1 Chronicles 12

12:1-22 Support for making David king did not begin with Saul’s demise. When Saul was king and David was a fugitive, warriors went to David and eventually became a vast camp of various tribes, representing all of Israel. Even relatives of Saul deserted to David and supported him as king (12:2). Of course, David was prudent about such deserters (12:17), making sure they were not traitors who would betray him to Saul. Before David’s actual anointing took place at Hebron, the will of the people reflected the will of God that David should become king.

12:23-40 The succession of a king was often a contentious matter, particularly when the new king represented a different family lineage. The gathering of all twelve tribes at Hebron, including some of Saul’s relatives (12:29), to confirm David’s rule showed that the animosity of the war among different tribes following Saul’s death had been overcome (12:23-37). The Chronicler stresses the unity among the tribes with the declaration that they all, without reservation, had the single purpose of making David the king over all Israel (12:38).