“Avner the son of Ner, commander of Sha’ul’s army, had taken Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, brought him over to Machanayim…”-2 Samuel 2:8 Verse 8 shifts over from David’s southern headquarters in Hebron to the government headquarters of the northern tribal alliance. At this very moment, Saul’s top military commander, Avner, was the real power […]

“‘Be strong, and be brave. Sha’ul your lord is dead, but the house of Y’hudah have anointed me king over them.’” -2 Samuel 2:7 In verse 7, David tells the men of Jabesh to “be strong and be brave”? Why would he do that? How are these words connected to David’s offer of repayment and […]

“So David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad with this message: ‘May you be blessed by Adonai, because you showed this kindness to your lord, Sha’ul, and buried him.  Now may Adonai show kindness and truth to you; and I too will show you favor because you have done this.  Be strong, and be […]

“Then the men of Y’hudah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Y’hudah. They informed David that the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad were the ones who had buried Sha’ul.  So David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad with this message: ‘May you be blessed by Adonai, because you showed this kindness […]

I once heard a story about a company president who was participating in a management seminar. During the seminar, he posed the following question to the management consultant who was leading the class. “To be successful at managing a corporation, what should I read? There are so many books out there that I don’t know […]