1-2 Samuel Week Thirty: 2 Samuel 3:6-39

It came about while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David that Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hands of David; and yet today you charge me with a guilt concerning the woman. 9 May God do so to Abner, and more also, if as the Lord has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.” 11 And he could no longer answer Abner a word, because he was afraid of him.

12 Then Abner sent messengers to David in his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” 13 He said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, but I demand one thing of you, namely, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.” 14 So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.

17 Now Abner had consultation with the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. 18 Now then, do it! For the Lord has spoken of 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.’” 19 Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin.

20 Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 Abner said to David, “Let me arise and go and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

22 And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you sent him away and he is already gone? 25 You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive you and to learn of your going out and coming in and to find out all that you are doing.”

26 When Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it. 27 So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 Afterward when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 May it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a distaff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and gird on sackcloth and lament before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. 32 Thus they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 The king chanted a lament for Abner and said,

“Should Abner die as a fool dies?
34 “Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters;
As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.”

And all the people wept again over him. 35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down.” 36 Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, just as everything the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the will of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil.”—2 Samuel 3:6-39

Sermon Outline

1. Despite Two Men’s (MULTILINE)
2. Despite Two Men’s (MULTILINE)
3. Through One Man’s (MULTILINE)

References

James 4:17

Psalm 2:1-6

Proverbs 11:9

Proverbs 16:28

James 1:26

Leviticus 19:15-18

Deuteronomy 32:35

Romans 12:19-21

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Weekly Study Guide

The first time I was in Israel, I got stuck on what is called a “sabbath elevator”. For those unfamiliar with this uniquely Jewish phenomenon, many buildings in Israel have set aside one of their elevators to be a sabbath elevator, one in which you do not need to push the buttons. It is programmed to automatically stop on every floor during the Sabbath. After a long day of leading my tour group, we got back to our hotel on Friday evening, and I was looking forward to crashing on my bed. But that would have to wait. We discovered that the normal elevator was broken, so the entire group had to wait in the lobby in line for the sabbath elevator to make it up to the top, one floor at a time, and come back down for the next group, and the next group—all 60 of us!

You might ask, “Why would they have such a thing?” It’s because, in the Scriptures, God commanded Israel to celebrate the 7^th day as a day of rest—a sabbath—and honor this day by not engaging in any kind of work. Over the centuries, Jewish rabbis came up with over 1,500 different rules and regulations, organized into 39 separate categories, clarifying what “work” is, to make sure the command to rest is not broken. Apparently, for those who celebrate the sabbath day of rest, even pushing an elevator button would constitute “work”.

I’m not sure pressing an elevator button is what God had in mind when He instituted the Sabbath as a time to honor God in our rest and trust that God would provide. Even though this command by God to rest makes perfect sense, there are other commands that leave us scratching our heads. For example, in Exodus 23:19, God told Israel that they should not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk. My first thought is, “Why would anyone even want to do that?” And then my second thought is, “Why would it be important enough that God had to make a rule against it?” Sometimes we come across things in scripture that just plain don’t make sense. And this is where understanding background and context comes to the rescue.

When we properly view the Mosaic Covenant as God creating for Himself a people who would be separate and distinct from all the nations around it—and, in that context, understand that the Mosaic Law served as the rule book for how Israel might accomplish this separation—then simple rules, like this one about the baby goats, start to make sense. For amongst the pagan nations surrounding Israel, this procedure of boiling a baby goat in its mother’s milk was a fertility ritual. Through this command, God was saying, “I don’t want you to be tempted to imitate the evil pagan practices around you. I want you to separate yourself from your pagan neighbors.” Thus, the Mosaic Law protected the people for the inheritance God had for them.

We discussed last time how God went to great lengths to protect His people from being influenced by the nations around them. He incubated them in the womb of Egypt until they were grown up enough to stand on their own two feet. He gave them a set of laws that would serve to set them apart from every other nation. They would look different, act differently, eat differently, and worship differently. Anyone looking at them would know they were different. And that was God’s design for them. Israel was to be a different, set apart, unique people that would serve as a priesthood for the rest of the world.

In fact, all of their struggles throughout history stemmed them not trusting God in His desire for them to be different and distinct. This draw to be like the world was a hard-earned lesson that would eventually come to a head during a 70-year captivity in Babylon. Leading up to this national punishment, Israel had indeed become exactly like all the nations around them. They were practicing the vilest forms of idol worship, and the time had come for their promised consequence. In this punishment, God allowed His temple to be destroyed and allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take Israel out of their land for 70 years, into a place where they indeed learned this lesson. After God allowed them to return to their land, they became fiercely passionate about being separate and distinct. This reveals how important it is for God for His people to not look like the world.

We’ve been making our way through the covenants God makes in scripture. In the first three covenants (Edenic, Adamic, and Noahic), God revealed Himself and His desires, and He set up rules for all of mankind. Then, with the Abrahamic Covenant, God began a new program. As God always does, He chose a mediator through whom He would meditate His salvation to the world. This mediator God chose was Abraham—the progenitor of the race through whom the ultimate mediator would come. From then on, the covenants God made were all made with Israel as His covenant people.

We saw how the Abrahamic Covenant is not just the most important of the covenants, it is the overarching promise of blessing (salvation) God makes to the world—and it is the anchor and source for the rest of the covenants in scripture. However, in examining the remaining covenants God makes with Israel, we immediately notice there is one that is different than the rest. The Land, Davidic, and New Covenants are all unconditional, and they each elaborate on one of the key components of the overarching Abrahamic Covenant. And these will all be discussed in the coming weeks. But the next covenant in our sights is conditional and looks a little different than the rest. This is the Mosaic Covenant.

So, what does the Mosaic Covenant contain? Just like the Abrahamic Covenant, it can be separated into three parts. We recall that the Abrahamic Covenant was comprised of separate promises regarding the Land, the Seed, and the Blessing. And as Pastor David Guzik describes it, the Mosaic Covenant can be seen as containing three parts as well: the Law, the Sacrifices, and the Choice.

So, beginning with the Law, the three primary purposes of the Mosaic Law were: to reveal God’s heart to the people, to set apart a people who were different and distinct from the Gentile nations around them, and to create a nation that would serve God as the priesthood for the world. There are other purposes, but these are the three primary ones. God knew that Israel needed this Law. They were slaves, with a slave’s mentality. They were steeped in idol worship from their time in Egypt. And they needed to be trained for their role as priests to the world. Israel ended up spending an entire year at the foot of Mt. Sinai hearing God’s Law proclaimed to them. And they spent the rest of their 40 years in the wilderness being molded and shaped into a people who trusted God. This Law from God was the lifeblood of the people. If you want to know how the people felt about the Law, read Psalm 119—the longest chapter in the Bible. Here David gushes about how much he loves the Law of God.

The second component of the Mosaic Covenant was the sacrificial system. In Leviticus chapters 1–7, we see details about what these sacrifices would look like. This system of sacrifice, and the temporary cover for sin it provided, was also something the people desperately needed, because the purpose of the sacrificial system was to make up for what was lacking in their obedience. In the Mosaic Law, God had graciously given the people His instructions, rules, laws, and standards for how they were to interact with Him. But God created us. He knew that His people would not be able to keep that Law, and so, in another gracious act, He gave them the sacrificial system to make up for when they fell short. This system provided a way for the sins of the people to be temporarily covered over, until the ultimate sin sacrifice would come that would not just cover over, but actually take away our sins. These sacrifices showed the people the seriousness of sin—that blood was the price for their sin. And not only blood—but the blood of an innocent.

Some people mistakenly believe that the people of Israel thought that keeping the Law perfectly was the way to make themselves right with God. That could not be more wrong. They knew they fell short. They knew they would always fall short. And anyone who knew their scriptures knew that God had provided a mechanism to deal with their failures in the sacrificial system. The Hebrew word for “atonement” is kafar—which means to cover over. The people knew that the unending sacrifices only temporarily covered over their sin. They were waiting for that ultimate, perfect sin sacrifice to come that would completely and permanently rid them of their sin. Sacrifices offered in faith pointed them to the work that Messiah would ultimately do. No one was ever saved by works. Salvation is, and always has been, by faith.

The third aspect of the Mosaic Covenant is choice. If you’ll recall, when God set up the Abrahamic Covenant, did Abraham walk through the severed animals with God? In other words, did Abraham sign that covenant? No, God put him to sleep, making that an unconditional, unilateral, and eternal covenant signed by God—and God alone. But we notice that this Mosaic Covenant was different. Here, under the shadow of the burning mountain, God presented the covenant to the people, and the people responded, “All you have said, we will do.” In doing this, they signed the covenant. This was a conditional covenant that was dependent upon both parties fulfilling their part. God would provide all the blessings He promised in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. And, in order to receive those blessings, the people agreed to do their part. This aspect of choice helps us to see the importance of the Mosaic Covenant being a conditional covenant. It was an agreement between God and Israel that involved blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. This covenant spelled out for the people how they were to live in the land in a way that pleased God. This covenant was the housekeeping/administrative covenant for Israel.

This choice for Israel was lived out in their experience down through generation after generation. Each generation had the opportunity to experience the blessings, or experience the curses. And just because one generation failed to obey did not disqualify Israel as a people from ownership of the land and of the promises. It simply disqualified that generation from a current experience of the blessings. We must see that there is a difference between ownership of the land, and enjoyment—or possession—of the land. The Abrahamic Covenant guaranteed that Israel would always be the rightful owners of the land, and would always have available to them the promised blessings. However, under the Mosaic Covenant agreement, disobedience would disqualify individual generations from enjoying those blessings. Although subsequent generations would once again have that choice. This is how the Mosaic Covenant functions in conjunction with the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant is the overarching promise that can never ultimately be lost or forfeited by Israel as a people. But within each generation, disobedience can cause that generation to go into temporary judgment. This is the beauty of studying these covenants. Understanding their purpose, and how they interact with one another, brings us clarity to how God interacts with His people. We will continue to explore the connection between these two covenants next time.

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Discussion Questions

1. This chapter ends with David leaving the matter in the hands of the Lord. Describe a time when you turned a matter over to God and trusted Him to take care of it. (MULTILINE)
2. Why do you think it was important to David that everyone knew that he was innocent of Abner’s blood? Why do you think David made such a big deal about mourning and lamenting for Abner? What kind of man was Abner? Why did Abner react so strongly to Ish-Bosheth’s accusation? Why do you think he chose to switch sides in the civil war he started? Read 2 Samuel 3:9-11. If Abner knew that God had sworn to give David the kingdom, why would Abner oppose David up until now? (MULTILINE)
3. Why do you think David’s only condition before agreeing to Abner’s proposal to join forces was the return of Michal? Was there more than just feelings involved? How would this help David politically as well? Why do you think David allowed Abner to rally support for his claim to the throne? What do we learn about David’s view of justice in this chapter? What do we learn about God by seeing how David invoked God’s action? Where do you see God working behind the scenes in this story? (MULTILINE)
4. What different approaches to seeking justice do you see in this chapter? Where do you see these different approaches in the world today? In what ways should knowing that vengeance belongs to the Lord shape our own approach to seeking justice? What role does forgiveness and reconciliation play in our own quest for justice? (MULTILINE)
5. Abner switching sides brings up some interesting questions. Sometimes we can know things to be true but fail to live like they are true. Why do you think that is? Abner eventually did the right thing by joining David’s side, but he did it for the wrong reasons. Where might that show up in our lives today? How can we pray to avoid these same failings? (MULTILINE)

Going Deeper

1. Why do you think Joab wanted to kill Abner? Was it more than just revenge? Do you think Joab was justified in what he did? Why or why not? How was Abner’s funeral a rebuke to Joab by David? Read 1 Kings 2:28-35. How did Joab meet his own end? How was this a fitting end to Joab’s life? (MULTILINE)
2. One of the ways we can chart David’s life is to view it as a pattern of how God deals with His children. It is never a straight road. But God takes us on a journey that will eventually make us more like Him. One commentator noted that there are four steps God takes us through—four ways God deals with us—in His plan to sanctify us. God will: 1) vindicate us slowly 2) bless us openly 3) surprise us occasionally 4) test us continually. Where do you see God doing this for David in this season of his life? Where do you see God doing this in your own life? (MULTILINE)

Transformational Activity

Prayer

In very real ways, we can view prayer as simply “leaving the matter in the hands of God.” Have you ever thought of prayer in this way? Prayer is acknowledging that God is God and that He is sovereign. When David trusted God to bring justice, he was trusting that God’s way was better than his own way. What if we flavored our prayers in this way? What if we truly prayed, “Not my will but thine be done,” as did Jesus? Take some time this week to actively and purposefully pray in this way. Pray that God would take away the desire to control and resolve things in your own power, and trust that you would want more than anything, that God be glorified in your situation—no matter the cost.