Fallenness and Faithfulness
Notes
Transcript
Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon. And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?” And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.” So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore. And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim. Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel. But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner’s men. And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.
Continuing in 2 Samuel
We saw that David is now king of Judah and that Saul’s son Ish-bosheth has been made king of Israel. We are going to see that there is now war - war between David, God’s anointed king, and those who have chosen to go their own way.
We will see this same type of situation repeat in the book of 2 Samuel. It is a recurring theme.
Just because David is king doesn’t mean his troubles are over. Far from it.
You know, in 1 Samuel, it was always so easy to see the line between the good guys and the bad guys. We had Samuel over against Eli. We had Israel vs. the Philistines. We had David vs. Goliath. We had David vs. Saul.
The lines become a lot blurrier in 2 Samuel. I find it more true to life. I think we will actually find a lot more applicable to ourselves in this book of Samuel.
Why? Because we are reading about people like us and those around us.
We have good guys that do bad things. Sometimes really bad.
We have bad guys who maybe seem like good guys for a time. But then they show that they are really bad guys.
We have some cases where even by the end of the story we aren’t even sure whether or not the guy was a good guy or a bad guy.
As I said, true to life.
But as I also said, a few months ago, we need to remember that there is really only One Who is good, from beginning to end. And that’s God. We will see His goodness come through in the history of David’s kingship.
But because this is a history of fallen people - some good, some bad - we are going to see all the things fallen people do. Some bad things happen. Some unique events take place. Like this event today. Some bad things happen. Some unique or even odd things happen. And yet some good things happen.
I had Dave read the entire story because it is so interesting and so different from what we find in modern history or even in the books or movies we like.
But what an odd story this is to us. 24 men getting in a pool and stabbing each other all at the same time. Opposing generals who talk to each other like they’re good friends even while they killing each other.
The sudden end of the battle just because one side asked the other to stop chasing them.
What is going on here?
God is working through His people.
This is a story about the fallenness of man and the faithfulness of God.
And that may seem to be a strange take at first, because God doesn’t have an obvious part in this story. He doesn’t speak, and He isn’t spoken about except for one time when Joab basically swears to God.
I mean, we know God is involved in the affairs of His creatures, and in a special way He is involved in the lives of His people, but that fact kind of fades into the background in this story for everyone because they are dealing with a real-world issue.
They are caught up with a specific trial and dealing with the demands of their lives, so God isn’t even really in their minds.
Like I said, true to life, isn’t it?
And yet, like we will throughout the book, here we can see God’s goodness come through. We see His people reflect His character even though they also show their own fallenness. I think we can relate.
Let’s see this unfold.
Abner - the commander of Saul’s army and now Ish-bosheth’s army - leaves Mahanaim where Ish-bosheth was made king, and comes to Gibeon. Gibeon is on the western side of the Jordan in the tribal inheritance of Benjamin. That’s probably why we read in verse 15 that 12 men of the tribe of Benjamin engage with the 12 warriors of Judah.
But why Gibeon? Well, just like we saw last week with the cities of Gilead - where David makes nice with one of the cities so Abner crowns Ish-bosheth in a nearby city - there are some political reasons this whole event takes place here.
And we don’t even get a hint regarding the reason until the end of 2 Samuel. There is a famine during David’s reign, and when David seeks God to ask why He sent this famine, we read this:
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.
Saul broke a covenant with the people of Gibeon, who we are told aren’t even Israelites. The Israelites swore to spare Gibeon, yet Saul, in his misplaced zeal, attacks them.
But when did the people of Israel swear to spare the Amorites of Gibeon?
Well, this goes all the way back to the start of the conquest. If you know the story, Israel crosses the Jordan and God defeats Jericho and then, after a small issue with the fallenness of certain people, God defeats the city of Ai.
So all of the people of the land decide to join forces and fight against Israel. Except for the people of one city. Gibeon. Instead, they fool Israel into thinking they lived far away from Canaan and they say they want to make a peace accord with Israel. They put on old, worn-out clothes, they take moldy bread and empty wine skins, walk right over to Joshua and show these as proof that they have been travelling for months. This is all in Joshua chapter 9. Go read that later.
So does Joshua agree to terms of peace?
This is what we read:
So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
Like I said, read Joshua chapter 9 to see how that turns out.
But this is what God is referring to when the famine happens later in the book of 2 Samuel. It is because Saul broke this centuries-old covenant that the famine happens.
What does this have to do with what’s going on here in chapter 2?
2 Samuel 2:12–13 (ESV)
Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon.
Well, we saw all of the territory that Abner made Ish-bosheth king over. One of the places mentioned specifically was Benjamin. And even though we don’t read about it for 19 more chapters, Saul’s breaking of the peace accord between Gibeon and Israel has already happened.
So the people of Gibeon are glad Saul’s gone. And they were not going to just follow Saul’s son if they have the option of following David. And Benjamin is right on the border of Judah.
This is a battle for the city of Gibeon. A city, mind you, not of Israelites, but of Amorites, more specifically, Hivites. Whose side would they be on in this war? Well, the two sides are going to fight it out to decide.
And to do that, they do this really strange thing - at least it seems strange to us. They each choose 12 soldiers, and send them into the pool of Gibeon to fight. And this “pool” would have been either a reservoir that held drinking water or an agricultural pool that would be used to distribute water to the crops around the city. Let’s hope it’s the second one since guys are just stabbing each other in the water.
And this seems odd to us - that the generals would just sit there and watch this fight between their men. But this was often how warring nations decided to battle. It isn’t very different from Goliath stepping forward and challenging Israel to a one-on-one to decide the battle.
There are two differences between this and the David and Goliath incident. First, these are all Israelites. The people of God were fighting against the people of God.
Second, understand that this would have been believed to be a way to determine God’s will. Like casting lots or pulling stones from the Urim and the Thummim.
The idea here is that Abner and Joab would both accept the winner of this battle in the pool as a sign of God’s will. That’s why they each send 12 - both sides are claiming to represent the true king of the 12 tribes of Israel.
And what happens?
2 Samuel 2:15–16 (ESV)
Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together.
It would be an almost comical scene if it weren’t so tragic. It’s like the last scene of Rocky III where Rocky and Apollo punch each other in the face at exactly the same time. Only this is 24 real men - soldiers doing their duty - who fall dead at the same exact moment.
That means, as far as Abner and Joab would be concerned, God is not revealing His will.
He isn’t telling them which is the real Israel, and who is the true king here.
Now, as we saw last week, everyone knew that God had anointed David king. But in politics, the truth isn’t always what matters most, is it?
Actually, in life, even for God’s people at times - even for us - the truth isn’t always what matters most, is it? What God has revealed isn’t always enough to settle a matter.
Sometimes we have our ideas of what we want, and in the moment, what God has already revealed to us isn’t even a thought. I can tell you, when someone wrongs me or even worse, someone I love, my mind doesn’t go to “love your enemies” first.
And sometimes, even when we remember what God has said, we seek some kind of confirmation that what God has clearly revealed applies in this situation. This is what we call rationalizing our sin.
Now, we don’t send men to do battle to determine God’s will, but have we ever been pretty clear on what God says His will is, but then need something more to believe its what He wants for me right now in this particular situation?
I know we are to forgive as we’re forgiven, but you don’t know what he did to me.
I don’t deserve to be treated this way, does God really expect me to turn the other cheek here?
Yeah, I said some things, but what she said is worse, do I really need to apologize first? That wouldn’t be right.
And we can rationalize our way around almost anything. It is something every human is really good at. I have like the black-belt equivalent of rationalizing what I want.
Maybe we can think: “If I apologize first, she won’t learn anything and I would be doing her a disservice.” “If I turn the other cheek instead of pointing out how wrong this person is to do this to me, then I’m not speaking the truth and the Bible says to always speak the truth.”
Maybe Abner can look at the situation and say, “well, yeah David was anointed king, but God still let Saul be king for years after that. Who am I to say that God doesn’t want Saul’s son to reign and then it’ll be David’s turn?”
So, Abner wants further word from God, and these men battle to determine the will of God and God doesn’t answer.
Or does He?
Maybe God is telling Abner and Joab that He has already spoken, and that should be enough, and now it’s time to listen.
Maybe God is telling them that they are thinking about this all wrong, because regardless of who sits on the throne in Israel - regardless of who has worldly political power - there is only One King, and it’s God Almighty.
Maybe God is telling them that when there is in-fighting among God’s people, everyone loses. Or that when His clearly revealed will is ignored, everyone loses.
Maybe.
But regardless, if God’s speaking, Abner ain’t listening.
And those around him are going to suffer for it.
And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
And this is a decisive battle. We read this at the end of the battle:
Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel. But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner’s men.
And note, not Ish-bosheth’s men. Abner’s men.
We see who is the one causing all of this. We see who really has the power in Israel.
But over against Abner, the self-serving commander of the army of Israel, we have three of David’s men:
2 Samuel 2:18 (ESV)
And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.
We have met Abishai before. Back in 1 Samuel 26, when David spares Saul for a second time, he asks who will go with him into Saul’s camp, and it is Abishai who steps up to go with him to take the spear and water jug of Saul. But even there, he is referred to as the brother of Joab.
This is because we will see that Joab was a renowned warrior and becomes the commander of the army of Israel. He plays a large role in the book of 2 Samuel and has great influence over the course of the history of Israel.
But there’s more here than meets the eye. These three men are said to be the sons of Zeruiah. This is one of the few times in the Bible that we are told that someone is the “son of” someone, and that someone is their mother. Usually, the line is traced through the men.
But there is a reason that we are told who their mother is here. They have a very well known lineage, these three men. We read of it in 1 Chronicles.
Jesse fathered Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, David the seventh. And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three.
These three men were renowned warriors. They play a role in David taking the throne.
But the writer is pointing out that they are also David’s nephews. This is easy to miss - we don’t know this from 2 Samuel and I know we have that tendency to drift when reading lists of names in the book of Chronicles.
But knowing this will shed a lot of light on the relationship between David and Joab as we go, and it explains why Joab wasn’t afraid to make some of the decisions that he did. His boss - the king - was his uncle.
But here, it’s David’s youngest nephew, Asahel, that is in view. There is a great battle between Judah and Israel, and Judah routs Abner and Israel, and as they flee, Asahel pursues:
2 Samuel 2:18–22 (ESV)
Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?”
This is another striking element to this story. Throughout, Abner and David’s nephews are very civil to each other. That seems so odd for people at war with each other.
But, remember, Abner has been the commander of the army of Israel for some time. Joab, Abishai, and Asahel had been soldiers - probably officers - in the army of Israel under the command of Abner. They are well acquainted with each other. They served in the military together.
My father served in the military, and I have heard plenty of stories. I have friends that served and have shared their experiences. If you know someone that served, or if you served in the military yourself, you know that there is a unique bond formed between those that serve together in battle.
These men were previously friends.
When Abner realizes he’s being followed so closely, he has an idea who it is because he knew how fast Asahel was, and that’s why he asks: “is that you, Asahel?” And that’s why he warns him not to continue his pursuit, twice here. He doesn’t want to have to kill him.
We also see that Abner and Joab had a relationship. Abner is more worried about affecting his relationship with Joab than he is about killing Asahel. I suspect that there are political reasons for this and not just sentimental reasons.
Because note the character of Abner. He tells Asahel to stop chasing him, and to just kill one of the soldiers of Israel and take some spoil. He is willing to sacrifice one of his men to avoid fighting Asahel.
But Asahel is not deterred, and he continues his pursuit.
2 Samuel 2:23 (ESV)
But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was.
First off, this is a gruesome description. The butt of the spear - the blunt end of the spear - pierces Asahel and he dies.
Second, this shows us the character of Abner even more. He is not an honorable soldier. He used the butt of his spear. That means that as Asahel was chasing - and gaining - Abner didn’t engage him in battle. He didn’t turn to face him.
He sucker punched him, so to speak.
He just sent 12 of his own men to die in battle. He encourages Asahel to kill one of this other men. But he doesn’t face Asahel in battle honorably.
And so, Asahel dies.
And Abner was right. This changed things between him and Joab. And we will see in the next chapter how much.
But for now we read:
2 Samuel 2:23–24 (ESV)
And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner.
The army of Judah was pursuing Abner, too. But they couldn’t keep up with Asahel. And when they come to where he died, the writer tells us all who saw his dead body stood still. He is painting a picture of utter shock over the fact that this has happened. Asahel is listed as one of David’s mighty men later in the book. He was strong, he was fast, and now he was dead.
So Asahel’s brothers don’t stop the pursuit. Now it’s personal.
And they wind up coming to a hill, where Abner and his army have stopped, and we read:
Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?”
Abner, who just told Asahel to leave him alone and kill one of his soldiers, appeals to Joab about the lives of the soldiers. He asks Joab what the point is of more bloodshed between brothers - between Israelites.
And he turns it so that this is now on Joab. Why haven’t you told your people to stop killing their brothers? How long will you do this?
All of a sudden, Abner is very concerned for his men and the brotherhood of God’s people.
Because, again, he knew Joab. And unlike Abner, Joab is honorable and truly cares for the people of Israel.
And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.” So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.
Joab decides to put an end to the battle.
And this “nor did they fight anymore” is just referring to this battle. As we’ll see in chapter 3, the war rages on.
But what we see here in the character of Joab sums up so well what I started with this morning. We see here that Joab - even though we will see the fallenness of this man shine through plenty in the coming chapters - we nonetheless see the character of God shine through this man here.
Because Joab shows mercy because he loves God’s people. And He loves God’s people, because he loves God.
He realizes that regardless of how spineless and self-serving Abner may be, continuing the pursuit will only result in the loss of more life. More men of Israel will die, and nothing is going to get settled.
I mean, if the rout of Judah over Israel didn’t show Abner whose side God is on, then what would?
And it isn’t that Joab is shunning his responsibilities here. Yes, he is a commander of David’s army, but victory in war isn’t his priority. God’s people are.
Because God is his priority.
Joab following David is how Joab is following God. And we’ll see, when Joab thinks David is wrong, he isn’t afraid to say so or take matters into his own hands. When Joab thinks David will negatively affect Israel - the people of God - Joab will do what he thinks is best for the people, not for David.
Is Joab perfect? Far from it. We’ll see all the mistakes he makes.
But what we see is that even though he is fallen, God is faithful and works through him. God works through those who seek to be faithful to Him. Not through perfect people, through fallen, but faithful people.
I think sometimes we can hear Biblical preaching or even read through the New Testament and see nothing but a bunch of “dos” and “don’ts”. I mean, the majority of the New Testament letters are about how we should and shouldn’t live in light of what Christ has made us.
Paul wrote entire letters to tell churches to stop doing what they were doing and to start doing what God calls them to do.
But the point the Bible never makes is “do this” and you’re a good person. Or “do this” and God will give you credit for it.
The point is always “do this” to be faithful to God because He is faithful to you.
Joab was faithful to God. Even though he made mistakes. Even though he failed miserably at times. Joab’s concern was God, and His will, and His kingdom.
And we see in this passage what that means.
Because we see that God is with those who are faithful to Him. There was a rout in the battle here. 360 men to 20 men. Why? Because Judah had better soldiers than Israel? Because David’s people were more loyal to David than Abner’s men were to him?
No. Because the battle belongs to the Lord, my friends.
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
In other words, we need to take seriously our responsibility. We need to be ready to face the trials and the opposition we face in this life. When we have a calling, we should work to be strong in our faith and in our vocation.
But we need to rely on God for success.
And we might wonder what a passage like this has to do with us or with the Gospel. But, brothers and sisters, the Gospel is about what God has done in history. It is not something abstracted from our lives in the here-and-now, just like it was not abstracted from the lives of David, and Joab, and Abner.
That’s the grace of God - the Gospel has everything to do with not just where we’re going someday, but with where we are at all times.
We looked today at a story of conflict. And a story of wicked people affecting others. And a story of fallen and very imperfect people being used by God to carry out His will.
Welcome to being a Christian in the 21st century.
Does anyone here face any conflict? Are you ever affected by the actions of others? Are you imperfect?
Then this passage has everything to do with you. Because God works in conflict. He works even through the trials we face and the opposition we face.
He works even through our imperfection.
But if we fix our eyes on the trials we face, and on the actions of others - which is what our entire society seems to be fixated on - or if we focus on our situation or on our own imperfections and weaknesses, we are going to miss opportunities to be faithful to God.
And that means we will miss opportunities to reveal Him and His grace - and we will miss opportunities to reveal the Gospel.
We need, instead, to focus on God and what He has said. On what He has done. On what He wants to do.
Joab was a mighty warrior. He and his brothers trained hard to be what they were because that was their calling. But Joab knew that it was God Who would win the battle. And God did. That’s why Joab - unlike Abner - could put himself and his desires aside for the sake of God and His people. Why he could through the conflict keep his focus on God and the good He wanted to work.
If he had focused on the battle, on what Abner just did, or on what he really wanted to do to Abner, there would have been no end to the battle. There would have been no mercy.
But Joab stayed focused on God.
That is part of being faithful to God.
And he won’t always do it perfectly, just like we won’t. But we’ll also see that failing doesn’t stop him from seeking to be faithful at the very next opportunity.
That is how we need to be faithful to God. Like Joab. We need to join together responsibility and reliance. Yes, we are responsible to be faithful to God by using our gifts and taking our calling very seriously, but we need to rely on God to do the work because He is faithful.
Because we will fail at times, but God never will.
He never has.
Remember, we are fallen, but we are chosen, and for a purpose. We are sinners, but sinners saved by grace.
We are fallen, but forgiven - so that now we can be faithful.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
What we do is important. But what we do is rooted in God’s grace. It starts with Him. That’s why Paul reminds us that we have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation but everything to do with what we do once saved.
Because God is gracious, we can walk in these works. We can obey. We can show mercy. We can show grace. We can show the world Jesus.
Will we walk in these good works perfectly? No. Will it be easy to do? Almost never.
But in all our imperfect fallenness, we can reflect the character of God. And we must, because that is how God saves. When we show grace, it is His grace. When we show mercy - like Joab here - it is God’s mercy.
Joab showed mercy and sought to please God first, and we see what happened: lives were saved.
When we do the same, we will see lives saved.
Because, like in the battle of Gibeon, and as we see here in Ephesians - this is God’s work. All He needs from us is to be faithful to Him, and we will see Him work.
And God has never failed because He is faithful.
Faithful enough to send His Son for us (the Gospel*) (how will He not give us all good things including grace to be faithful?)
Faithful through the trials of this life
Faithful in our fallenness because He forgives us every time we repent and lifts us up every time we fall
Faithful through our faithfulness to Him - our service, our mercy, our love
Faithful through it all and faithful to the end - that is our God!
So brothers and sisters, I encourage you. Seek God by seeking to be faithful to Him. And see Him faithfully work His salvation.
(If you want to know more about what the Gospel means, if you aren’t sure what it means to believe, if you have doubts about your standing with God - please come see me and lets have a conversation)