NO EXCEPTIONS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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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 our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the middle of 2 Samuel, chapter 3 we saw events transpire that elevated David into power as king over all of Israel. Everything seemed to be looking up for him as well as the people as God’s anointed one finally assumed the position of leadership that the Lord had in store.

But as we turn to the end of the chapter and the opening verses of chapter 4, we see things abruptly change as murderous sin enters on the scene in two different scenarios.

Unfortunately, we see this happen all too often, right? For just when it seems like life stabilizes and we’re in the midst of peace and good, here comes Satan with his evil deeds, trying to sow disruption and chaos in the midst of our solace?

Well, going back to the scriptures, we see where things start to go awry after Joab returned 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 but actually it was Joab himself who was evil and scheming as he attempted to mask his own personal contempt for Abner behind a concern for Israel’s safety. In his eyes, it was far easier to paint Abner as an untrustworthy ally instead of 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. We read where he “sent messengers after Abner” without David’s knowledge and after they “brought him back from the well of Sirah” to Hebron, the scriptures tell us that “Joab took (Abner) aside into the gateway, as though to speak with him privately” and then “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.

When it came right down to it, Abner didn’t murder Asahel. Rather, 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 remember that Abner didn’t want a confrontation with Asahel, trying to convince him to stop his pursuit but he 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 and then stabbed him. His actions were cunning and premeditated…and frankly, cowardly. They were also sinful and in violation of God’s commandment to not murder.

Well, 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."

Here, we see David wanting to make it clear that he had no part in the murder of Abner. Further, we didn’t want there to be any perception that he condoned the actions of Joab. And so we see where he condemns Joab for what he did, highlighting the sinful nature of his actions before the people and 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 behavior was effective for we read where that day, “all the people took note and were pleased” with David and everything he did, knowing that he “had no part in the murder of Abner”.

The second scenario is found in chapter 4 and involved Saul’s remaining son, Ish-Bosheth. You’ll remember that Abner had appointed him as leader over Israel with the exception of Judah where David had been anointed king. But when Ish-Bosheth “heard that Abner had died in Hebron”, the scriptures tell us that “he lost courage” which led to “all Israel (becoming) alarmed”.

Now, whether this had anything to do with what took place next is unknown but nonetheless “two men who were leaders of raiding bands” for Ish-Bosheth, Baanah and Recab, “set out for (his) house”, 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 God endorsed it.

For we see David answering “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 anyone else 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”.

With this, a simple question:

What part of God’s commands do people have such a hard time understanding?

For when God tells His people not to do something, He expects them to do just that…not do it…period. We are to do it simply because He said so…without question…and knowing that there are no exceptions.

God commanded, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) and yet people willingly choose to give their devotion to things of the world over Him…the One who is to have no rival.

He also 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” (Exodus 20:4) and yet people choose to worship many worldly people and possessions as if they are gods. In fact, there’s even been a very popular television show called “American Idol” which millions watched weekly during its airing.

The Lord commanded, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:7) and yet not a day goes by where someone doesn’t profanely use the Lord’s name in vain.

He demanded that His people “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8) and yet that day is treated just like any other day of the week.

God gave the order, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12) and yet people decide to disregard and disrespect their parents all the time and often at will.

He clearly said, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) and yet people needlessly kill others every day, showing no sanctity for human life.

In regard to marriage, He demanded that “you shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and yet husbands and wives chase after their own desires, commit infidelity, and break their marital covenant, seemingly without conscience.

The Lord commanded, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15) and yet people regularly decide to take what is not rightfully theirs, even taking things from stores without paying.

God ordered, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16) and yet people don’t hesitate for a moment to spread gossip or intentionally lie in order to falsely accuse or smear the name of another person.

Finally, the Lord demanded that we not “covet your neighbor's house...your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17) and yet we are so quick to envy others who might have more than we have, unwilling to just be content with what the Lord has provided.

And so as we read about the murderous actions of Joab, Recab, and Baanah, we could always adopt the attitude that this isn’t applicable because we may have never murdered anyone or have any intention to do so. We could do this but it 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 for we need to remember these words from Jesus’ brother James:

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. James 2:10

And so my prayer for us all is that we’ll follow this 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

Here, we find the keys to keeping all of God’s commands. They include:

1. Following and holding fast to Him without compromise.

2. Revering him with the respect that He deserves.

3. When we follow and revere the Lord, He will lead us so that we obey Him and keep His commands as we serve Him with all that we are…heart, mind, body, and soul.

Friends, this is the life that God expects us to live. All we need to do is live it…with no exceptions.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?"

Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said and he answered, "Am I a dog's head—on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba."

Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, "Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you."

"Good," said David. "I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal, daughter of Saul, when you come to see me." Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, demanding, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins."

So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel, son of Laish. Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back home!" So he went back.

Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, "For some time you have wanted to make David your king. Now do it! For the Lord promised David, 'By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.'"

Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin wanted to do. When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. Then Abner said to David, "Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king so that they may make a compact with you and that you may rule over all that your heart desires."

So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

2 Samuel 3:6-21

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In chapter 2 of 2nd Samuel, we read about the battle that took place between Israel and Judah.

Israel’s group, led by Abner, who had been the commander of Saul’s army, first met David’s group, led by Joab, at the pool of Gibeon. There, Abner and Joab agreed to each send twelve men into hand-to-hand combat with one another which resulted in all twenty-four men dying. You’ll remember that this was followed by a fierce battle between the two sides with 360 Benjamites and 19 of David’s men dying in the conflict, including Joab’s brother Asahel who was killed in the heat of battle after refusing to give up his pursuit of Abner. The conflict only ended after Abner and Joab agreed to stop fighting after which both sides returned to their home camps.

We also learned in chapter 2 that Saul still had a surviving son after his fatal fight against the Philistines. That son, Ish-Bosheth, was made “king over Gilead, Ashuri, and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel” by Abner. At the time, they had a good relationship but as we continue our study of this book in chapter 3, we see where that didn’t last long.

For the scriptures tell us that Abner “had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul” during the “war between the house of Saul and the house of David”. We don’t know if this had caused Ish-Bosheth to grow jealous or not but it is a possibility. Nonetheless, Saul’s remaining son accused Abner of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines, Rizpah, which greatly angered him, saying this to Ish-Bosheth:

"Am I a dog's head — on Judah's side? This very day, I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba."

And with these words from Abner, we read where Ish-Bosheth “did not dare to say another word to (him) because he was afraid of him”.

After this, we see where Abner made good on his word and sent messengers to make an offer to David. This offer was for him to gain rule over all Israel if he would only make an agreement with Abner…something we find David agreeing to but only on one condition. He wanted Saul’s daughter Michal brought to him.

Now, you’ll recall back in the Book of 1 Samuel that David had earned the hand of Michal in marriage by bringing Saul two hundred Philistine foreskins (chapter 18) and Michal had helped David escape Saul’s men who were sent to kill him (chapter 19). After David fled the kingdom, Saul gave Michal to be Paltiel’s wife (1 Samuel 25:44) and so after David sent his demand to Ish-Bosheth, orders were given to take Michal “away from her husband Paltiel” who was saddened by the loss and wanted to accompany her but was sent home by Abner.

Abner then “conferred with the elders of Israel” saying:

“For some time you have wanted to make David your king. Now do it! For the Lord promised David, 'By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.'"

Abner “also spoke to the Benjamites in person” before going to “Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin wanted to do”. In turn, David “prepared a feast for (Abner) and his men” after which Abner asked to leave so to “assemble all Israel” so that they could “make a compact with” David which would allow him to “rule over all” his heart desired. And so “David sent Abner away, and he went in peace”.

As I pondered this scripture passage, I couldn’t help but think about how God’s plan became fulfilled in David’s case…and, in turn, think about how His plan is played out in our lives as well.

For we need to remember that David was selected by God when he was just a young shepherd boy, anointed by Samuel to be the coming king of Israel way back in the 16th chapter of 1 Samuel. Now fast forward a whopping eighteen chapters, after so much has transpired, and we see where everything just now is falling into place where David would in fact be the king over all of Israel. By closely examining this, we can out a lot about how we need to approach life as we seek God’s plan for us.

Now…if we were writing the script for David’s anointing and call to leadership, we would have probably had God select him and Saul die right after so David could just inherit everything that Saul had. It would be short and sweet…neat and tidy…smooth with excellent fluidity and continuity. Indeed, if the planning was up to us, we would want to take a direct route between two points and as we try to think this way within our limited human intellect, we quickly learn that the Lord doesn’t usually work that way. For often, He has takes us to a lot of different places before He takes us to our final destination…to the place where His plan will be fulfilled.

This certainly happened to David, right?

For consider everything that transpired after his anointing and actually sealing the deal to be king over all of Israel:

He left his father Jesse and lived with Saul, soothing his troubled spirit with his harp playing.

He fought and defeated the mighty Philistine giant warrior, Goliath.

He eluded multiple attempts on his life both by Saul and then by the men Saul sent.

He married Saul’s daughter, Michal, after meeting Saul’s demand for one hundred Philistine foreskins (David actually brought Saul two hundred foreskins).

He befriended and formed a special brotherly alliance with Saul’s son, Jonathan.

He escaped Saul’s men when Michal deceived them into believing he was in bed ill when David had actually fled.

He escaped to seek guidance from Samuel at Ramah and when first Saul’s men and then Saul himself pursued, they were all brought to prophesying at Naioth.

He hid in a field while Jonathan tested his father, Saul, to see if David was in danger or not. After discovering that Saul did indeed wish to still kill David, Jonathan warned him and sent him away.

He visited and received supplies from the priest Ahimelech at Nob.

He had to act crazy in order to escape the Philistine King Achish at Gath.

He assembled 400 men who supported him and traveled with them from the cave at Adullam to Moab to the forest of Horeth where he was joined by Abiathar, son of the priest Ahimelech. Abiathar reported that his father and all the other priests had been slaughtered by Doeg the Edomite with the approval of Saul. David felt responsible for placing Ahimelech at risk.

He then took his men and drove the Philistines out of the town of Keilah.

He eluded Saul and his men along a mountainside near the desert of Maon.

He spared Saul’s life while hiding in a cave with his men near En Gedi and later would spare him again as Saul slept in his camp.

After a wealthy man named Nabal refused to give David provisions, David was prepared to go to battle against him but changed his mind after Nabal’s wife Abigail made restitution by bringing him two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs.

He lived amongst the Philistines in the town of Ziklag and was favored by the aforementioned King Achish.

He was sent back to Ziklag and not allowed to fight against Israel after the Philistine commanders complained to King Achish feeling David might turn on them during the fight.

As he and his men returned to Ziklag, they found the town destroyed by the Amalekites who took their families and possessions. He then pursued and fought the Amalekites, winning the conflict and getting everything back that had been taken.

He received word of Saul and Jonathan’s death and deeply mourned, writing a lament. He also killed the Amalekite messenger who lied, claiming to kill Saul although Saul had actually fallen on his own sword and took his own life.

He was anointed king of Judah.

He blessed the people of Jabesh Gilead after they retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from Beth Shan and gave them a proper burial.

And in today’s message, he makes a pact to become the king of all of Israel.

Wow. Look at all that happened in David’s life from when God shoes him until he actually started his reign. We can see that the path definitely wasn’t straight but rather contained many detours and stops…each containing a particular purpose in shaping and molding David into the man God wanted him to be.

Friends, God does the same with us. He has a plan for every person but seldom does this go to completion without taking us on a trip that includes many waypoints along the way…waypoints where our Lord is refining our faith and conforming us to His image, the image He created us in (Genesis 1:27).

One thing is certain. God has a plan for every life and His plan will be fulfilled and so as we travel day by day on this Christian Walk, let’s walk alongside the Lord every day and enjoy it, ever seeking to richly experience all He has in store along the way as we head to His final intended destination…the place where He wants us to be…the place where He accomplishes what He wished to accomplish.

Now and forever, the joy is in the journey. Enjoy the ride.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Abner, son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri, and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel.

Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. The length of time David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Abner, son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. Joab, son of Zeruiah, and David's men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.

Then Abner said to Joab, "Let's have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us."

"All right, let them do it," Joab said.

So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, and twelve for David. Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.

The battle that day was very fierce and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's men.

The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. Abner looked behind him and asked, "Is that you, Asahel?"

"It is," he answered.

Then Abner said to him, "Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons."

But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

Again Abner warned Asahel, "Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?"

But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel's stomach and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.

But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.

Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"

Joab answered, "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued the pursuit of their brothers until morning." So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.

All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the whole Bithron and came to Mahanaim.

Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner and assembled all his men. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David's men were found missing. But David's men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. They took Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.

The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

Sons were born to David in Hebron:

His firstborn was Amnon. the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; his second, Kileab, the son of Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom, the son of Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah, the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, the son of David's wife Eglah.

These were born to David in Hebron.

2 Samuel 2:8-32, 3:1-5

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

With David anointed king of Judah and Saul dead, Israel was left without a king. And although it had already been determined by God that David would become king of all Israel, that had not happened yet.

For we read in chapter 2 of 2nd Samuel that “Abner…the commander of Saul's army” appointed “Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul” to be king over Gilead, Ashuri, and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. This lets us know that all of Saul’s sons weren’t killed in the battle with the Philistines. We also learn where his army commander, Abner, also survived the battle.

Well, Abner’s actions resulted in two ruling parties in Israel and laid the foundation for what was to come as they would compete for absolute power, property, and authority, and while doing so, clearly show the deep cost that comes with conflict.

The plan to determine who would have ultimate rule over all of Israel began at “the pool of Gibeon”. There, “Abner…together with the men of Ish-Bosheth” met “Joab…and David's men” with one group (sitting) down on one side of the pool and one group (sitting) on the other side”. Once there, Abner and Joab agree to try and settle the matter through hand-to-hand combat between a small faction of each group.

And so each group stood and “were counted off — twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth…and twelve for David. Ironically, the number of men chosen coincided with the number of tribes in Israel. We read where the combat began but ended quickly when “each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side, and they fell down together” All men, twelve from each side, fell dead and so nothing was resolved except for needless death.

Of note, we should see that neither Abner or Joab asked God what they should do. Rather, they devised their own plan as to how they would resolve the conflict and the outcome was tragic.

So would they realize that mistake and seek God’s guidance now?

We see that they didn’t for after the twenty-four men fell dead from the hand-to-hand combat, a very fierce battle ensued which resulted in “Abner and the men of Israel” being “defeated by David's men”.

Now, not wishing to die himself, we read where Abner fled the battle scene but was far from being out of danger. For in hot pursuit was Joab’s brother, Asahel, who was described as being “as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle”. Asahel used this speed to chase down Abner, “turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him”.

Well, Abner, seeing Asahel following him, asks him to break off his chase and “turn aside to the right or to the left” to “take on one of the young men”. Through his words, we see where Abner didn’t want to harm Asahel and so he tried to convince him to go after someone else that he had a better chance of defeating but unfortunately, Asahel refused to listen and continued the chase.

The scriptures tell us that Abner warned Asahel once again saying:

“Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?"

Abner knew he would easily be able to kill Asahel if he had to but Asahel was stubbornly committed in his desire to fight Abner and “refused to give up the pursuit”. It was a decision that led to his death as Abner turned and “thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel's stomach”. Asahel’s forward momentum was so great that “the spear came out through his back” and “he fell there and died on the spot”.

As for the rest of David’s men, we read where they ran forward and when they “came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died”, they stopped, not wanting to die as he did. But “Joab and Abishai” carried on, pursuing Abner with an obvious thirst for avenging their brother’s death.

With this, would there be more bloodshed to follow as “the sun was setting” and both groups met again, taking their stand on “the hill of Ammah, near Giah”?

The answer would have been a definite “yes” had it not been for a change of attitude from each side.

For we see where “Abner called out to Joab”, attempting to inject some reason into what was happening as he said:

"Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"

Indeed, Joab’s brother was already dead as well as the twelve men who died in the combat at the pool of Gibeon and nineteen other men of David. The loss was even greater on Abner’s side as “three hundred and sixty Benjamites” who were with him died along with the twelve men at Gibeon. Given all this, Abner’s words were timely and effective.

For we read where Joab answered:

"As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued the pursuit of their brothers until morning.”

And with that, “Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore”. A truce had been made and the fighting ended, each side returning to their respective homes with Asahel being buried in his father's tomb at Bethlehem as David’s men returned to Hebron.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the last clash between “the house of Saul and the house of David”. Scripture tells us that their war “lasted a long time” with David’s side growing “stronger and stronger” while “the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker”. It would only be a matter of time before David would end up where God intended him to be…king over all of Israel.

Today’s scripture passage underscores the dangerous nature of conflict. And although, this account dealt with the perils on the battlefield, we know that conflict isn’t only found in the context of war where death so often occurs.

For what about when we get into disputes with others? Can’t these non-lethal clashes spiral out of control and lead to damaged relationships with others?

The answer is obviously “yes” and maybe you have had the displeasure of being in the midst of one of these situations.

I know I have.

You see, arguments and disagreements, if unchecked, sow seeds of dissent, hatred, and anger…emotions that will suck the very life out of the kind of relationship that God expects us to have with one another. These negative emotions breed contempt and resentment…and when they go unchecked, it can lead people to go to with one another…sometimes with fatal results.

So what are we to do in life when we are faced with conflict?

We need to avoid making the mistake that Abner and Joab did and turn to the Lord Jesus, the One that God the Father sent to show us how to live…both now and forever. For our Savior, as He did in all things, gave us clear guidance as to how we’re to deal with enemies when they come upon us. Consider these words:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:27-36

The Old Testament way of dealing with enemies was an eye for an eye. You would do unto others as they did unto you or someone you loved. It was an attitude that was conflict-driven.

Jesus turned this attitude completely upside down and changed it so to be centered on the one thing that defined him more than any other…love. For we read where He instructs us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us…to bless those who curse us and pray for those who mistreat us. The world would say that approach is crazy but that’s what Jesus wants. He always seeks to grab the world’s attention to His ways by radically putting them on display through His actions and those of His disciples.

Think about it for a moment.

If a Christian behaves the same way as their enemies, then how are they any better or different?

This is what Jesus is trying to get across when He said:

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.”

It’s obvious He doesn’t expect His followers to act as the world acts. Rather, they are to act as He acted. After all, isn’t the base root of the word Christian, “Christ”? If we’re truly going to profess the identity of “Christian”, then we need to show everyone how He lived through our lives…and when we do, then and only then will we be able to be merciful as our Father, His Father, is merciful.

Friends, it’s inevitable that we will run into enemies as we live this thing called life, enemies through which we will enter into conflict with. Thankfully, we know how to resolve those disputes when they happen for Jesus has shown us the way.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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