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Introduction:
In the last chapter, David had established his rule over Judah as a tribal king.
His headquarters was in Hebron.
Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, had made Saul’s one remaining son, Ishbosheth, king over Israel with his headquarters at Mahanaim.
A skirmish broke out between the two armies at Gibeon and Abner’s soldiers were defeated.
This resulted in a footrace with Asahel, the brother of Joab, chasing Abner.
Asahel was faster, but Abner had more experience and he was able to trick Asahel into impaling himself on his spear.
Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit, but Abner was able to reconnect with his troops on a hill.
And Abner managed to convince Joab to break off his pursuit and they both returned to their headquarters, Joab to Hebron and Abner to Mahanaim.
Had Joab finished the job instead of being convinced by Abner to stop, he would have prevented what chapter 3 verse 1 calls a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David.
And because Abner had killed Joab’s brother, Joab will do something unwise in our chapter.
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But Ishbosheth and Abner were not David’s only problems.
Ishbosheth and Abner, and Joab’s building desire for revenge were not David’s only problems.
David’s many wives were chosen in direct violation of .
Some students believe that this expression of David’s lust eventually led to the many family problems that plagued his later days.
Amnon violated his half-sister Tamar (chap.
13); Absalom rebelled against David and tried to capture the crown (chaps.
13–18); and Adonijah tried to wrest the kingdom from Solomon ().
Abner had problems with lust too; for he took one of Saul’s concubines and incurred the displeasure of the pretended king.
This led to a disruption between Abner and Ishbosheth.
Abner tried to make a peaceful agreement with David, but the “sons of Zeruiah” plotted against him and killed him (vv.
26–30).
While Joab did the actual killing, it is likely that his brother was in on the plans.
Joab’s hands were stained with blood before his own death came; for he not only killed Abner, but also Absalom () and Amasa ().
David asked his son Solomon to deal with Joab, and he did (, ).
How different history would have been had Abner lived, it is difficult to tell.
Certainly Joab held unusual power over David, particularly after he assisted the king in his murderous plot against innocent Uriah (11:14ff).
Note, however, David’s godly conduct in the matter of Abner’s death.
David’s many wives were chosen in direct violation of .
Some people believe that David’s lust and this divided family eventually led to the many family problems that plagued his later days.
David had a man killed with the help of Joab, so that he could take his wife, Bathsheba.
Amnon forced himself on Tamar, his half-sister … the sister of Absalom (chap.
13) and Absalom killed him.
Absalom rebelled against David and tried to capture the crown (chaps.
13–18) but Absalom was killed.
Adonijah, David’s 4th son, tried to take the kingdom from Solomon () thinking he should have have been next in line for the throne.
But David promised Bathsheba that Solomon would get the throne.
For the meantime, however, David had two great problems … Ishbosheth and Joab.
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On the other side, Ishbosheth had a major problem.
He was a puppet king, controlled by Abner.
And Abner had his eyes on both Israel and Judah.
In a power play, Abner took one of Saul’s concubines.
Instead of giving Abner more control over Ishbosheth, this led to a disruption between Abner and Ishbosheth.
Abner tried to make a peaceful agreement with David, but Joab and Abishai, the two remaining “sons of Zeruiah” plotted against him to kill him.
(While Joab did the actual killing, it is likely that his brother was in on the plans.)
Before his own death, Joab would also kill David’s son Absalom () and Amasa, commander of Absalom’s army ().
In , David asked his son Solomon to deal with Joab, and he did, having him killed.
----
How different history would have been had Abner lived, it is difficult to tell.
So that’s where we are and where we are headed.
Certainly Joab held unusual power over David, particularly after he assisted the king in his murderous plot against innocent Uriah (11:14ff).
Some twists and turns and intrigue.
Note, however, David’s godly conduct in the matter of Abner’s death.
Let’s pray and we’ll dig in:
Prayer: Lord, we place ourselves before the authority of Your Written Word this evening and ask that You would open up our hearts to understanding.
May You be blessed by our commitment to Your Word and blessed through it.
v1
Joab’s decision not to finish the job with Abner at that hill in Gibeon had resulted in a long war.
Nevertheless, Ishbosheth and Abner were losing the war, which would last about 2 years.
David had learned some patience.
Instead of an outright assault on Ishbosheth, this war was a series of skirmishes back and forth as David waited on the LORD.
David knew that God would keep His promises and give him the throne of Israel.
And during this time, Ishbosheth and his forces were weakening while David and his forces were gaining in strength.
And Ishbosheth and his forces were weakening while David and his forces were gaining in strength.
And Ishbosheth and his forces were weakening while David and his forces were gaining in strength.
And Ishbosheth and his forces were weakening while David and his forces were gaining in strength.
In verse 1, “Grew stronger and stronger” is a phrase that is literally, “Walked to strength” and “Grew weaker and weaker” is “walked toward insignificance.”
But stronger and weaker here do not only refer to combat and defensive ability … that is, military strength.
Those who believed that David was God’s anointed king over Israel grew in confidence.
Those who held to Saul’s house were losing confidence.
David was gaining support while Ishbosheth was losing support.
In fact, this long war was more about the allegiance of the people of Israel rather than armies and battles.
And more and more people began to switch their allegiance from Ishbosheth and the house of Saul to David.
As we see from , this is a process that began while Saul was still king as seen in 1 Samuel when David was in exile, and continued into the 7 years of David’s rule from Hebron.
v2-5
David’s family was growing, and like any other monarch of the time, he had a growing harem.
Solomon would go way beyond his father in this regard.
1 Kings
But we’ll get to that later.
David had moved to Hebron with two wives, and now he had six sons by six different wives.
Polygamy started with Lamech, a descendant of Cain ().
But, as we saw earlier, according to , it was forbidden to Israel’s kings.
David’s firstborn was Amnon.
He had Amnon by Ahinoam, who was originally from Jezreel and became David’s wife along with Abigail (widow of Nabal, the Carmelite.)
His name meant “Faithful.”
Ahinoam would later deceive and force himself on his half-sister Tamar.
He was then murdered by Tamar’s full brother Absalom, who would be killed while trying to take the kingdom from his father.
would rape his half-sister Tamar (chap.
13) and be murdered by Tamar’s full brother Absalom, who would be killed while trying to take the kingdom from his father (chap.
14–18).
David’s second was Chileab.
He had Amnon by Abigail, the widow of Nabal.
In he is called Daniel.
It is not uncommon in the Old Testament for a person to have 2 names.
Generally, one of them is the proper name and the other is descriptive.
With Chileab, his real name is Daniel meaning “God has judged me favorably” … a proclamation of God’s goodness toward David.
Chileab was Daniel’s nickname … because he looked so much like his father … the name means, “He is completely like his father.”
Although he is older than his brothers Absolam and Adonijah, there is nothing more recorded of him … which might mean that he died young.
David’s third son was Absalom.
He had Absalom by Maacah.
She was the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.
Geshur was an Aramaean kingdom located east of the Sea of Galilee.
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