
the ten tribes that separated from Judah after the death of Solomon, we can see that the