Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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. 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.
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! You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing."
Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the gateway, as though to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.
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. May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house! May Joab's house 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."
(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner." King David himself walked behind the bier. They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb. All the people wept also.
The king sang this lament for Abner: "Should Abner have died as the lawless die? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before wicked men."
And all the people wept over him again.
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!"
All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. So on that day all the people and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.
Then the king said to his men, "Do you not realize that a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 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 according to his evil deeds!"
When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. Now Saul's son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Recab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have lived there as aliens to this day.
(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
Now Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to take your life. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring."
David answered Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of all trouble, when a man told me, 'Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!"
So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner's tomb at Hebron.
2 Samuel 3:22-39, 4:1-12
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The middle part of Chapter 3 of 2nd Samuel sees events take place that elevate David to the point of assuming leadership over all Israel as king. Everything seems to be looking up, not just for David, but for the people as well as another of God’s anointed is ready to assume the throne.
But how often do we see evil enter into the midst of things when good is happening? For no matter how much good God is making happen, Satan is right there offering equal measures of disruption and chaos.
We see a perfect example of this in the two sections of scripture from Chapters 3 and 4.
First, we see Joab returning to Hebron from a raid, bringing with him a “great deal of plunder”. And as he and his soldiers arrive, they learn that Abner had come to David, conferred with him and then was “sent away…in peace”.
Well, Joab bristled at this news and went directly to David saying, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing." We see where Joab makes Abner’s visit seem as if it was done with an evil, scheming intent. Actually, it was Joab who was evil and scheming, attempting to hide his own personal contempt for Abner behind a concern for Israel’s safety. It was far easier to paint Abner as an untrustworthy ally then try and paint him a murderer…the one who had killed his brother Asahel.
So unable to convince David to eliminate Abner, Joab decides to take matters into his own hands. For he “sent messengers after Abner” without David’s knowledge and they “brought (Abner) back from the well of Sirah to Hebron. Once there, scripture tells us “Joab took (Abner) aside into the gateway, as though to speak with him privately” and “stabbed him in the stomach” killing him. In doing so, he felt he had avenged “the blood of his brother Asahel” but all he really did was murder Abner, plain and simple.
For Abner didn’t murder Asahel. He killed him in the line of battle…and there’s a difference. You’ll recall that Asahel was pursuing Abner and his intent wasn’t just to share pleasantries. No…Asahel wanted to slay Abner. And you’ll also recall that Abner tried to convince Asahel to stop his pursuit but Asahel refused to listen. So in self defense, Abner turned and protected himself against Asahel, killing him with his sword. This was far from what happened with Joab who didn’t have the guts to challenge Abner to a fight. Instead, he made it appear as if he wanted to speak to him before stabbing him to death. Joab’s actions were cunning and premeditated. They were also sinful and in violation of God’s commandment to not murder.
We read where David later heard about Joab’s actions and proclaimed, "I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house! May Joab's house 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." David did not want the people of Israel to think that he had ordered the murder one of their key military leaders. Nor did he want there to be a perception that he condoned the actions of Joab. Instead, we read words of condemnation for what Joab had done, highlighting the sinful nature of his actions before the Lord. Additionally, David commands all his people and Joab to tear their clothes and put on sackcloth to express their sorrow and mourning over Abner’s death.
David particularly took the death hard as Abner was buried in Hebron. We read the words of his lament as he said, “Should Abner have died as the lawless die? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before wicked men." And with this, David refused to eat as he grieved saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!" His actions were effective. For that day, “al the people took note and were pleased” with David and everything he did, knowing that he “had no part in the murder of Abner”…a murder that broke God’s command to not murder.
The second excerpt, taken from Chapter 4, involves Saul’s remaining son, Ish-Bosheth. You’ll remember that Abner had appointed Ish-Bosheth as leader over of Israel with the exception of Judah where David had been anointed king. But when Ish-Bosheth “heard that Abner had died in Hebron”, scripture tells us “he lost courage” leading to “all Israel (becoming) alarmed”.
Whether this had anything to do with what took place next or not is unknown but nonetheless “two men who were leaders of raiding bands” for Ish-Bosheth, Baanah and Recab, “set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth”, arriving “in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest”. And after slipping into the “inner part of the house as if to get some wheat”, they found Ish-Bosheth asleep in his bedroom and “stabbed him in the stomach”, killing him before cutting off his head.
Thinking they had done something noble by killing Israel’s leader so David could rule over all, Baanah and Recab took the “head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron” and said to him, "Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to take your life. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring." Of course, there was only one problem with their statement. For they had never asked the Lord if it was His will that they kill Ish-Bosheth and so there was no way they could have been carrying out the Lord’s will. They were about to find out that there is a heavy price for sinning and then acting as if the Lord endorsed it.
For “David answered Recab and his brother Baanah” saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of all trouble, when a man told me, 'Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! How much more — when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!" And with that, “David gave an order to his men” to kill Bannah and Recab, cutting off “their hands and feet” and hanging “the bodies by the pool in Hebron”…a public display of the judgment any man would face for sinning against God by taking the life of another. Meanwhile, the “head of Ish-Bosheth” was given a proper burial “in Abner's tomb at Hebron”.
Question: What part of God’s commands do we have such a problem understanding?
For when God tells us to not do something, He expects us not to do it...plain and simple. And we’re to do it because He said so. No questions needed…and no exceptions provided.
For God commanded, “You shall have no other gods before me” and yet the world chooses to lift up and adore many things above God…the One by which all things were possible.
For God commanded, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” and yet we worship many worldly people and possessions as if they are gods. In fact, we even name a show, American Idol, and millions watch weekly.
For God commanded, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” and yet not a day goes by where someone doesn’t use profanity and take the Lord’s name in vain.
For God commanded, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy and yet so many people treat it just like any other day of the week.
For God commanded, “Honor your father and your mother” and yet we choose to disregard and disrespect them at will.
For God commanded, “You shall not murder” and yet people needlessly kill every day.
For God commanded, “You shall not commit adultery” and yet people so easily choose to be unfaithful to their spouses.
For God commanded, “You shall not steal” and yet we read of people stealing in some fashion nearly every day.
For God commanded, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” and yet people don’t hesitate a moment to spread gossip or smear the name of another person.
For God commanded, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” and yet we are so quick to envy others who have more than we have.
So as we read about the murderous actions of Joab, Recab and Baanah, we might think that this scripture isn’t applicable to me because I have never murdered anyone nor will I ever murder anyone. But that would be a shallow approach to interpreting the message that God is trying to convey here.
For God doesn’t expect us to just conform to one of His commandments…He commands and expects that we obey all of them.
No debate needed.
And no exceptions granted.
My prayer for us all is that we will follow the guidance spoken by Moses when he said, “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him. Deuteronomy 13:4
Indeed, this verse gives us the solution to ensuring we conform to and uphold all of the Lord’s commands. For all we need to do is to follow Him…revere Him…obey Him…serve Him…and, most of all, hold fast to Him. If we do, then we can be assured that we will live lives that are full of righteousness…lives that are favorable to God.
So what are we waiting for? The time is now to become fully obedient to what the Lord commands with no exceptions.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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