2 Samuel chapter 3, it's also our Old Testament reading. So we come to this chapter after David has been made king over the tribe of Judah, and Saul's son Ish-bosheth had been made king over the other tribes of Israel. And we saw in the last chapter that a battle broke out between their armies and how they each had commanders. The commander of David's army being his nephew, Joab, and the commander of the other army was Saul's uncle, Abner. Now we will meet with these people again in this chapter, chapter three. It's a little bit of a longer chapter, so listen as The account is told. 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. And sons were born to David at Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam, of Jezreel. And his second, Kiliab, of Abigail, the widow of Nabal, of Carmel. And the third, Absalom, the son of Maacah, the daughter of Telmai, king of Gesher. And the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Hagith. And the fifth, Shephetiah, the son of Abital. and the sixth, Ithrim, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, why have you gone into my father's concubine? Then Avner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's 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. God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what 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. And Ishbosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him. And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, To 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. And he said, Good, 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, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face. Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. Anishbasheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel, the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Baharim. Then Abner said to him, Go, return. And he returned. And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then, bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, By 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. 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. When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and we'll 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. So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. 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. When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, Abner, the son of Ner, came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace. Then Joab went to the king and said, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away so that he is gone? You know that Abner, the son of Nur, came to deceive you and to know you're going out and you're coming in, and to know all that you are doing. When Joab came out from Abner's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Syrah. But David did not know about it. 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. Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. May it fall upon the head of Joab, and upon all his father's 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. So Joab and Abishai, his brother, killed Abner because he had put their brother Esahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. Then David said to Joab and to all the people who are with him, tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner. And King David followed the buyer. They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner. And all the people wept. And the king lamented for Abner. saying, Should Abner die as the fool dies? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered, As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen. And all the people wept again over him. Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, God, do so to me and more also if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down. And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner, the son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 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. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray for God's blessing upon his word. O Lord, our God, we give thanks and praise to you for giving us your word, for giving us light in the midst of darkness that we might know and understand. We ask that you would make these passages that we have read profitable to us, that we might grow in godliness, that our faith might be strengthened, that we might be comforted and stirred up unto holiness. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. In this chapter, we find, again, David, king of Judah, Ish-bosheth, king of Israel, their commanders, Joab and Abner. Verse 1 really sets the stage for the whole chapter. Not only describes the result of the events of the previous chapter, but also sets the theme for this chapter. That first verse describing a long war now going on. Not just a battle, but a long period of hostility between these two kingdoms, the house of Saul and the house of David, and that David grew stronger and stronger and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. And in this chapter, of course, we see one instance in which David grew stronger and the house of Saul grew weaker. The chapter shows how things moved a step closer to David becoming king of all Israel. Although it's kind of a two steps forward, one step back, right? It's things are making progress and then things are set back by Joab's actions. And in this way, in this kind of two steps forward, one step back, it demonstrates David's virtue in contrast with Joab. At the same time, there are a few troubling details that set the stage for some later problems as the narrative and as history often goes. As we see, things start to get introduced that we're gonna come back to later, even while the main point here is the contrast between David and Joab. The contrast we see is that King David welcomed peace and the return of his former enemy, while his nephew Joab was violent and vengeful and shed blood unjustly. David is, as king of Judah, a symbol of the Christ to come. Our king King Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and he welcomes into his covenant those who turn to him. Therefore, we should imitate David at his best, and even more, King Jesus turning to him and turning from the bloody bitterness of Joab. I hope that these themes will become clearer as we go through the text itself. First, in verses 1 through 11, we find the setting set forth for us. Again, that verse 1, the theme of conflict and David's growing strength. Verses 2 through 5 give another example of David's growing strength. David is growing stronger as he has now six sons born to him while he is there in Hebron. His house is growing. He has six sons. Now, they're six sons from six wives, which is not the way that it is supposed to work. Not only is polygamy against the way God created man and ordained marriage, but also Deuteronomy 17, 17 had said that a king should not multiply wives. So of all people, the king should not have been multiplying wives, but that command was explicitly for the king because the king was often the person most likely to do that. The king was often more wealthy and also would, have marriages for political reasons, as is the case at least for one of these marriages, where the wife is the daughter of the king of Gesher. And perhaps a part of the motive behind David's marriages. So that is one of those troubling details that's going to set the stage for later strife in David's house. But the main emphasis is on David growing stronger, and part of that is him having these six sons. Also, verses 6 through 11 describe Abner growing stronger in the house of Saul. But as he's growing stronger, perhaps the king realizes that Abner has the power and grows suspicious of him and accuses him of grasping power that was not his, particularly accusing him of going into one of Saul's concubines. This was kind of a power play. Now it doesn't say that he did that, that was the accusation. The text doesn't spend a lot of time on whether that was a true allegation or a false one, because the main point is the rift that it causes between them. It seems like it might've been a false accusation, The Abner protests his great steadfast love to the house of Saul. And yet, how is he treated? He is treated with suspicion and accusation. And this causes him to turn to David. that he swears an oath that he will accomplish for David what the Lord had sworn to him. And of course, he also betrays his knowledge here of God's ultimate intentions. Even though David was not yet king over all Israel, that he had known that this was God's purpose to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul to set up the throne of David over Israel. Now, Ish-bosheth couldn't answer Abner a word because indeed Abner was powerful. And Ish-bosheth feared him. And so we have the setting set up for Abner to now turn to David, and perhaps to have the end of this conflict, end of this war, and peace in the kingdom. God works through all things to bring about his purpose, and he often does so step by step, one thing at a time, and not all of a sudden. He made the house of David stronger and stronger, and his enemies weaker and weaker, And this process can test the patience of his people and their endurance, but it should also give you hope that God is not idle, that he works piece by piece to bring all the pieces together. And sometimes there are twists and turns that you don't expect, but the house of David grew stronger and stronger, and God does bring to pass his promise and intention that he might reign. and he even makes his enemies weaker and weaker. What were we just praying about or talking about in the lesson, the earlier part of today, about the Lord's Prayer, right? We want the kingdom of Satan destroyed, the kingdom of grace advanced, and the one happens at the expense of the other. God works more and more to to weaken his enemies, to strengthen the kingdom of his son, although gradually, piece by piece, not always ways that we expect. Here he divides David's enemies. Often the sinful suspicions of those who are opposed to Christ end up backfiring as God divides them. And here he brings at least Abner to seek peace with David, to seek to join his side, to help bring Israel all to welcome David as king. So God works in this world to weaken and divide the enemies of Christ and to turn people to him in various ways. And so Abner, treated with accusation by Ishbosheth. Feels like he's being treated as a dog's head, even though he had shown this loyalty to the house of Saul. Determines to transfer the kingdom to David. And Ishbosheth can't do anything about it. And so he's going to lead Ishbosheth's kingdom to welcome David. And so it sets the stage for the second part, the covenant. of the covenant with David in verses 12 through 21. In verses 12 through 16, Abner reaches out to David and he seeks a covenant with him, right? An alliance, a bond with him of friendship and loyalty. He wants to enter into a covenant with him and David is agreeable to this, although he has a condition. The condition is that Michal, Saul's daughter, his wife, or who had been his wife, who had been forcibly taken from him and given to another, he wants her back. And so, interestingly, he sends to Ish-bosheth, asking for Michal, and so Abner has to work with Ish-bosheth to send back Michal to David, and this is done. and Michal is brought back to David. Now, David's condition is somewhat understandable. After all, Michal was unjustly taken from him when he had fled from Saul. And this return was also an aspect of him becoming stronger. It was good, politically speaking, to have the daughter of Saul and his wife or his former wife back. But the stress in the text, the way the story is told, kind of emphasizes the new husband's love and grief at her being forcibly taken away now from him. And that might be in there, and it should cause us to reflect what is happening, that this was not entirely good, that David had already remarried. He had already moved on. In fact, he already had six wives, five wives too many, and now he was bringing back another. And this is somewhat of a foreshadowing of a worse event yet to come, where he had even more, and yet needed one more who was married to another. Of course, I refer to the later event with Bathsheba. So we here have, again, a little foreshadowing, a little troubling note of something yet to come. But in context, the point is that the condition is fulfilled and the way opens, that Abner is shown good faith, that he is willing to indeed strengthen David's hand, and so they are ready to meet. Verses 17 through 19 show how Abner then speaks with the elders of Israel, and especially the tribe of Benjamin, because Saul was part of Benjamin, so they were especially important if this was going to work. And so he meets with the people's representatives, and it seems that all along they had been wanting David as king. Again, in the earlier text, it said that the elders of Judah made David king, and Abner made Ish-bosheth king over the rest of Israel, that he had been forefront of that of that decision. And so now he's telling the elders of Israel, all right, what you've already been wanting, let's make it happen. This is going to be a good thing. So he gets their agreement so that he can communicate that to David. And then verses 20 through 21, we find that Abner met with David, that they feasted together. It's not explicitly said, but I think we can understand Understand that the covenant in question was made between Abner and David. Often feasting together there would be a way to celebrate such a covenant. and then Abner departs in peace so that he might gather all the Israel, all of Israel's leaders, all of Israel, that means all the elders of Israel, to coronate David as their king, that they might make a covenant with him and therefore set David over them as king. Note that a king is made when he is called to that office by the people by a covenant, where there is obligations of faithfulness and loyalty of the king to the people and the people to the king, that this is how the king was called. That even though David was anointed indeed to be king over all Israel by revelation from God, that he was not yet put into that possession until the people called him. And so the people were ready to make this choice and to make David, not Ish-bosheth, their king. And King David welcomed his former enemy. He made his covenant with him in peace, though Abner had once fought against his forces. And I think this is similar, a symbol of what was to come of how King Jesus welcomes us into his covenant as we repent and turn to him. After all, it was while we were enemies that Christ died for us, that you and I, by our nature, are hostile to Him. are ready to wage a war against him, as Abner waged war against David. And yet, when we turn, we realize our ways and turn to Christ and seek to enter into covenant with him, that he welcomes us through faith and repentance, that he freely welcomes us for no merits of our own. and makes peace with us. And this is a good picture. Whether or not we know exactly all of Abner's intentions and what would have happened later down the road, that's not part of the story. It seems that Abner was indeed intending to follow through on this, because we know the backstory. And David welcomed him. So Christ welcomes us as we turn to Him and seek an alliance with Him that He might protect us, that He might be our King and our King forever. And that would be, of course, an exhortation what you and I ought to do, that we set aside our weapons from fighting against God, and that you and I turn to Christ, receiving Him as our King, and to hold fast to Him then ever after as our Lord and Savior. But unfortunately, that's not the end of this chapter. It goes on. And the next part is the killing. Joab, in verses 22 through 25, Joab comes back from a raid and learns of what had happened, and he objects to David. And he accuses Abner, Abner gets accused a lot in this chapter, he accuses Abner, although to David, not to Abner's face, of deception and spying. Oh, Abner's just been here so he can spy out your area and now go back and wage war on you. Now that's Joab's accusation. Is that the truth? No! We know the rest of the story from the chapter, right? That Abner really was upset with his king Ish-bosheth. That he swore an oath to Ish-bosheth that he would do this thing and turn the kingdom over to David. But Joab has other reasons why he is hostile toward Abner, and we learned that from chapter 2 where Abner killed Asahel, or Asahel, the brother of Joab, in battle, reluctantly to save himself in battle. And so Joab did not like Abner, and so he accuses him even though the accusation is contrary to what we know from the narration. And then in verses 26, 27, and 30, we find that Joab deceives Abner to kill him. He says, come on back, Abner, come on back, meet me at the city gates. And in one of those rooms adjoined to the city gates, he meets with Abner and then strikes him in the stomach. Same word used for the striking of Asahel with the butt of the spear. Well, here now he strikes him in the stomach and kills Abner. Now, did Abner kill Joab to protect David, his king? Did Joab kill Abner for the good of his lord David? No. It says he killed Abner for the blood of Asahel, his brother. And he did this even though we know that Asahel was struck down in battle in self-defense, not murdered. There was no just cause here for Abner to be killed. And this vengefulness of Joab toward Abner was forbidden by God's law. We read earlier this morning, Leviticus 19, do not take vengeance against the sons of your own people. Do not bear a grudge, right? Instead, love your neighbor as yourself. This was not right. This was not a good attitude, it was not a good action. And this vengefulness probably led to jealousy too, that now David has another experienced commander that is gaining his favor. But the strongest motive that is mentioned here in the text was for the blood of his brother. And this was done in the city of the gates of a city of refuge. Hebron, the city, was one of those cities of refuge, where if it had been a case of a careless killing of someone, that they could run to this city and be safe there from the Avenger of Blood. Now, Joab didn't even have a good reason to be an Avenger of Blood, because it was not killing due to carelessness, it was self-defense in battle. But even if it was the case, he should have been safe here. And so beware of the way of Joab, this unrelenting vengefulness, this ready, if I got hurt or if any of my people got hurt because of this other person, now I need to hurt them and I need to make them miserable. This unrelenting vengefulness, this rivalry that causes destruction both in society, in families, in church, Beware of the way of Joab. Beware of devising evil. against your neighbor. Beware of the way of murder, which here gives birth to the very deed of shedding innocent blood, of avenging blood taken in war in a time of peace, after David as king had made peace with Abner, had made a covenant, and to shed him there even in the city of refuge. Beware of how hatred and malice and bitterness and Vengefulness can lead a person astray. What does James say? Why are there fights among you? Because your selfish jealousy, your passions that are wrong, they cause fighting. And so we find this killing, this killing of Abner. Well, then how does David respond? And that's the last part of this passage, the response of King David. Verses 28 through 29, we find that David hears of it, and he disclaims any participation in the deed. Indeed, the narrator lets us know he did not know this was going to happen. This was not his intention. But it could have looked that way to others, and so he makes sure people know that he did not intend this to happen. This is not the way of your king. He invokes God's judgment for the deed upon Joab and Joab's father's house, which is a different house than David's house, even though they're relatives, because it was through David's sister. Anyway, it's upon Joab and his house that the guilt of this deed should fall upon, because David had not heard of it. David did not endorse it, approve of it. In verses 31 through 37, David leads a public mourning over the death of Abner. And not only does he do this himself, and not only does he have his people and his army participate, but he specifically, it says, tells Joab to do this as well. He tells Joab and his people to publicly mourn, to go in front of the body as it's being carried to the grave. Instead of executing Joab, David does publicly rebuke Joab's deed, and has Joab publicly humble himself in sorrow for Abner. David writes a lament for Abner as well, as he had done for Saul and Jonathan, extolling this great prince and leader in Israel who had fallen, though he had once been his enemy. Everyone then understands that Abner's death had not been the king's will. and it pleased the people. It was not right to kill Abner. The people understood that and this pleased the people that David disapproved of this action and honored Abner. And then, it seems like more privately, in verses 38 through 39, David further describes the situation to his servants. He contrasts himself with the sons of Zeruiah, that is, Abishai and Joab, and invokes the justice of God against the evildoer. Now, why did David not execute judgment against Joab? There's different arguments on this. It might have been one factor that Joab was powerful and David was a new king, and it might have been rather difficult to pull it off. And was there, whether you ascribe that to prudence or whether you describe that to cowardice, and although there's that factor. But I think also part of the factor is that Joab was made to, and followed through on, a sort of demonstration of repentance for this deed. That he humbled himself in the mourning for Abner. Now, if you know the rest of the story, you know that Joab's not going to turn from this way. But perhaps there was more hope at the beginning, that he would. In any case, Joab isn't put to death. and a little bit more of a note of what will come. But even though David does not execute the sentence for one reason or another, he does say the Lord repay the evildoer. according to his wickedness. And this is ultimately where we rest when man's justice does not accomplish everything, that the Lord is just and he knows all things and his justice is good. And we can leave things into the hands of the Lord. Of course, there's a time for executing judgment. But that was not done in this case. Now, it would eventually take place. Joab had a second chance. He humbled himself here after the death of Abner. He could have turned from this way. But not only does that, he later kills Amasa. And then finally, at the end of David's life, he says, I have little unfinished business, Solomon. Do not let Joab go down to his grave in peace. And so there is further reflection on this event in 1 Kings, where there it is said, He is talking to his son, Solomon, when David is about to die. Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belts around his waist and on the sandals on his feet. Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. And later on in verse 28 mentions that Solomon did this, that even though Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar, that Solomon sent a man, go strike him down. And so he said, go come out. And he said, no, I will die here. And so the king replied to his servants, Do as he said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father's house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. And so even though judgment would be delayed in time, it would be executed, but by David's son, Solomon. You all should disapprove of evil. and doing what is right yourself and making it clear to others that you do not approve of what is evil. It's especially good for leaders to set a good example and to praise good and to condemn evil and to make sure everyone knows that. You should also rest on the judgment of God and appeal to his justice as the Psalms model it for you. This allows you to exercise self-control and gentleness, avoiding the violent vengefulness of Joab. As Romans will say, do not take vengeance. There is a place for the civil government to take vengeance, but you personally do not take vengeance, but leave it into the hands of God, who is the just judge. So King David was not sinless. We see a few faults here in this passage, but in general, he contrasts well with Joab. David welcomed the return of his former enemies, while Joab was violent and vengeful. May you hold fast to King Jesus, who receives his former enemies into his covenant and imitate his ways. ways of mercy, of peace, of self-control, as well as a love for righteousness. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you and we ask that you would Indeed, bless your people to strengthen us in ways of wisdom and righteousness, that we might not be led astray by the passions of our former ignorance, that we might put away malice and slander and such things, but rather embrace Christ and his ways. We thank you for receiving us into your covenant in Christ, that we might enjoy peace, peace with you and with one another. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.