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Introduction
We are in tonight, which is a shorter chapter … only 12 verses.
It’s also a pivotal chapter in this book.
So, let’s take a few minutes to review where we’ve been before we continue on.
With the death of Saul, David’s circumstances changed dramatically.
He was no longer a fugitive on the run from Saul.
With the death of Saul, David’s fortune changed.
He was no longer a fugitive, and was quickly acknowledged as king by the southern tribe of Judah, his own tribe.
In the north Ish-Bosheth, a surviving son of Saul, was propped up as king by the military leader, Abner.
And he was quickly acknowledged as king by the southern tribe of Judah.
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Judah was, of course, David’s own tribe.
We know from our modern experience that it is beneficial to a state and region when a president is elected from that state.
The same was true for kings back then.
It was good for the tribe of Benjamin when Saul was king.
And so, even though some or many of them may have been aware by now of David’s anointing by Samuel to be the next king, they hung onto the house of Saul and his son, Ish-bosheth.
And Saul’s military commander, Abner, was propping up Ish-bosheth as king.
Abner saw Ish-bosheth as a puppet king because he was weak.
Abner gladly manipulated him, having his own eyes on the throne.
And David, being of the tribe of Judah, was quickly received by them as their king.
That made him at this point more of a tribal king than anything.
In the north Ish-Bosheth, a surviving son of Saul, was propped up as king by the military leader, Abner.
Saul’s military commander, Abner, was propping up Ish-bosheth as king in the north.
Abner saw Ish-bosheth as a puppet king because he was weak.
Abner gladly manipulated him, having his own eyes on the throne.
So, there were essentially 2 kingdoms among the Israelites at this time.
There was, in the north, the larger kingdom which was ruled by Ish-bosheth under the hand of Abner.
And then in the south, there was Judah which was ruled by David.
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Over the next years there were minor skirmishes between the two kingdoms.
But David’s strength showed itself … and Ish-Bosheth’s weakness showed, too.
In chapter 3, Abner made a power play toward Ish-bosheth by taking one of Saul’s concubines for his own.
In chapter 1,
In chapter 1,
This was essentially an act of treason as it would have represented a move to take the throne from Ish-bosheth.
Ish-bosheth discovered what Abner had done and confronted him about it.
Abner took a “How dare you accuse me” approach to Ish-bosheth.
And realizing that his goal to steal the throne from Ish-bosheth was no longer a secret, he sent messengers to David.
Abner wasn’t giving up on his plan to take Ish-bosheth’s throne, but was putting part 2 of his plan into play.
He had his eyes on David’s throne as well.
I believe based on the textual evidence, that his plan was to eventually control both thrones himself and consolidate both thrones into one over all Israel.
It’s not explicitly stated, and for that reason I want to caution us … to say absolutely that was his plan is on the verge of eisegesis.
Eisogesis is imposing one's own presuppositions, agendas, or biases into and onto a Biblical text.
I don’t want to do that, so I caution that such is my own thought based on what the Bible hints at but doesn’t explicitly say.
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So, Abner sent word to David saying that he would be willing to defect and use his influence to consolidate the kingdom under David’s rule.
And the two went back and forth using mediators before meeting face to face.
When they did meet, they made an agreement for peace between one another and Abner claimed allegiance to David and said he would gather all Israel under David as king.
However, David already had a military commander … Joab.
And in chapter 2, Abner had killed Joab’s brother, Asahel in battle.
Just after David’s meeting with Abner, Joab returned from leading the military in a raid.
And he was told that Abner had met with King David and had left in peace.
And disturbed by this, Joab said to David in verses 24-25:
2 Samuel
Joab then having left the presence of David, sent messengers to Abner to bring him back.
Because Hebron was a city of Refuge, when Abner returned, Joab took him aside outside the gate and killed him.
While Joab did the actual killing, it is likely that his brother, Abishai was in on the plans.
Upon hearing about it, David was hard pressed to take any sure action.
Joab was avenging the death of his brother, and Abner had been killed outside of the city.
At the same time, Joab’s brother was killed by Abner in battle, which was not the same as a cold blooded murder.
And so, David expressed that he and his kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for the death of Abner.
And he also pronounced a curse on the house of Joab.
Joab would continue to serve David and would even be the one to kill Absalom, the rebelling son of David and the commander of Absalom’s army and David’s nephew, Amasa.
After Absalom was killed by Joab against a direct order from David not to, David pardoned Amasa and replaced Joab with him ().
And Joab then assassinated Amasa.
It was also Joab who arranged for the death of Uriah so that David could take Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba.
David asked his son Solomon to deal with Joab, and he did (, ).
David asked his son Solomon to deal with Joab, and he did (, ).
At the end of David’s reign, Joab supported the conspiracy of Adonijah and Abiathar against the throne.
And when David died, Solomon chose to deal with Adonijah, Abiathar, and Joab.
Solomon’s officer Beniah found Joab at the altar seeking refuge and killed him there.
Therefore, upon his father’s death, Solomon pursued the conspirators Adonijah (2:23), Abiathar (2:26), and Joab (2:28).
Solomon’s officer Beniah found Joab at the altar seeking refuge and killed him there (2:28–35)
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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.
So that brings us up to where we are today in chapter 4.
Abner is dead, but Ish-bosheth still sits on the throne.
The death of Abner left Ish-bosheth exposed, as Abner was the real power behind the throne.
This chapter is another turning point for the rule of David over all Israel to come to fruition.
i
In this chapter, Ish-bosheth is assassinated.
And as we have seen with David before, he responds to the death of Ish-bosheth in a way that most people would not expect.
This was the turning point: when Ishbosheth died, the way was wide open for David to rule over the entire nation.
However, it must be noted that David did not approve of the method the sons of Rimmon used, and he had the murderers slain because of their crime.
David knew that God was able to elevate him to the throne; he would not do evil that good might come from it ().
These three murders are evidence that David’s road to the throne was a bloody one.
What a contrast to our Savior who shed His own blood, and not the blood of others, to gain His throne!
It is an interesting contrast that while David’s road to the throne was stained with the blood of others, our Savior shed His own blood to gain His throne.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1993).
Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament ().
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for everyone here this evening.
Thank You that You know each of us by name and have caused us to walk with You.
Lord, we open up Your word desiring to hear from You ... not man's word or wisdom, but Your Words and Wisdom.
Please soften our hearts to receive from You.
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After the death of Abner, resistance to David’s rule began to collapse.
In that regard, Joab’s killing of Abner was a benefit to David … however, as we saw from the last chapter, David pursued peace with Abner.
Once Abner was dead, the end of resistance to David’s rule came swiftly, and to that extent Joab’s initiative had benefited David.
Ishbosheth had depended, albeit unwillingly, on Abner’s ability, and without him found he could not maintain his position as king.
And Abner was very influential with the leaders of the tribes of Israel and had begun to work toward David taking the throne.
That being said, Abner had his designs on the throne and would probably have behaved the same way toward David as he had toward Ish-bosheth.
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