Previously in 2 Samuel, we saw the men of Joab and Abner participate in a duel of sorts that quickly degenerated into a blood bath. The battle could have been much worse, but Abner and Joab both agreed to call it off. It was a needless battle that did not need to take any more lives than it already had. There was war a long time between the house of Saul and the house of David, but the house of David became stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker.
While in Hebron, six sons were born to David from six different wives. Again, David was following the common practice of polygamy, but this was against God’s prescribed will for kings as seen in Deuteronomy. At least three of these six sons will not turn out well.
Meanwhile, Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul. There was a concubine of Saul’s named Rizpah, and Ishbosheth, the king, accused Abner of having sexual relations with her. This, also, was a common pagan practice in those days, and was viewed as a transfer of power from one king to the next. If true, Abner would have been guilty of sexual immorality, as well as treason, but we have no evidence that Abner did such a thing. In fact, Abner became very angry, and said that he had been loyal to Saul’s family and friends, had protected him from David, and how was it that he was charging him with such a fault? Abner then said, “May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him—to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.” Abner was indicting himself here: he was admitting he knew the Lord had sworn to give the kingdom to David, while he had been trying to secure a kingdom for the house of Saul. Ishbosheth did not answer Abner because he was afraid of him. Ishbosheth seems to be following in his father’s footsteps somewhat by being suspicious of others. Abner had seen all too much of this from his father, and he probably had had enough.
Next, Abner sent messengers to David asking him to make a covenant with him in order to bring all of Israel to David, and David agreed. He had one condition though, that Abner bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, with him when he came. David sent messengers to Ishbosheth stating to give him his wife whom he had betrothed to himself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. So, Ishbosheth sent Abner to go get her, and her husband followed her a ways weeping. At a certain point, Abner told him to go home, and he did. This may seem like an odd situation, but Michal rightfully belonged to David. Saul had taken her away from him and given her to be married to someone else when David was on the run from her father. David had literally put his life on the line twice to gain her father’s blessing, once for killing Goliath, and, second, for killing 200 Philistines and bringing their foreskins to Saul.
Abner spoke to the elders of Israel that they, in time past, had sought for David to be king over them. They should do it now, for the Lord had spoken of David, “By the hand of My servant David, I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.” We have no record of this exact statement from the Lord, but, again, it was known to Abner and probably to many others. He also spoke to all of the tribe of Benjamin. Then, he and 20 men went to Hebron where David was, and David made a feast for them. David could have been suspicious of Abner and his men, but he responded graciously. Abner had made concessions for peace, and David took him at his word. I’m sure David was not foolish; he probably had enough men there to protect himself if necessary, but his response to Abner was in kindness. Saul had proven he could not be trusted, but Abner needed to be given a chance to prove himself. Abner told David that he would go to gather all Israel to him to make a covenant to make him king over the nation, and David sent him away in peace.
After Abner had left, Joab and the men came back from a raid with a large spoil, and they told Joab what had happened. After this, Joab went to the king, and asked him what he had done and why he had sent Abner away? He told David that Abner had come to deceive him and to spy out what he was doing. Next, Joab sent messengers after Abner to bring him back to Hebron, but David didn’t know it. When Abner arrived, Joab took him aside in the city gate to speak with him privately. As I stated earlier, Hebron was one of the cities of refuge the Lord told Moses to appoint in Numbers 35. It was a place where a manslayer (someone who accidentally killed someone) could flee to be safe from the avenger of blood. They were safe as long as they stayed within the city until the high priest died, in which case they were free to go back to their home. If the avenger of blood killed him while inside the city, the avenger would be guilty of murder. Joab subtly brought Abner outside the city, and stabbed him in the stomach that he died. This was a carefully engineered murder by Joab so that he could take vengeance for the blood of his brother Asahel. The problem with this was that Abner had killed Asahel out of self-defense, something clearly justified in the Scriptures; however, Joab killed Abner in cold blood. In this, we see that Joab was vengeful and had little regard for human life. He also may have been fearful of losing his position as the general of David’s army since Abner had more military experience. Whatever the case, this was murder, and David was not happy about it.
When he found out, he said, “My kingdom and I are guiltless before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and let there never fail to be in the house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” We also find out that Joab’s brother, Abishai, assisted in some way in this murder. David told Joab and all his men to tear their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner. They buried Abner in Hebron, and David and all the people wept at his grave. David sang a lament over him, and the people wept over him again. They tried to convince David to eat, but he took an oath, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!” If we recall from 1 Samuel, Saul had charged the people with an oath that they should not eat until he had vengeance on his enemies, and it led Israel into sin. David, on the other hand, only charged himself with such an oath. This pleased the people, and they understood that it had not been David’s intent to kill Abner. David said that he was too weak that day to deal with Joab and Abishai, but the Lord would repay them according to their wickedness. Joab would go on to be his general until David’s death. This wouldn’t be the last trouble he caused David, nor would it be the last person Joab offs in his struggle to stay in power. Some may argue David should have dealt with Joab sooner, but killing your own nephews would not have exactly been good for family relations. Joab will eventually get his comeuppance when Solomon would take the throne.
After Ishbosheth heard what had happened, he lost heart, and the whole nation was troubled. Abner was the strongest person in Ishbosheth’s life, and now he was gone. Ishbosheth had two captains of troops, Baanah and Rechab, who were of the tribe of Benjamin. These two came to Ishbosheth’s house during the heat of the day when the king was napping. They came in as though they were coming to get wheat, and stabbed him in the stomach. They beheaded him and escaped through the plain during the night, and came to Hebron. They brought the head of Ishbosheth to David, thinking David would be glad that the son of his enemy, Saul, was dead. However, David responded, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?” It was the Lord that had delivered David from all his adversity, not from him taking matters into his own hands. If he had not been pleased when his enemy was killed, how much more then when a righteous man was killed? In this we can see that David had no intentions of forcing himself to the throne; he was leaving it in the Lord’s hands. The ends never justify the means. Even for a king, it is never right to do the wrong thing to accomplish good. As it has been said, “if someone is willing to sin for you, they will soon be willing to sin against you.” David was also keeping his promise to Jonathan to take care of his family. He was demonstrating a lot of integrity here, and it was going against the cultural practices of the day.
So, David commanded his men to execute them. They cut off their hands and feet, and hung them up by the pool in Hebron. They also took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in Abner’s tomb. God could have brought David to the throne without these men killing an innocent man, but He still will use the circumstances and will work them together for His good.
Lastly, we are told of a young boy, the son of Jonathan, who was five years old when Jonathan and Saul died. When his nurse heard the news, she picked him up to flee. As she did so, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth, and he would have been about 12 years old at this point. We probably are told of him here because he was the next in line to the throne after Ishbosheth’s death, but he would not have been considered a suitable king due to the fact he was lame. We will hear more of him later in 2 Samuel.
In closing, in what ways can we learn from the characters in this chapter? Are we like Ishbosheth who was passive and allowed others to lead when it is really our job? Are we suspicious of others when they are filling the power vacuum in our absence? The right thing for Ishbosheth would have been to lead the nation in giving the kingdom over to David, but he was letting Abner lead the nation in rebellion to the Lord’s will. Even when Abner was doing the right thing, Ishbosheth was still sitting on the side-lines. Whatever position the Lord has us in, it is up to us to do it to the best of our ability, and leave the rest up to God. Maybe we are like David and are facing a situation of whether or not to trust someone with an offer of peace or reconciliation. If at all possible, we should give them the benefit of the doubt. Proceed with caution, but respond to them graciously. Like David, maybe we are tempted to use methods that are acceptable culturally to get what we want, but they are sinful in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord will straighten it all out in the end; we just need to wait on Him. Maybe we are like Joab who was vengeful and willing to mistreat someone if we perceive them as a threat to us. If so, we need to repent and trust the Lord with the outcome. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Rom 12:19) In the next chapter, the whole nation will come to David in Hebron to anoint him king.
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