2 Samuel 3:12-39

Sovereign Grace Family Church

2 views

May 21, 2023

2 Samuel 3:12-39

00:00: Bert, will you open us up with a word of prayer? Thank you for the day.
00:07: We ask you to bless Mike.
00:12: We ask you to bless what follows as well.
00:14: As I'm sure both of these men, our elders, have studied and prepared and are ready.
00:19: God, please bless us today.
00:20: In Jesus' name, amen.
00:22: Amen.
00:23: Alright.
00:24: 2 Samuel chapter 3.
00:36: We're going to pick up in verse 12.
00:49: I'm going to read through 12 to the end of the chapter.
00:52: And for Mike's patience and his sake, I will do my very best to get to the end of the chapter today.
01:00: Then Adder sent messengers to David in his place, saying, Who is in the land? Make your covenant with me.
01:06: And behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all of Israel over to you.
01:10: He said, Good.
01:11: I will make a covenant with you.
01:12: But I demand one thing of you, namely, that you shall not see my face unless you bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see me.
01:21: So David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, saying, Give me my wife Michal, to whom I have betrothed for 104 skins of the Philistines.
01:31: Ishbosheth sent, took her from her husband from Paltiel, the son of Laash.
01:36: But her husband went behind her, weeping as they went.
01:41: And he followed her as far as Barim.
01:44: And Adder said to him, Go, return.
01:47: So he returned.
01:49: Now Adder had consultation with the elders of Israel, saying, In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you.
01:56: Now then do it.
01:57: For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.
02:07: Adder also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin.
02:10: And in addition to that, Adder went and he spake to them in the hearing of David at Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
02:20: Then Adder and 20 of his men with him, they came to David at Hebron.
02:27: And David made a feast for Adder and the men that were with him.
02:29: And Adder said to David, Let me arise and go gather all of Israel to my Lord the King that they may make a covenant with you and that you may be king over all that your heart and soul desire.
02:41: So David sent Adder away and he went in peace.
02:46: And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a raid.
02:50: And they brought much spoil with them.
02:53: But Adder was not with David in Hebron.
02:55: For he was sent away and he had gone in peace.
02:58: And when Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Nir came to the king and he has sent him away and he has gone in peace.
03:10: Then Joab came to the king and he said, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you.
03:14: Why have you sent him away? And he is already gone.
03:18: You know, Abner the son of Nir, that he came to deceive you and to learn of your going out and your coming in and to find out what are you going to do.
03:28: And when Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner.
03:34: And they brought him back from the well of Sarai.
03:38: But David did not know it.
03:41: So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the middle of the gate, speaking with him privately, and he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel, his brother.
03:53: Afterward, when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever from the blood of Abner the son of Nir.
04:02: May it fall on the head of Joab and to all of his father's house.
04:06: May there not be anyone that would fail from Joab's house to have it discharged, one who is a leper, one who is on a staff, and one who falls by the sword or who lacks bread.
04:15: So Joab and Abishai, his brother, killed Abner because he had put their brother to death at the battle of Gibeon.
04:22: Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, Tear your clothes and gird up sackcloth and lament before Abner.
04:29: And the king David walked behind the bier.
04:34: Thus they buried Abner in Hebron.
04:36: And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner.
04:40: And the people wept with him.
04:42: The king chanted a lament for Abner.
04:45: And he said, Should Abner have died as a fool dies? Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters.
04:52: As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.
04:55: And all the people wept again over him.
04:57: Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was still day.
05:00: 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.
05:08: And all the people took note of it.
05:09: And it pleased them, just as everything that the king did pleased all the people.
05:14: 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.
05:21: Then the king said to the servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? I am weak today, though anointed king.
05:29: These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are very difficult for me.
05:34: May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deed.
05:37: So last week we didn't get very far, but we did get far enough to know that David was gaining strength within Judah.
05:45: First, how did we understand that he gained strength within Judah? He was multiplying wives.
05:55: That was the first thing we knew.
05:57: We're not saying that's right.
05:57: We're not saying right, wrong, indifferent.
05:59: We're just saying, hey, his seed was going to propagate because of him being a king.
06:04: That's what kings did.
06:06: It's interesting again, I'll say it, last week, the Scripture remains silent on its moral component.
06:13: I mean, this is what kings did.
06:14: It doesn't say it's right or wrong, but we did see that this is now developing some sibling rivalry based on the six names we had up on the board yesterday.
06:24: And we did see that Adner was accused of sleeping with Rizpah, Saul's concubine.
06:36: Interesting, when we stopped, Ishmael was afraid of Adner.
06:42: That should strike you as odd.
06:44: Dude, he's the king.
06:46: What he should have said, if he was the king, hey man, you slept with my dad's concubine? Somebody cut that dude's head off.
06:52: That's what he should have done, but he's cowardly.
06:55: And we'll see that as it plays out, even into the next chapter.
06:59: It said in verse 11 that he could no longer answer Adner a word because he was afraid of him.
07:03: Now, did he have reason, just logically thinking, to fear Adner? Yeah, dude was a bad dude.
07:11: I mean, he was old as Jack, but he's bad.
07:14: He was probably in his 70s, is what we would say.
07:18: You're older than that, Jack, I know.
07:21: But hey, you're talking about a seasoned veteran in battle.
07:26: He had every reason to be concerned, hey man, this guy could pull his sword out and stick me the same way he'd run the butt of his spear through Asahel.
07:33: What were you going to say? Well, I mean, he made him king.
07:35: Let's say he can't unmake him king.
07:36: Unmake him king, that's right.
07:38: Yeah, Adner the kingmaker.
07:39: So, we get to verse 12.
07:41: He sent messengers to David.
07:43: Because of the accusation that Ish-bosheth made to Adner, you see what Adner's now defecting.
07:51: He's turning.
07:52: He's basically turning on him.
07:53: He's going to turn his back on Ish-bosheth.
07:55: It's no longer about the strength of Saul and the strength of Saul's house, protecting Saul's family and all that now.
08:02: It's actually not even so much about David as it is about Adner.
08:08: Adner's seeking to make his position.
08:10: And how do we know that? Because as we follow this through, there's two ways that you could take it in verse 12.
08:15: It says, whose is the land? There's two ways of taking that.
08:19: Is he saying to David rhetorically? Well, whose the land is it? Basically, David, it's your land.
08:26: That's not how I understand that.
08:28: Here's why.
08:29: I see him as saying, whose is the land? I see him as saying, I am the one that controls this land.
08:35: And here's the reason being, there's only one tribe here.
08:40: He's got the ten, including whatever Levites.
08:43: He's got them following.
08:44: And here's what he says.
08:47: This is why I come to that conclusion.
08:50: Behold, my hand shall be the one to bring Israel all over you.
08:53: So, if it's not his land, does he have the authority or in his mind have the authority to bring all of Israel to him? No.
09:01: We're seeing Abner actually see himself as being a king-like man.
09:08: And he says, although he was not, I do believe that was his goal when he put Ishmael in.
09:15: He says, make your covenant with me and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all of Israel over to you.
09:21: And he said, good, I will make a covenant with you.
09:24: He goes and sends messengers to David.
09:26: Why did he go on his own? That's exactly what I thought.
09:33: That's exactly what I thought.
09:34: He goes, man, I show up in Hebron.
09:36: Man, there's going to be some dudes there that are wanting me dead.
09:40: Asahel was killed by me.
09:42: Abishai and Joab aren't going to be real happy to see me.
09:46: And you remember what he said.
09:48: Hey, man, if I kill you, look here, young buck, look chasing me.
09:51: Why don't you kill one of them young lads that are right there? Because, man, I'm going to have to face your brother if I do this.
09:56: He knew at some point he was probably going to have to see him and figure out how he was going to explain the killing of his brother.
10:07: He thinks that he is in control of this whole thing with David.
10:11: He says, hey, I'll bring Israel over to you.
10:13: He says, good, I'll make a covenant with you.
10:15: Now look, David flips the script on him here.
10:17: He says, I'll make a covenant with you, but one thing I demand of you, bring me Michael, Saul's daughter.
10:25: Who was Michael? Michal.
10:29: David's first wife.
10:30: David's first wife.
10:31: Still his wife.
10:32: Right.
10:33: Actually, we're going to see a little bit of another one of Saul's sins that has carried on 40 plus years.
10:43: We would assume that he married Michal one, two years, maybe after the death of Goliath, because remember, that was the thing.
10:54: He was going to get Miriab, and no, but hey, if you go kill a hundred Philistines, you bring me back a hundred foreskins, and you can have her, and what did he do? He had 200.
11:05: Yeah.
11:06: And even David misses his count here in a second, because he says, hey, when you see me, he says, hey, you don't come back and look at my face unless you bring my wife back with me.
11:18: Now, some commentators, I've heard this said, that the only reason why he's wanting to do this is to consolidate his kingdom.
11:26: I think he loved her.
11:28: Yeah, I think he loved her.
11:30: I think that was his first wife.
11:31: Now, let's just round numbers.
11:34: How long has it been since he's seen me? When's the last time he saw her that we know of? When she saved him from Saul.
11:42: Yeah, when she saved him by putting the idol in the bed, an idol big enough that looked like a human being, and he peeled out.
11:49: That's the last time.
11:50: We know of, and then it goes on to say that she was given to Paltiel.
11:54: All right, so how long? This is roughly seven years he's been in Hebron, almost six and a half, seven years.
12:01: That happened roughly 15 years back, so do the math.
12:06: This is at least 17 to 20 years this has gone.
12:11: All right.
12:11: Did Saul have the authority to take Michal from David, basically divorcing him and give him to another man? No, he's violating the Mosaic legislation.
12:23: I think it's in Deuteronomy 24.
12:28: It deals with divorce, marriage, and all of that, and actually by Paltiel marrying her because she was not really divorced, he was in violation.
12:38: Yeah, yeah, he was in violation of that.
12:41: I mean, imagine this, okay.
12:44: He says, hey, I don't want to marry to David anymore.
12:47: He knocks on the door to Paltiel and says, hey, you can take Michal.
12:51: She's hot, she's pretty, dad's rich, and I'll take care of you.
12:59: I mean, anybody in his right mind would go, hey, wait a minute.
13:03: This guy just decapitated a nine-and-a-half-foot tall man that nobody was willing to fight.
13:09: They sing songs about this man that he has slayed his tens of thousands.
13:14: I don't know if I'd want to marry her or take her into my home, but he does, probably under protection of the king.
13:21: So he says in verse 15, but he also sent messengers to Ishbosheth for her husband as well.
13:33: So not only did he send messengers by way of Adner, he also sent messengers by way of his own people to Ishbosheth to confirm, hey, you know what? I may not trust Adner all the way, so let me go ahead and go to the guy who actually is the king, who actually has heir to the throne, and who is actually her brother.
14:00: And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel, the son of Laish.
14:06: But her husband went with her, weeping as he went.
14:10: I would imagine he was.
14:14: I mean, imagine somebody after 20 years, I mean, obviously he cared about her.
14:19: You spend 20 years with someone, you know, there's got to be some affection and some love and care.
14:24: And here it is, he gets...
14:28: Hey, check it out, Paltiel, Michal's going to David.
14:33: What? Yeah, he's going to David.
14:36: Hey, it wasn't just some shepherd boys that knocked on his door.
14:42: We're probably talking rough fighting warriors to protect her.
14:49: Remember, this is going to be an entourage that's going to take him to Hebron with protection.
14:55: So, knocks on the door, and then they begin to walk from this probably in Gibeah, and they come...
15:02: The plate, we can't really see it.
15:04: It's not too far, it's about right down here where they tell him to turn back.
15:08: It's not far from where they were at, and Abner tells him, all right, here's the deal, kick rocks.
15:16: But her husband was weeping, and they talked as far as Bahrain, and then Abner said, go and return.
15:22: I mean, you've got to have some compassion for that dude.
15:26: I mean, he is, this is his wife.
15:29: Interesting that we do know that, man, for 20 years these have been together.
15:33: She's not had no kids yet either.
15:35: And we're going to see later on in the book that when she makes an accusation towards the character and nature of David, that God shuts her womb altogether as we go on in this book.
15:47: David, I'm sorry, in verse 17, it says, Now Abner had a consultation with the elders of Israel, saying, in times past you were seeking for David to be the king over you.
15:58: Is that a true statement? Sure.
16:07: Yeah.
16:07: Yeah.
16:08: Remember what they said? David's the one that's coming in and out.
16:11: He's one of us.
16:12: They knew that David wasn't going to usurp the throne, but they knew that David was probably going to be the next in heir.
16:19: One, whose clothes was he wearing? Jonathan's.
16:24: Yeah, remember, he was the crown prince.
16:25: He was the oldest one.
16:26: So when he comes walking back into Gibeah to report to Saul, whose clothes has he got on? He's got the crown prince's on.
16:34: So it was obvious, and they loved David.
16:35: Remember, everything that he did, the people loved.
16:38: And we're going to see that again here in this chapter as well.
16:41: Whatever David did was pleasing to the people.
16:43: Whatever David did at that time as being a commander was pleasing.
16:47: He was smarter.
16:48: He was more shrewd.
16:50: I don't know how you want to take it, but he was more violent as a warrior than all them other guys, and that's what his job was to be.
16:58: So it says in verse 18, Now then, do it.
17:04: He's talking to the people.
17:05: He says, look, this is what you've wanted.
17:07: Basically, Saul's out of the way.
17:10: Ishmael's a coward.
17:12: You know, I'm going to turn my back on him.
17:14: I will help you orchestrate this whole deal because I am the kingmaker.
17:20: He says, Now do it.
17:23: 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 of their enemies.
17:33: And that is what God does through David.
17:37: How did Abner know that? I think he knew it from Saul.
17:46: How many times had Saul said, Hey man, you've got to help me kill this guy because he's actually going to be the one that delivers the people.
17:53: It's just from Saul's perspective.
17:56: You've got a guy that's going out there killing more enemies of God than you are.
18:02: That would be a time for Saul to kind of like, hey man, I can sit back and coast.
18:06: I've got a guy that's actually doing all the dirty work.
18:09: But that's not what Saul wanted to do.
18:11: Saul, because of jealousy, wanted him dead.
18:15: Remember, it's funny that Abner for twenty years or so has been chasing David to kill him as well.
18:21: And now all of a sudden, he's like, Hey man, let's be buddies.
18:26: So Abner then also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin, meaning the tribe of Benjamin.
18:34: And in addition, Abner went and he spoke in the hearing of David in Hebron, all that seemed good to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin.
18:44: I don't think that's actually in chronological order.
18:47: I think that's a summarization of what winds up happening.
18:51: It's not until Abner comes that they have the feast that all that takes place.
18:56: I think it's a generalization of what has taken place.
19:01: So in verse 20, then Abner and twenty of his men came to David at Hebron.
19:07: Why did he come with twenty men? That's what I think.
19:12: I think this is his security detail.
19:14: I think this is the secret service.
19:16: And it doesn't work out for him.
19:18: Just to let you know, this does not work out for him.
19:21: So he brings probably twenty of his best men with him.
19:23: He comes to David at Hebron.
19:25: And look what David does for Abner.
19:27: Anybody see what he does? Made a feast.
19:31: Man, what have we learned from the beginning of this book, right at the beginning, even before he was anointed king over Judah, when that man came to him and he says, hey man, I struck Saul down.
19:43: I struck Saul down because he was dying when Mike taught.
19:47: What did David do? And then what did he do out of act of justice? He killed that guy.
19:52: He says, hey man, what you did was wrong.
19:55: Then we see David, when he's trying to consolidate this so there is no civil war, he reaches out to the ones in Ramoth-Gilead with an olive branch and says, look, you had a man.
20:07: He's dead now.
20:09: Why don't you come with me and I will take care of you.
20:11: So we're seeing God's anointed king going to dispense justice.
20:15: He's going to extend an olive branch.
20:17: Hey look, and now he's got his enemies coming and David's going to prepare a feast before his enemies.
20:22: Is that not what the psalm says? He says, you will prepare a feast before your enemies.
20:28: So here it is, a man that has chased him for 20 years has been fighting and killing his countrymen.
20:35: Killed his nephew.
20:37: Okay? And here it is, he comes and he comes in peace with a wanting reconciliation and what does God's anointed king do? He welcomes him with open arms.
20:49: Is that not really a...
20:50: How does that not point to Christ? Jesus says, come to me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
20:56: Anyone that comes to me, I will not turn them away.
20:59: Did David have the authority to reject everything that Abner was doing? Yeah.
21:05: And if you're in your right mind from Joab, Joab's going to know this guy's just coming in to see your goings out and comings in because he's going to kill you.
21:15: But that's not what David did.
21:18: David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him and Abner said to David, let me arise and go gather all of 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.
21:34: Was David's desire to just be here? No.
21:41: Imagine when Samuel came and anointed him as king as a little shepherd boy, 13, whatever, 15, whatever.
21:48: What are you doing? I mean, you'll be king of Israel.
21:51: Well, he's here.
21:53: He's going, man, God's got to do something because I'm not supposed to be here.
21:57: It's supposed to be all of this.
22:00: It's supposed to be all of this.
22:02: So, David having obviously insight from the Lord says, hey, this is the time.
22:07: This is the time for this to take place.
22:10: And Abner says, I will arise and gather all of them to my Lord the King.
22:15: Now, is he using flattering words here? Or is he showing submission to David? I think he's showing submission to David.
22:31: I think he's showing submission to David.
22:33: He's going, alright, you're going to be the king.
22:35: Now, is his submission without strings unattached? No, there are strings attached.
22:41: Okay? But he is saying, hey, look, I'm going to bring them all to you.
22:44: You're going to be the Lord.
22:46: You're going to be the king.
22:46: And by him acknowledging that, he's going to put himself under the authority of David.
22:52: Probably, in my opinion, I know we get bad about opinions, but I think he wants to be where Joab's at.
22:58: Yeah, that's my opinion.
22:59: I think he wants to be where Joab's at.
23:01: So, one question, do you think he thinks he did manipulate David like he did Ishuwesheth? No.
23:06: Okay.
23:07: No.
23:08: I think, oh, do you think that Abner thinks he has? Yeah, I do.
23:13: Yeah, I think Abner thinks he's manipulated him, but he knows that David would have him killed if it comes down to him or David.
23:20: Ishuwesheth? No, he's not.
23:22: You'll see that in the next chapter.
23:24: Ishuwesheth, man, he's just, the name shameful or bashful is what he's named.
23:29: It's really, I mean, he trembles, which would explain why he was not at battle, by the way.
23:36: You know, under the Mosaic legislation, it says, hey, if anybody's scared or fearful, don't send them guys to battle because what are they going to do? They're not going to fight.
23:47: They're just going to be cannon fodder or gut, blood and guts to make grass grow.
23:53: Huh? It could be contagious, too.
23:54: Sure.
23:55: Yeah.
23:56: So, it says that he'll bring all of them.
24:00: He will make him king over everything his soul desires.
24:03: And then it says, so David, this is very key to the next narrative.
24:07: So David sent Abner away and he went in peace.
24:12: So what, so what had happened, the civil war was over.
24:17: Civil war was over.
24:20: This is, the leader of one, the leader of the ten tribes, the king of the southern, have come to an agreement.
24:28: All of Israel is going to be collected under one monarchy, which is the whole reason we've been waiting anyway.
24:36: We had David at Hebron.
24:47: This was, do you remember what this was when we saw this as? The city of the pitchers.
24:52: Well, that is true, but what was the first, this is the first time that God's anointed king is actually ruling from a throne.
25:01: This is the first time.
25:02: But, this isn't a consolidated kingdom yet.
25:08: Not consolidated.
25:10: It's just over one tribe.
25:12: So, now, what we're seeing, this is the first time God's king's ruling.
25:19: Yeah, buddy, I'm sorry.
25:25: And then we have Abner, who was a general, and he was ruling, and I'm going to put this in quotes because we know it's supposed to be history check, but we know who was actually calling the shots.
25:43: He's ruling disobedient people.
25:53: Why were they disobedient? Because God sent David as king.
25:57: That's right.
25:59: They had the opportunity here.
26:01: Do you remember? It was right here.
26:07: They had the opportunity here.
26:09: They extended the olive branch.
26:11: We don't know what happened.
26:12: Okay? But we know what happened.
26:14: We know what happened.
26:17: Just a few days later, a week later, what happened here? They made Ishbosheth king at Manahem.
26:26: So, now, we're seeing these two are now coming together to where we're going to get rid of the disobedient people because they're following an unanointed man.
26:39: He's not the king.
26:40: He's not the king.
26:42: And, they're going to consolidate everything into one kingdom.
26:48: So, he brings them.
26:50: He says, and they went in peace.
26:52: And here it is in verse 22.
26:53: And behold, the servants of David and Joab came in from a raid and they brought much spoil.
27:00: So, automatically, if you're not even studying this, you're reading, you're going, okay, Abner killed Asahel, Joab's brother, and then you hear who comes in? Joab.
27:15: So, you know, things are fixing to get a little hairy.
27:19: He came in from bringing much spoil with them, but Abner was not with David in Hebron.
27:26: Why was Abner not with David? Y'all said the key word.
27:32: Sent.
27:33: Who's running the show? David is.
27:35: Understand, here it is.
27:36: Abner came.
27:38: Abner came thinking he was running the show.
27:41: David made a feast.
27:42: David made the stipulations.
27:44: And then when it was time to be over, hey, we've all eaten the goodies.
27:50: Dessert's over.
27:50: Why don't you peel on out? Abner, get out of here.
27:53: Who's running the show? David is.
27:55: Who knows David's running the show? Abner.
27:59: How do we know? Abner left.
28:02: He left.
28:03: So, it says, where was that? Abner was not with David in Hebron for he had sent him away and he had gone in peace.
28:14: Once again, he had left in peace when Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, saying, Abner, the son of Nir, came to the king and he sent him away and he has gone in peace.
28:28: Then Joab came to the king.
28:30: He said, what have you done? Behold, Abner came to you.
28:33: Why have you sent him away? Hey, it's funny here.
28:36: Who knows who's running the show too? Joab knows who's running the show because what did he say? You sent Abner away.
28:44: So, it's obvious even these men that were in authority know, hey man, David's calling the shots now.
28:50: He said, you sent him away.
28:51: Had David not sent Abner away, would he have left? Just by the reading of the text.
28:57: No, he might be still hanging out there eating and partying.
29:00: And, I mean, obviously, we've got the providence of God.
29:03: It would probably been in Abner's best interest for his life had he returned while David and Abner were still in the same place for his, just for his life.
29:15: Now, in the providence of God, we see God use sinful men to remove David's obstacle.
29:25: Was he an obstacle? How does God remove Abner? Did Joab a wicked man? Yeah.
29:34: Was Saul a wicked man? What wicked people did God use to remove Saul out of David's place? Philistines.
29:42: Yeah.
29:44: So, in the providence of God, God's using wicked people to get God's...
29:49: Yes? I was just going to say, you know what it almost seems like? Like, here with Republicans and Democrats, you know how, like, they have certain areas like one candidate or the other through the primaries? They kind of say, well, now support, you know, Trump.
30:04: Sure.
30:05: Yeah.
30:05: I mean, they're kind of...
30:07: Is that kind of the way they...
30:08: Yeah, well, I don't know if you were here a couple of weeks ago, we talked about Saul.
30:11: Remember when he was standing out with his spear? Who was his whole...
30:15: Who traveled with him? Remember, he had any number of these people under the monarchy could travel with him.
30:21: Who traveled with him? All Benjamites.
30:25: It would be like, hey, we're going to take all the leftists and go with whoever the left guy is.
30:29: And that's basically what happened.
30:31: Remember, he was sitting up under the tamarisk tree with his spear and that was the whole thing.
30:34: He says, why have it all you Benjamites? It was all Benjamites under the tree.
30:38: And nobody's telling me where David was.
30:39: Remember, boohooing and crying and doeg and all that mess.
30:42: Okay.
30:42: So, yes, you're right.
30:44: So now, he's going to say, hey, in order for there to be unity and to stop the bloodshed and because now I've been called out about my indiscretion that I'm trying to usurp the throne by having sex with Rispa, I'm going to need David's help.
30:58: So, I'll help David help me, is what Abner's basically saying.
31:04: And it comes to his demise.
31:07: So, when Joab and all the army that was there arrived, they told Joab saying, Abner, the son of Nir, the king was sent away and he was sent in peace.
31:15: Joab says, why did you send him away? Verse 25, you know, Abner, the son of Nir, that he came to deceive you and to learn of your going out and your coming in and to find out all that you are doing.
31:26: I believe that what Joab's saying from his perspective is true.
31:33: Everything that we know about Joab, everything we know about Abishai, we're going to see who were they always trying to protect and look out for? David.
31:45: Yeah, they were always trying to look out for David.
31:47: Do I think that Joab really thought that this is what Abner's plan was to come and maybe try to backdoor him? Yes, I do.
31:57: I really do.
31:58: But, he has no knowing about what's going on between the covenant, between Abner and David.
32:08: One, probably, David just said, man, maybe it's just none of his business.
32:12: We don't know.
32:13: Soldiers are on the need-to-know basis.
32:15: And, maybe he didn't need to know.
32:17: How long was this raid? We don't know.
32:20: How long was the feast? We don't know.
32:23: But, we know when they came back, Abner was gone.
32:25: The people, the hubbub on the street was Abner was here.
32:29: And, is Joab thinking Abner's trying to take his job? Maybe.
32:34: Just based on the words that he's saying, I do believe he thinks that he's trying to deceive David to try to usurp the throne.
32:43: But, that's not what Abner's trying to do.
32:45: Okay? You understand? I'm not talking out both sides of my mouth.
32:48: I think this is what Joab thinks.
32:49: Abner's intent is never to usurp the throne because he's already called David his lord, his king.
32:56: So, verse 26, Joab came out from David.
33:02: He sent messengers after Abner and they brought him back from the well of Sarai.
33:06: There is S-I-R-A-H.
33:09: Anybody say anything else? S-A-R-A.
33:11: Anybody? Sarai.
33:13: Sarai.
33:14: S-I-R-A.
33:15: Okay.
33:15: The only thing I could find was S-I-R-A and it's only about a mile north.
33:24: If the spelling has changed, I'm not sure.
33:26: But, the only well that they could find even in antiquity is just about a mile north of Hebron.
33:31: So, let's say, hey, he finds out he's left.
33:35: He sends him to go.
33:36: This wouldn't take long for his men to track down where Abner's twenty men and where Abner is to find out what's going on.
33:45: So, it says that Joab sent those messengers to find him and they stopped him at the well of Sarai but David did not know it.
33:52: Okay.
33:53: What Joab did was not under the consent of the king.
33:57: This was Joab's own doing.
34:00: And when Abner returned from Hebron, returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him.
34:08: Hey, it's interesting.
34:09: Joab didn't go.
34:12: Joab sent guys to go get him.
34:16: If...
34:17: Yeah.
34:18: You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
34:19: You see Joab coming, you know, and I don't think Abishai went with him either because that would have been his brother.
34:26: Yeah.
34:26: So, why did he send? Part of me goes, did he tell Abner, hey man, David wants you? That's what I'm saying.
34:34: Not, hey man, Joab wants to talk to you outside the gate.
34:37: So, it says that Joab took him aside in the middle of the gate to speak with him privately and then he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel, his brother.
34:50: Okay.
34:50: So, the reason for him being, Joab being mad at David for letting him go, which I don't understand why David said, hey look here, young buck, shut your mouth.
34:59: I'm the king.
35:01: But he didn't.
35:02: He always treats them with compassion.
35:04: Always.
35:06: He says, hey, he's trying to deceive you but we see that Joab uses this as an opportunity.
35:14: Hey man, I can avenge my brother's death.
35:17: What did we say about this city? What was it? It was a city of protection.
35:26: City of refuge.
35:27: He slays a man murderously in a city of refuge.
35:33: If Joab had a problem, he could have said, ah, he should take trial.
35:39: Remember, they had priests that would take care of all that and under the city of refuge, you're not to kill anybody inside that city until it goes to trial.
35:47: If it finds out what he did was wrong, then he could be put to death or he could stay in that city and as long as he doesn't leave that city, he can't die.
35:56: But as soon as he hops outside that gate, he's the blood avenger.
36:00: Correct.
36:01: Yes, that's a whole, yeah, a whole other, you're right.
36:04: As long as the priest, the functioning priest is still alive.
36:08: So, he kills him.
36:11: And what is this? Was this a time of war or a time of peace? It was a time of peace.
36:16: Was Asahel killed under a time of war or a time of peace? It was a time of peace.
36:19: Time of war.
36:19: Is what Adner did to Asahel any wrongdoing? Is what Joab done to Adner wrongdoing? Yeah, man, this is straight up murder.
36:30: Killing and murder.
36:31: Yeah, war and murder.
36:34: War and murder.
36:37: And then he says in verse 28, after when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever and ever from the blood of Adner the son of Nir.
36:49: He's right.
36:50: He is, it's not his fault.
36:53: He had nothing to do with it.
36:54: And David wants to make sure that everybody knows there's nothing to do with it.
36:58: And he says, May it fall on the head of Joab and on his father's house and may there not fail for anyone in the house of Joab to have a discharge, one who is a leper, one who sits on a staff, or one who falls by the sword or who lacks bread.
37:12: Now, David caused a curse down on his own family member.
37:18: Yup, his nephews.
37:19: And he caused a curse down on them.
37:21: Basically, hey, I hope all of his family dies of cancer.
37:26: I mean, that's basically what he's saying.
37:30: Now, should David have put Joab to death? That's just good.
37:36: Would you fix to say something? Should David have put Joab to death? Should have he? I say he should have.
37:46: Was he bound to put him to death? Okay, was Joab deserving of death by the king? Yes, he was.
37:54: Did David have to exert that authority? No.
38:00: We're going to see that David entrusts God God's going to do this.
38:04: Now, there's all kinds of, I heard a guy preaching on this one time.
38:06: He said, hey, he didn't do it because he was going to take over his army.
38:10: I don't think David really cared about that.
38:13: I think David was somewhat hung up in the middle of, hey man, what they did was wrong.
38:17: Man, this is my nephew.
38:19: I've already lost one nephew through this whole mess.
38:23: Man, I don't want to lose another and I would wind up losing this one by my hand.
38:28: I know that God will do it righteously and He will do it right.
38:32: I will leave it into God's hands to do so.
38:35: Is David wrong for doing that? No.
38:41: He has the authority to show mercy, right? Or, dispense justice.
38:47: Man, that points to our Lord Jesus Christ as well.
38:51: The Lord has the right to dispense justice or extend mercy.
38:56: And David did that.
38:57: Now, David doesn't do it perfectly through his kingdom.
39:01: He's going to have many failures.
39:02: When he should have dispensed justice, he did not.
39:08: And there were some times when he extended mercy when he should not have.
39:11: Mike, it seems like Joab had his number.
39:14: he did.
39:15: I think he was that close to him.
39:17: Yeah.
39:20: Hey, just from a humanist standpoint, from a political, hey man, you'd want Joab on your side if you were the king.
39:27: Absolutely.
39:27: Yeah.
39:28: Absolutely.
39:28: I mean, you'd want Joab and Abishai on your side.
39:31: They're not going to let anything happen to you.
39:33: Now, towards the end of David's life, you're going to see Joab does exactly what Abner does.
39:42: Well, I think Joab realized he was going to die.
39:44: Or, I'm going to have to help the next king come in.
39:47: He said, if I help the next king, and that's what he winds up doing, he defects from David and tries to bring in Adonijah.
39:56: That's how Adonijah winds up wanting Abishai and all that.
40:01: And Joab's killed because of, actually, because of this situation in the Godfather speech in 1 Kings.
40:10: He says, hey, hey, this isn't the first time that Joab's going to kill an innocent man.
40:16: Okay? He's going to happen again later on in the book.
40:19: He's going to kill a man in a mesa the same way.
40:22: Dude, tricks him.
40:23: Hey man, you feeling alright today? Yeah.
40:25: Pulls it out and stabs him right in the gut because he's threatened by his position.
40:30: That was, he was threatened that he was going to take over his position.
40:33: In this case, dude, it says right here the reason why he did it was so that he could avenge his brother.
40:38: But it says that Joab and Abishai were the ones who slew Abner in verse 30.
40:43: Well, I would imagine that when they came to the city, they both were there.
40:47: Yeah, I don't think Abishai nor Joab were with the messengers when they went.
40:51: I mean, it would be like Mike wanting to kill me for killing one of his children or something and then, hey, I see Mike coming.
41:00: Oh, hey, good buddy.
41:01: No, it's probably not.
41:03: Oh, you can get me from a while.
41:04: So, it makes you wonder why Abner didn't reach out the next time.
41:08: so.
41:08: why Abner would have gone to both of them seeing them at the gate, though.
41:13: This is when you're drawing inferences.
41:15: Study the Bible much longer and he can disagree with me, he can tell me, he can correct me and I'm up for it.
41:19: This is why I think he thought he was safe.
41:23: This is my opinion, okay? Because you're making conclusions.
41:27: There's a reason why it says it was in peace.
41:29: It's a reason why he sent David and sent Abner away in peace.
41:33: All these peace, peace, peace, peace, and then he's killed in a city of refuge.
41:39: Man, I mean, he, Joab should be put to death, should, for what he did.
41:45: It's murder and on top of that, it's doubly because he killed a man who didn't stand trial for something that he felt was wrong.
41:52: Um, then David said to Joab, what time is it? I gotta, I gotta, I gotta be quick.
41:58: Okay.
41:59: Oh, snap.
42:01: then David said to Joab and all the people who were there, tear your clothes, gird sackcloth, and lament over Abner, the king, David, walk behind the Abir.
42:10: Hey, I, he humiliates, this is what I will say about David.
42:14: He makes Joab and humiliates him.
42:18: Who does he put out front with the, with the, Abir, you can go to, I think it's in, um, Luke, chapter 7, verses 13, 14.
42:28: Remember that they're carrying out the little baby, the boy that died, and they just carry him out on a, on a couch.
42:33: The same words used.
42:34: It's basically a gurney.
42:35: They didn't have coffins back then.
42:36: They carried the bodies out and wrapped the gurney.
42:38: And this is what's happened.
42:39: They're carrying out Abner to take him to, to bury him on basically this gurney and they're parading him as they carry him out.
42:46: But who's got him up front lamenting and crying? He's humiliated Joab and made him do it.
42:53: He's like, alright Joab, you did this, but you're going to lead the charge to bury this guy in honor.
43:00: And get out there with sackcloth and gird your loins and lament.
43:02: That means he was out there wailing.
43:06: And thus, they buried Abner in Hebron.
43:09: The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner and all the people wept.
43:14: And they, and the king chanted.
43:15: And look here.
43:16: This was David's enemy.
43:19: And what does he do? Abner die like a fool? No.
43:24: Your hands were not bound.
43:26: Hey look, this wasn't a prisoner.
43:28: He wasn't taken out of the prison.
43:31: You fell as a wicked one would fall before the wicked.
43:35: What is he saying there? What did he just talk about Joab? Joab's a wicked man.
43:43: And all the people again wept over him.
43:44: They knew that it came to David, I'm sorry, and they came to David and tried to persuade him to eat while it was still day to do so.
43:52: And he would not eat.
43:53: Basically, he was going to fast in the morning until the sun went down.
43:56: And they did this and it pleased them just as everything that the king did pleased the people.
44:01: So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not David's intent for Abner to be put to death.
44:08: Once again, David was removed from the situation with Saul so he could say he had nothing to do with Saul's killing.
44:14: David was removed from this situation so that the people knew that Abner's death had nothing to do with him.
44:22: So David's hands could never be guilty under anything of the house of Saul or anything of the army of Saul that he didn't take place in it.
44:32: And then in verse 37, so all the people on that day understood that it had not been the will of the king that put him to death and the king said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great and mighty man has fallen this day into Israel? I am too weak today though I have been anointed king.
44:48: These men, sons of Zariah, are too difficult for me.
44:51: Actually, some translations may say too fierce or severe.
44:56: These were some bloodthirsty, ruthless dudes.
45:01: Yeah.
45:02: And here's what he says.
45:04: And once again, he's going to double down.
45:06: May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his deed.
45:09: Who's the evildoer? Joab.
45:13: Who's he going to entrust God to take care of that? I mean, who's David going to entrust to take care of that? God.
45:20: He's going to entrust God.
45:21: And that was probably his best political move at that time.
45:25: It was.
45:25: Sure.
45:26: Oh yeah.
45:27: No doubt.
45:28: I don't think it was a political move.
45:30: I think it was, it winds up being a political move.
45:33: I believe that what David did was saying, okay, I know that what he did was wrong.
45:39: I don't have to dispense justice now.
45:45: I can wait.
45:47: hey man, payday is Sunday.
45:48: Did Jesus have to dispense? Hey, when those people came, they reviled Him.
45:52: They called Him names.
45:53: What did Jesus do? He trusted Himself to the one who would judge righteously.
45:57: But one day, Jesus, all those that did not believe, He's going to judge them.
46:01: Payday is Sunday.
46:02: It's coming.
46:03: It's either going to be paid now or paid later.
46:06: And in this case, Joab is going to pay dearly.
46:09: Mike, you'll pray for us? Yes.
46:18: As Brother Mike has brought it to us, that it would be found in our hearts.
46:24: It would not be simply something that we stash away in our minds, but you would use it to conform it to the image of Christ.
46:33: We pray that you would be with Brother Keith as he prepares to bring your word.
46:39: And pray that you would prepare our hearts to worship you both in spirit and in truth.
46:44: For it's in Christ that we pray.
46:45: Amen.
46:45: Amen.