Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning A Study of the Book of 2 Samuel
The Book of 2nd Samuel…2 nd Samuel 2:1‐3:39 Abner Dies as a Fool Dies It doesn’t happen often in the Scriptures that we know the exact age of someone at an exact point in the text. That is, the Scriptures do not often go out of their way to make sure that we know the exact age of a biblical character at an exact moment in time. It does happen with Abraham of course. We know he was seventy‐five when he was called by God out of the land of Haran. We know he was eighty‐six when Hagar bore him Ishmael. We know he was ninety‐nine when he was circumcised. And we know that he was one hundred years old, when Sarah at last bore him Isaac. And we know he was one hundred and seventy‐five years old when he died. But Abraham is an exception. Most of the time, we don’t know the exact age of the characters that come up in the text. When we do, it is usually because they are very important characters. For example we know that Joseph was thirty years Page 1 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning old when he entered the service of Pharaoh. And we know he was one hundred and ten years old when he died. We also know that the day that Moses first stood before Pharaoh he was eighty years old. He was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty three. And we know he was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. I bring up the issue because we know exactly how old David is in the text set before us this morning. The actual verse that tells us how old he was doesn’t come up for a few chapters. It comes up in chapter five. It tells us that at the time the men of Judah anointed David king he was exactly thirty years old. 1 Samuel 5:3 says this: 2 Samuel 5:3…So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty‐
three years. ESV Now I am purposely getting ahead of the text this morning because I want you consider for a moment the extraordinary life David lived before he ever reached the age of thirty. I am not sure how old he was when he went up to visit Saul’s army and his brothers back in 1 Samuel 17. The text says he was a “lad” which meant, of course, pretty much the same thing it does today when we use the word “lad.” He was an adolescent. That is, he was somewhere between thirteen and twenty. I take it that he was nearer the upper part of that range. I say that because he must have been fairly tall or else Saul’s armor would not have been Page 2 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning much too large for him. Still, the text is very clear when it says he was lad. I suspect he was somewhere between sixteen and eighteen. Here in the text before us this morning he is thirty. Think of all the extraordinary experiences David lived through in those twelve or thirteen years. He killed Goliath. He gained a reputation as a fearsome warrior. He was involved in one intrigue after another. He got married, chased from his homeland, lived among the Philistines, commanded six hundred guerilla fighters, fooled a foreign king, demonstrated extraordinary courage and valor, and managed through the combination of his own wit and God’s providence to stay alive even though he was being chased by a psychotic king with unlimited resources and a vastly superior army. I am making the point because it seems to me that David comes across much older in the text than he actually is. He seems to be a fifty year old man in a thirty year old body. He displays extraordinary wisdom, the wisdom of the Lord, in almost every decision he makes. I am also making the point to demonstrate the selectivity of the author in choosing the material he includes in making his overall point here in Samuel. There are sixteen chapters between 1 Samuel 17 and 2 Samuel 1 and they seem to the reader to take place over a period of weeks or perhaps months. The fact is they take place over a period of years, somewhere between twelve to fifteen years. Page 3 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning I am making the point because we are going to see the same sort of thing happening here in 2 Samuel. David is going to be anointed king by his own tribe Judah here is 2 Samuel 2, but he is not going to become the king of a united Israel until 2 Samuel 5. That means the next three chapters take place over a seven and a half year period. Now what we are going to see in particular in 2 Samuel chapters 2 and 3 is a kingdom in shambles. The dreadful military defeat suffered by Israel under Saul in 1 Samuel left the kingdom of Israel virtually cut in two. The twelve tribes are in total disarray. Much of the country, indeed the heart of the country, is occupied by the Philistines. And if all that is not bad enough in and of itself, the nation is going to fall into a civil war. None of that will be David’s fault. In fact, the author is going to go out of his way to make the point that the blame for the civil war falls on two men: Abner and Joab. You’ll see what I mean as the text unfolds. Alright with all that having been said, let’s look at last at 2 Samuel 2:1. 2 Samuel 2:1…After this David inquired of the LORD, ʺShall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?ʺ And the LORD said to him, ʺGo up.ʺ David said, ʺTo which shall I go up?ʺ And he said, ʺTo Hebron.ʺ 2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of ESV Page 4 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Carmel. 3 And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. You can see right off this morning that David is still very much dependent on the Lord to direct his path. I am not sure of how he inquires of the Lord here; the text does not specify the manner in which he seeks the mind of the Lord.1 It is possible he may have called on Abiathar and consulted the ephod.2 On the one hand, it doesn’t sound like he used the ephod because the ephod generally required a “yes” or “no” question. Still, it is possible that he may have framed his question, “Should I go up to Hebron?” If that is what happened, he would have probably placed the question just that way because many of the gifts he had given back in 1 Samuel 30 centered in an around the city of Hebron.3 He may have already had it in his head to go up to Hebron and only sought to confirm what he intended to do. While David is in Hebron, the men of Judah come up to Hebron and anointed him king. Look at verse 4. 2 Samuel 2:4…And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, ʺIt was the men of Jabesh‐
gilead who buried Saul,ʺ 5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh‐gilead and said to them, ʺMay you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. 6 Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.ʺ ESV Page 5 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Now I don’t think we ought to take what the men of Judah did in the wrong way. They were not implying by anointing David that the anointing he had received from Samuel earlier in chapter sixteen had somehow been deficient. Nor were they implying that they somehow needed to improve on what Samuel had done. I think they are simply implying their own confirmation of Samuel’s anointing of David for themselves. That would mean that their anointing of David would have had much the same effect as them saying “Amen” to the Samuel’s anointing of David back in 1 Samuel 16.4 Right after the men of Judah anoint David as their king, they make it known to him that it had been the men Jabesh‐gilead that had rescued Saul and Jonathan’s mutilated bodies from the city of Beth‐shan and buried them in Jabesh. Verse five and six relate David’s reaction to the news. He calls the men of Jabesh up to Hebron, and he praises them for their covenantal faithfulness and bravery toward their king. He goes on to tell them that the men of Judah have made him king and he implies, I think, that he would be honored to have them to join his cause. The text leaves it unclear as to how the men of Jabesh responded to David’s words. That is, we can’t tell whether they agreed with David, disagreed with David, or simply kept their counsel to themselves. What is clear is that David intends to reward them for their heroic action which, of course, fits very well with the general theme of the book that obedience leads to prosperity while disobedience leads to disaster. Page 6 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Now I made the point earlier that even after Saul’s death, it took seven and a half years for David to become king over a united Israel. Part of the reason that it took so long stems from what happens in 2 Samuel 2: 8‐10. 2 Samuel 2:8…But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saulʹs army, took Ish‐
bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, 9 and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. 10 Ish‐bosheth, Saulʹs son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. ESV Now the main thing that I want you to see in these few verse is that Abner was the real power behind making Ish‐bosheth. Abner was Saul’s uncle, and he was the commander of Saul’s army under Saul. I am not sure how he survived the battle with the Philistines when so many others died, but I don’t want to presume to paint some sort of negative or cowardly picture of him in that regard. On the other hand, Abner had certainly been there when David spared Saul’s life in the cave back in 1 Samuel 24. He had been there when Saul had spoken to David and has said that he himself realized that David would one day be king. I don’t think there is any doubt that Abner knew David had been chosen by God to rule the country, and yet he seems bent here on trying to prevent the inevitable simply because it might not be to his benefit. Calvin writes this: These happenings warn us to conduct ourselves with such modesty that we will not seek to be too great. For if this wretched desire dominates us, it is certain that we shall pay no attention to right or fairness or anything else. Abner should have thought that, even though the kingdom belonged to the sons of Saul, there was no other way to save the people unless David became Page 7 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning leader. He should have concluded that it was a foolish undertaking to set Ish‐
bosheth on the throne with but few people under his rule, for he could have had his throat cut. However, having a good reputation, he trusted in his own strength. But he was thus exposing the people to butchery, and did not recognize that the Philistines would be all the more incited to pursue their victory when they saw such a division and civil war within Israel.5 Now the second thing I would like you to notice is that Ish‐bosheth’s kingdom is a pared down kingdom. Many of the tribes are not listed even though it says “all of Israel.” I am making the point that the heart of Israel was very much under Philistine control. The declaration then that Ish‐bosheth was king over all Israel was more idealistic than realistic. Now last week I brought up the point that Ish‐bosheth was not the really the name of Saul’s son that is made king by Abner. His real name was either Ishvi or Eshbaal. Ish‐bosheth means “man of shame.”6 I take it that it is a caricature or parody of his real name. Anyway, what we have in 2 Samuel 2 is something of a stalemate. The Philistines have captured and occupied much of the country. A number of the tribes of Israel have picked up and moved west of the Jordan and what is left of the kingdom is divided into two parts: the tribe of Judah is united under David, and the remaining tribes, as scattered as they are, are united under Ish‐
bosheth. I think it might be fair to say that there is quite possibly a third group under the rule of the Philistines. You can see what mean when I say the country was in disarray. All we need now in the story is a nice destabilizing event to make things even worse. Page 8 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning We get just that in verse twelve. 2 Samuel 2:12…Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish‐bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 And Abner said to Joab, ʺLet the young men arise and compete before us.ʺ And Joab said, ʺLet them arise.ʺ 15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish‐bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponentʹs side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath‐hazzurim, which is at Gibeon. ESV Two armed groups, one supporting Ish‐bosheth and the other supporting David, run into each other at the pool of Gibeon. The Pool at Gibeon is a natural spring, quite deep. It looks something like a sinkhole, and later on workers carved steps into the sides of the spring so a person could walk down to the water no matter how low the water got. During the rainy season, the pool has water in it that comes up almost to the top. During the dry season, a person has to walk down to the water far below. Anyway, the two groups both wind up at the pool at the same time. They don’t attack each other, but there may have been some bantering going on back and forth. I suspect that there was plenty of trash talk going on. I suspect that they probably thought of each other as rival kingdoms, and that they viewed each other with enormous suspicion. Anyway, Abner makes the suggestion that a representative group of his men compete in armed combat against a representative group of David’s men. What he actually says is, “Let the young men rise up and play.” But it is hardly play that he has in mind. Joab, David’s military commander, likes the idea and responds…speaking for the very first time in Samuel, “Let them arise.” Page 9 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Now what they are going to do is the kind of thing that always turns out badly. Twelve men from each group square off against each other and grab each other by the head, or beard, and using their free hand drive a short sword into their opponent’s ribs. All twenty‐four men fall down dead. Of course, at that point the benches empty and the battle is on. Look at verse seventeen. 2 Samuel 2:17…And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. 18 And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. 19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, ʺIs it you, Asahel?ʺ And he answered, ʺIt is I.ʺ 21 Abner said to him, ʺTurn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.ʺ But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22 And Abner said again to Asahel, ʺTurn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?ʺ 23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still. ESV Now the battle for Abner’s men, the men of Israel, turned out badly. David’s men were battle hardened warriors as a result of the many raids they had conducted. So it didn’t take long for Joab’s experienced warriors to put Abner’s men to flight. The text goes out of the way to point out that David’s three cousins are right in the thick of things. Page 10 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning You will remember that one of the three men, Abishai, had been with David back in 1 Samuel 26 when they sneaked into Saul’s camp and took his spear and water jug. Anyway, the fighting turned into a rout. Had it ended there, I think everyone involved would have learned a valuable lesson about taking such things lightly and trying to test each other’s manhood. But, of course, it doesn’t end there. It doesn’t end there because Joab’s younger brother, Asahel, decides he wants to kill Abner and take his armor and kit as a trophy. He does that when he singles out Abner and chases him refusing to turn aside from chasing after him. The text mentions the fact that Asahel was a swift as a gazelle. Obviously, the claim is an exaggeration, but the point is that Asahel was much faster than everyone else and didn’t have any trouble chasing after Abner and catching up to him. I’m not sure whether at some point Abner stopped and turned to face Asahel or whether he actually spoke to him as Asahel was chasing him. But the point is that Abner tried to persuade Asahel to stop chasing after him. He did that, I think, because he knew killing Asahel would start a blood feud with Joab and his brother. Unfortunately, Asahel would not listen or be turned aside from chasing him. While Asahel had vastly superior speed, Abner had experience. When Asahel refused to turn aside, Abner stopped suddenly, jammed the point of his spear into the ground, and let Asahel’s speed impale him on the butt end his spear. Page 11 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning The text is pretty gruesome in that it explains that Abner’s spear passed all the way through Asahel. The trauma would have been devastating. I suspect it killed Asahel instantly or almost instantly. Robert Alter writes this: Asahel is pursuing Abner at top speed. Abner, to save his own life, uses an old soldierʹs trick: he suddenly stops short and thrusts his spear backward, under his pursuerʹs shield (if Asahel is carrying one) and into the soft belly. The momentum of Asahelʹs rapid running would have contributed to the penetrating force of the spear butt.7 Because Asahel and Abner were out in front of the other men from Judah following behind, it took awhile the rest of the men from Judah to come upon Asahel’s body. When they did, the text says they stopped and stood still. That is, they stopped and stood still until Joab came upon the body of his younger brother. Now this is one of those places where the narrator shows rather than tells. He doesn’t have Joab say anything. There is no dramatic speech. Instead, the narrator records Joab’s action, and Joab’s action is to chase Abner deeper and deeper into Benjamite territory until Abner and other people from the tribe of Benjamin made their stand together right before at the hill of Ammah. Look at verse twenty‐four. 2 Samuel 2:24…But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way ESV Page 12 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, ʺShall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?ʺ 27 And Joab said, ʺAs God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.ʺ 28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore. I think Abner realized Joab would never voluntarily stop on his own. I suspect that he already knew that Joab was the kind of man that made the worst kind of enemy. I suspect Abner knew Joab was cruel, relentless, and single‐minded. He knew Joab would never stop. In that sense, Joab is a lot like his younger brother Asahel. Only Joab has just as much fighting experience as Abner, maybe even more. Anyway, Abner appeals to Joab stop lest the fighting lead to even more death. Abner’s appeal provides Joab an opportunity to stop the chase without losing face. I suspect that Joab recognized how many lives it would cost to get to Abner with so many men around him. I suspect he recognized that Abner had the superior defensive position at the top of the hill. I suspect he realized he was a long way from Hebron. Verses twenty‐nine through thirty‐two explain how the two groups disengage and go their separate ways. They also explain that by and large the day went to the men of Judah. Altogether the men of Judah lost twenty men while the men of Israel lost three hundred and sixty. That is, Israel lost eighteen men for every one they killed from Judah. Page 13 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Look at verse twenty‐nine. 2 Samuel 2:29…And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim. 30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from Davidʹs servants nineteen men besides Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abnerʹs men. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron. ESV Now, the number of men killed in the battle at the Pool of Gibeon more or less foreshadows how the ongoing civil war between David’s men and Abner’s men is going to go. It is not going to go favorably for the house of Saul. 2 Samuel 3:1…There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. 2 And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, Davidʹs wife. These were born to David in Hebron. 6 While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. ESV Chapter three starts off with a bit of a general summary about the war between the house of David and the house of Saul. It then goes on to list David’s six sons born to six different wives. Three of the six sons mentioned here are going to die violent deaths. Still, the point is that David has already begun to build himself a dynasty. He is securing his throne. The same thing cannot be said of Ish‐bosheth. In fact, Ish‐bosheth seems to be getting weaker and weaker. Abner is the one getting stronger in the house of Saul. Look at verse seven. Page 14 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning 2 Samuel 3:7…Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish‐bosheth said to Abner, ʺWhy have you gone in to my fatherʹs concubine?ʺ 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish‐
bosheth and said, ʺAm I a dogʹs head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. 9 God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him, 10 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.ʺ ESV Now a concubine is something very much like a wife. In the Bible, concubines are typically the same thing as a wife only without a dowry. Ish‐bosheth accuses Abner of going into, or of having a sexual relationship with one of Saul’s concubines. In most cases, going into a former king’s concubine meant that person was implicitly making acclaim on the throne. A few chapters from now, Absalom will go into his father David’s concubines and will do in the sight of all Israel. Anyway, Ish‐bosheth accuses Abner of going into one of Saul’s concubines which pretty much means that he is accusing him of making a play for the throne. Abner doesn’t deny that he has taken the woman sexually but blows a gasket that the young upstart Ish‐bosheth had the nerve to bring the matter up. Abner goes on to explain that he had given the kingdom to Ish‐bosheth when he could have just as well given it to David. He goes on to argue that Ish‐bosheth should have left well enough alone and that now he is going to give the kingdom to Page 15 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning David. Notice verse nine. Abner says he is going to give to David the kingdom that God had promised him. That means he realized all along that David was by divine right the true king of the nation. Verse eleven explains that Ish‐bosheth cowers before Abner is fear. He is a bit pathetic. Verses twelve and thirteen relate Abner’s message to David, and David’s demand that Michal, Saul’s daughter, be returned to him as his lawful wife. 2 Samuel 3:11…And Ish‐bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him. 12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, ʺTo whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.ʺ 13 And he said, ʺGood; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saulʹs daughter, when you come to see my face.ʺ ESV Verse fourteen through sixteen relate David’s message and demand to Ish‐
bosheth that he return Micah and they relate the pitiful story of Paltiel following after Michal as her procession makes its way back to David. 2 Samuel 3:14…Then David sent messengers to Ish‐bosheth, Saulʹs son, saying, ʺGive me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.ʺ 15 And Ish‐bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, ʺGo, return.ʺ And he returned. ESV Page 16 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Verse seventeen through twenty‐one relates Abner’s speech to the elders of Israel. Notice, Abner reveals in his speech that the elders of Israel had been seeking for quite some time to have David as their king. Verses twenty and twenty‐one explain that David made a feast for Abner at Hebron. Joab, of course, was not there. 2 Samuel 3:17…And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, ʺFor some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. 18 Now then bring it about, for the LORD has promised David, saying, ʹBy the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.ʹʺ 19 Abner also spoke to Benjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do. 20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 And Abner said to David, ʺI will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.ʺ ESV You’ll notice that at the end of verse twenty‐one Abner promises to gather the nation so it can cut a covenant with David. Abner won’ live long enough to make that happen. Still, the text goes out of the way to explain that Abner’s death should not be connected to David in any way. In fact, verses 21b through 23 state three times that David sent Abner away in peace. 2 Samuel 3:21b…So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. 22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, ʺAbner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace.ʺ ESV Page 17 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Even if you have never read this portion of Samuel before, you can almost guess what is coming next. Joab is going to go behind David’s back and call Abner back and murder him. 2 Samuel 3:24…Then Joab went to the king and said, ʺWhat have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone? 25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.ʺ 26 When Joab came out from Davidʹs presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. ESV Verse twenty‐eight and twenty‐nine relate David’s reaction to the murder of Abner. 2 Samuel 3:28…Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, ʺI and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his fatherʹs house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!ʺ ESV David’s curse on the house of Joab is strange one. First David appeals to anyone that will listen to hold him blameless for the death of Abner, and then he pronounces a fivefold curse on Joab and his descendants. He says that he prays that Joab’s house will never be without someone who is syphilitic, or leprous, or who has to earn his bread by doing a woman’s work, or who dies violently, or who is a beggar. I think the point is that David is genuinely trying to distance himself from Joab’s action. He does that by publicly taking Joab to the woodshed, but he does not punish him beyond that. In that sense, he reminds the reader of Page 18 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Eli and foreshadows some of the issue she will have to deal with his own sons. We’ll learn later in chapter sixteen that not everyone believed David was innocent. Shimei, at least, did not.8 In verse thirty through thirty‐nine David publicly mourns the death of Abner and makes Joab and rest of Israel put on sackcloth and mourn alongside him. 2 Samuel 3:30…So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. 31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ʺTear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner.ʺ And King David followed the bier. 32 They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king lamented for Abner, saying, ʺShould Abner die as a fool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen.ʺ And all the people wept again over him. 35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, ʺGod do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!ʺ 36 And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the kingʹs will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. 38 And the king said to his servants, ʺDo you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The LORD repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!ʺ ESV The chapter closes with David lamenting Abner’s death in such a way that it wins the affection and respect of the nation. I hoped you noticed that verse thirty‐one uses the title King David for the very first time in Samuel. David is, at last, the king of the nation. The final verse of chapter three foreshadows quite clearly the death that Joab himself will later die. Page 19 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning So what applications are we to draw from this lengthy section of Scripture? First of all, God will providentially bring to pass all that he intends without us adding our own little intrigues to the mix. God does not need us to work stealthily in the background to advance his kingdom our way. It’s his kingdom and will direct the way he sees fit without any behind the scenes manipulation from us. Secondly, every vindictive quest will end in dishonor and judgment. If any of us think we are going to once and for all put someone in their place, we are inviting judgment upon our own heads and are at the same time inviting disunity into the body of Christ. We ought always to strive to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Let’s pray. J.P. Fokkelman, Throne and City Vol. 3 (Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum & Co., 1990), 26. Fokkelman writes, “This time the narrator wished to lose no more time by explaining the procedure.” 2 David G. Firth, 1&2 Samuel (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 330. 3 Firth, 331. Cf. J.P. Fokkelman, Throne and City Vol. 3 (Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum & Co., 1990), 27. 4 John Calvin, Sermons on 2 Samuel (Edinburgh, Scotland: Banner of Truth, 1992), 57. Calvin spends a bit of time explaining how this second anointing of David was nothing like being rebaptized. Obviously, tt explains some of the debate and passage used in his own day. 5 Calvin, 63‐4. 6 Robert Alter, The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000), 203. See footnote #8. 7 Alter, 206. Cf. Footnote 23. 1
Page 20 © 2013 Thomas R. Browning Post Tenebras Lux Featuring the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning Ralph Davis, 2 Samuel (Ross‐shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 46. See footnote 12. 8
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