Thursday, March 15, 2012

2 Samuel 3:22-39

22 Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.
24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”
26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.
28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”
30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
31 Then David said to Joab and all of Joab’s men, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All of Joab’s men wept also.
33 The king sang this lament for Abner:
“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34 Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”
And all of Joab’s men wept over him again.
35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
36 All of Joab’s men took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all of Joab’s men and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.
38 Then the king said to his men, “Don’t you realize that a great commander has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer acco rding to his evil deeds!”

Points of Interest
  • ‘he came to deceive you’--it’s no surprise that Joab would have a hard time trusting Abner. They’ve been fighting one another for years.
  • ‘May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore’--David is fuming because Joab, in order to avenge his brother and maybe even to save his own job, puts in jeopardy the treaty that will finally bring peace and unity to the nation, under David’s rule--not to mention the fact that Joab has just murdered someone, someone with diplomatic immunity no less, in cold blood. I’m not certain how seriously we are to take David’s curses here. He may just be venting, the equivalent of yelling a few profanities, angrily swiping everything off the desk, and slamming the door.
  • ‘The king sang this lament for Abner’--all told, Abner was a decent, honorable man. He was the enemy general, but he can hardly be blamed for siding with his family and the current dynasty. He was true to his word. He did his best, as a man of war, to keep the peace. And he even worked very hard to avoid killing Joab’s brother Asahel. Even Joab’s men grieve Abner’s death.
  • ‘all of Joab’s men took note and were pleased’--it’s interesting that Joab’s men, not Abner’s, are carefully watching David here. Joab’s action has put David in danger of losing the trust of his entire army--not just the new, formerly Saulite forces, but even Joab’s own men. His soldiers want to know that David is honorable, and that his word and his commitment to his men can be trusted.
  • ‘these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me’--David feels like he ended up with the wrong general out of the deal. Joab may be his man, but Abner was the better man. Unfortunately, he can’t figure out how to rid himself of Joab and Abishai. They’re too powerful, and he depends on them too much.
  • ‘May the LORD repay the evildoer’--this must have been a humbling beginning to David’s reign. He now, finally, has authority over the whole country, but he can’t even control his own closest friends, associates, and relatives. He’s a king, but at the mercy of his own nephew. It’s a good thing he learned how to trust God to protect him and provide for him all of those years when he was on the run, because he needs to depend on God just as much--maybe even more--now that he is king.
Taking it home
  • For you: David’s world keeps getting more complex in his ascent to the kingship: the political realities, interpersonal relationships, and job responsibilities only increase both in quantity and intricacy. What’s a complex and overwhelming situation in your life right now? Pray some of David’s prayers during this time in which he asserts God’s power and knowledge above whatever stressful situations he faces.
Psalm 103: 13-20
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Psalm 104
1 Praise the LORD, my soul.
LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
  • For your six: David looks powerful and in control; he’s the king after all. But it turns out that the title of king doesn’t protect him from powerlessness in the middle of a sticky situation. Are any of your six in situations which it looks like they ought to have firmly under control, but they just don’t? Pray that God would give them peace in the middle of their powerlessness, and that he would give them the authority to match their responsibilities.
  • For our church: David hits the nail on the head in how best to respond to Abner’s death. David’s wise decision gains the trust and respect of an unlikely group of people. Ask God to make our church one that would gain trust and respect, even from those who are suspiciously watching our every move.
  • For families: Is there anyone in your life you want to trust or be friends with, but something keeps getting in the way and it is hard to trust them? Do you know what’s making you feel that way? Could it be that you only know part of that person? Pray together for God to show you more about this person and how God sees them. Ask God what you should do.