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Okay, you can turn in your Bibles 
to 2 Samuel 2. 2 Samuel 2. We'll read the whole 
chapter, but our focus tonight will be verses 12 to chapter 
3, verse 1. Last week, we considered the 
first 11 verses in 2 Samuel 2. We saw the anointing of David 
in Hebron after the death of Saul. David does then become 
king, specifically in Judah. We see that's not without its 
challenge, specifically in verses 8 to 11. Abner, the son of Ner, 
the commander of Saul's army, made Ish-bosheth, Saul's remaining 
son, the king over the northern tribes, actually over all the 
tribes except for Judah. And so there's already opposition 
to David. It'll be a couple of chapters 
until David is the king, not only over Judah, but over the 
entirety of Israel. So we'll pick up reading in chapter 
two at verse one. It happened after this that David 
inquired of the Lord saying, shall I go up to any of the cities 
of Judah? And the Lord said to him, go 
up. David said, where shall I go up? And he said to Hebron, So 
David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitus, 
and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. And David brought 
up the men who were with him, every man with his household. 
So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. Then the men of Judah 
came, and there they anointed David king over the house of 
Judah. And they told David, saying, the men of Jabesh Gilead were 
the ones who buried Saul. So David sent messengers to the 
men of Jabesh Gilead and said to them, you are blessed of the 
Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your Lord, to Saul, 
and have buried him. And now may the Lord show kindness 
and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness 
because you have done this thing. Now therefore, let your hands 
be strengthened and be valiant, for your master Saul is dead, 
and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them. But 
Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth, 
the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he 
made him king over Gilead, over the Asherites, over Jezreel, 
over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth, 
Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel. 
And he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed 
David. And the time that David was king 
in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. 
Now 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 Zariah, and the servants of David, went out and met them 
by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one 
side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. 
Then Abner said to Joab, let the young men now arise and compete 
before us. And Joab said, let them arise. 
So they arose and went over by number, 12 from Benjamin, followers 
of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and 12 from the servants of David. 
And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword 
in his opponent's side, so they fell down together. Therefore, 
that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in 
Gibeon. So there was a very fierce battle 
that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before 
the servants of David. Now the three sons of Zariah 
were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel. And Asahel was his 
fleet afoot as a wild gazelle. So Asahel pursued Abner, and 
in going, he did not turn to the right hand or to the left 
from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him 
and said, are you Asahel? He answered, I am. And Abner 
said to him, turn aside to your right hand or to your left and 
lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself. 
But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. So Abner 
said again to Asahel, turn aside from following me. Why should 
I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother 
Joab? However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore, Abner struck him in 
the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear 
came out of his back, and he fell down there and died on the 
spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel 
fell down and died stood still. Joab and Abishai also pursued 
Abner, and the sun was going down when they came to the hill 
of Ammah, which is before Giah, by the road to the wilderness 
of Gibeon. Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind 
Abner and became a unit and took their stand on top of a hill. 
Then Abner called to Joab and said, shall the sword devour 
forever? Do you not know that it will 
be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until 
you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren? 
And Joab said, as God lives, unless you had spoken, surely 
then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing 
their brethren. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people 
stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they 
fight anymore. Then Abner and his men went on 
all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and 
went through Al-Bithran, and they came to Mahanaim. So Joab 
returned from pursuing Abner, and when he had gathered all 
the people together, there were missing of David's servants, 
19 men, and Asahel. The servants of David had struck 
down, of Benjamin and Abner's men, 360 men who died. Then they took up Asahel and 
buried him in his father's tomb, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab 
and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak. 
Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house 
of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, 
and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. Amen. Well, as I 
said, last week we saw where Abner, the commander, makes Ish-bosheth 
the king. Ish-bosheth is a puppet king. 
He's certainly not the one in authority in this particular 
situation. As we continue in the narrative, 
we see that Abner's actions create civil war in Israel. And it's 
important for us to remember that we're talking about a civil 
war among God's covenant people. It's not like it's David versus 
the Canaanites or David versus the Philistines. It's David, 
the king of Judah, versus Abner, the commander of Israel. So this 
is a dark time in Israel's history. But as we'll see as we move through 
it, God has his purpose, and God's kingdom will ultimately 
triumph. And we'll expound the text under 
three considerations. First, the battle at Gibeon in 
verses 12 to 17. Secondly, the pursuit of Abner 
in verses 18 to 25. And then the truce between Joab 
and Abner in verses 26 to 3, chapter 3, verse 1. But note 
first the battle at Gibeon in verses 12 to 17. This is an act 
of aggression by Abner. Notice in verse 12, he went out 
from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zariah and 
the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So basically, Abner and his men 
were holed up in Mahanaim. And as Davis says, to leave headquarters 
east of the Jordan, Mahanaim, as he just said, is on the east 
side of the Jordan, to get to Gibeon was quite a trek. To cross 
the river and come within five miles of Jerusalem shows that 
Abner is taking the offensive. God had installed David as the 
king in Judah. So when Abner challenges David, 
it's not only a challenge concerning the earthly kingdom, it is a 
manifestation of his rebellion against the living and true God. 
And as we continue in the narrative, specifically in chapter 3, at 
verse 9, and then again in chapter 3, verses 17 and 18, Abner knows 
full well that God had purposed to raise David up for the throne. So do not mistake what is going 
on here. Abner, yes, is rebelling against 
David's rule in Judah, but Abner is rebelling against the rule 
of the living and true God. Again, Davis says, it is Abner's 
deliberate attempt to impose northern might on David's Judean 
kingdom. Abner is on the attack. We already 
saw that back in verse 8 specifically, or sorry, verses 8 and 9. He 
made Esh-bosheth king over Gilead, notice in verse 9, over the Asherites, 
over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 
And then dropping down in verse 10, only the house of Judah followed 
David. So Abner is trying to consolidate 
power. Abner wants the entirety of Israel 
under his particular control. Again, Ish-bosheth is simply 
a puppet king. Abner is in charge. He is calling 
the shots. He engages in this act of aggression 
against the troops of David. Certainly David's men got wind 
of this back in Hebron. That's why Joab And his men then 
go to the pool of Gibeon. Now when you see that pool of 
Gibeon, it's not like it's some Olympic-sized pool. It's not 
a wave pool. There's not slides. It's not 
for beach parties. It's a pool that's probably a 
reservoir that feeds the city with water. Walled cities would 
have reservoirs or pools outside of the cities so that they could 
get water during a time of siege. In fact, excavations done at 
Gibeon have shown that there were tunnels leading out of the 
city, no doubt to these reservoirs, so that when they went into this 
battle mode, they were able to have water during these acts 
of aggression. Now, notice in verses 14 to 16, 
this is what is called representative combat. We see an instance of 
this in 1st Samuel 17. Remember when Goliath comes out, 
he challenges or he taunts the armies of the living God, and 
Goliath asks specifically for a champion of Israel in order 
to battle against Goliath. Representative combat. Instead 
of the entirety of the armies going out to battle, you have 
representatives. In that case, David and Goliath, 
and here in this particular case, 12 men on either side. 12 men 
associated with David and Joab, and 12 men from Benjamin associated 
with Abner and Ish-bosheth. So that's what's going on in 
this particular section. Notice in verse 14, Abner said 
to Joab, let the young men now arise and compete before us. The verb literally is play before 
us, not compete. Robert Alter says the lads here, 
the young men, are elite warriors. The verb play clearly indicates 
gladiatorial or representative combat. He also notes Goliath 
calling for an Israelite champion to fight him is another instance 
of combat through designated representatives. So the idea 
being is if our 12 win, then that gives us supremacy in this 
particular instance. So that's what's happening in 
this particular situation. Notice the particulars of the 
combat. It's sort of hard to envision 
this, sort of hard to get one's mind wrapped around this. Basically, 
you have 12 men that grab each other's heads and plunge daggers 
into their sides to kill them. I mean, it's not the sort of 
way I would want to do battle. I think probably there's more 
to the situation than what's indicated here. It almost sounds 
like there's no possible way that one could win. but certainly 
there must have been a way that one could win or else they wouldn't 
have engaged in this particular activity. It's sort of like a 
duel. If one of us or two of us had guns and we walked the 
20 paces and then we turn and we happen to each get a round 
off and kill each other. That's sort of what's happened 
in this particular situation. They arose, verse 15, went over 
by number, 12 from Benjamin, followers of Ish-bosheth the 
son of Saul, and 12 from the servants of David. And each one 
grasped his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in the opponent's 
side. So they fell down together. Therefore 
that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in 
Gibeon." So the twelve on either side are dead. Now notice what 
happens in verse 17. A battle ensues. So there was 
a very fierce battle that day. So with all the representatives 
dead at this particular time, Now the armies turn against each 
other. And because of the number of 
casualties that we find in this particular chapter, it probably 
wasn't the entirety of the armies. It probably wasn't the entire 
army of Judah and the entire army of Israel. It was probably 
representative itself. Probably, you know, one man estimates 
a thousand troops on either side. But there was a very fierce battle 
that day. Now note specifically in verse 
17, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the 
servants of David." That shouldn't surprise any of us. God the Lord 
instituted, ordained, decreed David's reign in Judah. So as 
the reader, knowing a sovereign and a living God, when we come 
to a comment like we find there in verse 17, we ought, in many 
respects, to expect that. When we move through these historical 
books, we'll see so often that God comes to the aid of Judah. 
God so often comes to the rescue of his people, and that's what 
is going on in this particular instance. David and his men beat 
back Abner and the men of Israel. Kyle and Dalich say the striking 
disproportion in the numbers, 20 men lost in Judah and 360 
men in Israel. And that's significant, isn't 
it? You have the 12 men who died on either side, plus according 
to verses 30 and 31, whatever the rest of the number is to 
make up 20 and 360. So Israel suffered greatly in 
the battle in that particular instance. Now we know ultimately 
that victory is of the Lord, but as well, when we survey the 
situation, Kyle and Dalich say, the striking disproportion in 
the numbers may be accounted for from the fact that in Joab's 
army there was none but brave and well-tried men. I mean, that's 
who was attracted to David. It was as if all the solid, strong 
warriors wanted to be with David. When you see a victor, when you 
see a leader, when you see a general such as David, and you happen 
to be a soldier, you gravitate towards such a one like that. 
They go on to say, who had been gathered around David a long 
time before, whereas in Abner's army there were only the remnants 
of the Israelites who had been beaten upon Gilboa, back in chapter 
31 of 1 Samuel. and as well who had still been 
further weakened and depressed by their attempts to recover 
the land which was occupied by the Philistines. When the Philistines 
achieved victory at Gilboa, remember what it says, they went and occupied 
Israelite cities. So the Israelites themselves 
had to face these Philistines, and certainly Abner doesn't seem 
to have reflected upon the great disparity that might exist between 
himself and between Joab. So victory is of the Lord, but 
certainly the horse was readied for the day of battle. The Proverbs 
say that. The horse is prepared for the 
day of battle. Victory is from Yahweh. And that 
is precisely what we see here. David's army is stronger. Joab 
is more effective. They gain the victory. But it's 
ultimately because the Lord God Almighty had purpose that David 
would reign upon the throne of Israel. Now notice, in the second 
place, the pursuit of Abner. Verse 18, now the three sons 
of Zariah were there. Zariah was David's sister. 1 
Chronicles 2.16 indicates that. Zariah is David's sister. Zariah has three sons. Joab, 
we've already read of. He's the commander. of David's 
army and Abishai and Asahel. Now notice specifically that 
it's Asahel that gives chase to Abner. Some say that Asahel 
was driven by ambition. Asahel wanted to get the glory 
of killing Abner. Now the text doesn't say that 
at all. I suspect that Asahel gave chase 
because he was fleet of foot, because he was quick like a gazelle. 
Certainly if you're going to chase a man you send your fastest 
man and that is precisely what happens. Asahel chases him down 
and as they're running it seems as if they took some breaks or 
at least Abner was able to run and be able to yell behind him 
and say, Is that or are you Asahel?" And he answered, I am. Now notice 
in verse 21, Abner said to him, turn aside to your right hand 
or to your left and lay hold on one of the young men and take 
his armor for yourself. Abner's trying to persuade Asahel 
from continuing this pursuit. Abner is pretty confident in 
the fact that he can take Asahel. And Abner is afraid, not afraid, 
but he doesn't want to upset Joab. The text doesn't indicate 
why he doesn't want to upset Joab, but there are several clues, 
at least in the larger context. When we get to chapter 3, Abner 
defects, or Abner goes over to David's army, or under David's 
leadership. And so perhaps this was always 
an option in the back of Abner's head and it was certainly not 
a wise thing to irritate or to upset Joab. In other words, if 
I think that someday I may need to go and submit to David, I 
don't want to upset David's commander. That might be something that 
is driving Abner in this particular instance why he does not want 
to have to kill Asahel. But again, he's confident of 
the fact that he can kill Asahel. Abner's a military commander. 
Doesn't say who's the youngest of the sons of Zariah. We might 
conclude, however, that the fastest runner would be the youngest. 
So Asahel may not be a proven warrior. He may not be the battle-trained 
man that Abner is. Abner knows that he's going to 
be able to clean up on Asahel. So he tries to persuade Asahel 
not to pursue him. It says in verse 21 at the end, 
Asahel would not turn aside from following him. So Abner said 
again to Asahel, turn aside from following me. Why should I strike 
you to the ground? I mean, he knows this. There's 
a confidence there. Sure that if you went up against 
somebody that you knew you could beat, there would be that degree 
of confidence, especially if you didn't really want to beat 
them because there was some sort of repercussion that you didn't 
want to face. You would know that this was 
the case. But note at the end of verse 22, how then could I 
face your brother Joab? Some suggest that it would have 
been blood guilt. In other words, if he had killed 
Asahel, then he would be guilty of murder. But this is a wartime 
scenario, and that's probably not what's going on. it is probably 
or possibly the idea that one day he's gonna need to face Joab 
if he sides with David notice in verse 23 however he refused 
to turn aside therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with 
the blunt end of the spear now 1st Samuel 26 7 indicates that 
when David found Saul sleeping Saul's sword was standing up 
in the ground most likely there was some sort of a spike on the 
butt end of the spear. It wasn't just some ball that 
he drove into Asahel. There was some sort of spike 
in there that was able to puncture the skin and go all the way through 
Asahel. And it might have been he's running 
and then he stops quickly and then just drives it back that 
way into Asahel's body but however the particulars however the specifics 
it is indicated here that he fell down there and died on the 
spot so it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel 
fell down and died stood still. Now notice the pursuit by Joab 
and Abishai verses 24 and 25. Joab and Abishai also pursued 
Abner and the sun was going down when they came to the hill of 
Emma, which is before Giah, by the road to the wilderness of 
Gibeon. Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner 
and became a unit and took their stand on top of a hill." So it's 
similar to what we find at this pool of Gibeon. You had 12 men 
on either side of the pool, now we're at this particular area. 
in the wilderness of Gibeon, and you have two armies on either 
side. And that brings us thirdly to 
this truce between Joab and Abner. First thing we ought to notice 
is the duplicity of Abner, the deceitfulness of Abner, the wickedness 
of Abner. I think we already covered much 
of this ground last week as we considered his rebellion against 
God Most High, specifically in the case of David, the king over 
Judah. But notice what he says in verse 
26. Remember when we read and we 
studied and we went through the Saul narratives, there were instances 
and times where Saul said stuff and it was like, come on, how 
in the world can you even voice those words? You know, when Saul 
would pronounce a blessing upon the The Ziphites, for instance. 
Saul was a full-blown apostate. He had rebelled against the living 
God. He had rejected the word of God on several, numerous occasions. And nevertheless, he's pronouncing 
the blessing of Yahweh on persons? When he is with the witch at 
Endor in 1 Samuel chapter 28. He says, as the Lord lives to 
that which no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. 
Those were those moments when we look at the narrative and 
we say, come on, how in the world could you say such a thing? Well, 
verse 26 is an Abner moment. Notice in verse 26, Abner called 
to Joab and said, shall the sword devour forever? If you would have never came 
to the Pool of Gibeon, we wouldn't be in this mess. That's how Joab 
answers him in verse 27. But listen to this. He says, 
shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will 
be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until 
you tell the people to return from pursuing? Now notice these 
next two words, their brethren. Abner certainly didn't give one 
wit about the brethren when he came to the pool of Gibeon. And 
now he's invoking this communal covenantal language to try and 
get Joab and Abishai to stop giving chase. Abner knows that 
David's army is superior at this point. He's got 360 dead bodies 
to testify to that reality. Abner is a man full of self-ambition, 
pride, and hypocrisy. And now he's got the gall to 
say to Joab, shall the sword devour forever? Brethren, if 
you don't see the absolute folly of wicked men in the scripture, 
and as well, you're able to spot this in the real world, you're 
not reading properly. It's an amazing thing how sin 
produces confusion in the minds of men. Perhaps Abner actually 
thought that this was a legitimate expression of covenantal solidarity. Do you not know that it will 
be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until 
you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren? 
This act of aggression upon the tribe of Judah by Abner and now 
he is invoking or he is now calling upon Joab to call it off. Calvin says that here Abner changed 
his language. Formerly it had been a game to 
him to make men kill each other. Remember I said the verb in verse 
14 is not compete. I mean that's an accurate translation. 
But the verb is play. Let's let the men, let's let 
the lads, let's let these elite warriors play before us. Calvin 
picks up on this. Formerly it had been a game to 
him to make men kill each other. Now the game pleased him no longer, 
since it could only get worse. Hence, he began to exhort Joab 
to pursue it no more, in that it would be a great cruelty for 
brothers to kill each other in this way." He's the guy that 
goes and starts the tragedy and the calamity, and then says, 
OK, that's enough. Let's call it all off. Well, 
Abner, you don't have that prerogative at this particular time, unless 
Joab, of course, makes this truce, as we see that he does. Now realize 
that if he had obtained victory in the field of the sharp swords, 
He would have never said this, would he have? If in this representative 
combat, the men of Benjamin bested the men of David, as far as Abner 
was concerned, Judah would now be subject to Israel. So you see, in the space of however 
many days or however much time and 360 dead bodies, Abner has 
changed his tune tremendously. This indicates something of his 
ambition It indicates something of his self-promotion and of 
his utter hypocrisy. Too bad he wasn't thinking about 
brethren prior to going from Mahana down to Gibeon. Too bad 
he wasn't thinking about the glory of God reflected in the 
covenant people. Too bad he wasn't thinking about 
the very promise that God had made to put David on the throne 
in Israel. You can check the references 
for yourself. Chapter 3, verse 9. Chapter 3, verses 17 and 18. 
Abner knew full well that God had purposed to set David upon 
the throne of Israel. Now note the response by Joab. Joab invokes God. Verse 27. And Joab said, As God lives, 
unless you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people 
would have given up pursuing their brethren. Now there's a 
textual difference in whether we read the word unless or if 
we read the word as if and does it make it that morning or the 
previous morning. It's a bit of a tough sort of 
thing to figure out. but the point of the passage 
is not affected either way we understand that word. Joab says 
to Abner, we are in this mess because of you. We are in this 
place because of your wickedness. It is impeccable logic. This was Abner's doing. Davis 
says that he, Abner, came on the offensive, verse 12. His 
casual remark instigated the 12 on 12 fiasco, verses 14 to 
16. And his bleeding heart speech 
about brotherhood and the tragedy of war in verse 26 was exposed 
for the baloney it was by Joab, who retorted that none of this 
would have happened had Abner never opened his mouth in the 
first place. You see, that's impeccable logic 
employed by Joab with reference to this statement by Abner in 
verse 26. I mean, in this particular moment, 
Joab shines brightly. He is serving David well. He 
is serving the Lord God well. Now notice, the truce executed, 
verses 28 to 31. 28, Joab blew a trumpet and all 
the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor 
did they fight anymore. So this was a truce, though it 
was a short-lived truce, which we'll see in just a moment. Verse 
29, then Abner and his men went on all that night through the 
plain, crossed over the Jordan and went through all Bithron 
and they came to Mahanaim. It's intriguing that Abner and 
his army travel by night, Joab and his army travel by night. 
Seems to indicate that neither one really trusted the other. 
And I don't think that was out of line specifically for Joab. 
I wouldn't trust Abner as far as I could throw the man. He 
shows himself to be an absolute wretch. in this particular section 
of Holy Scripture. So they travel by night. Notice 
where Abner goes. Does he go to Hebron? Does he 
submit to David's rule and authority? Does he confess his sins and 
transgressions against the living God? No, he's still proud He's 
still a man of self-ambition. He's still a hypocrite. He's 
still a wicked man. He goes back to Mahanaim. He 
goes back to headquarters with no concern whatsoever for the 
reality that David is indeed God's man and that Joab bested 
him in the battle because Joab is serving God's man. Notice 
the retreat of Joab, verses 30 to 32. So Joab returned from 
pursuing Abner, and when he had gathered all the people together, 
there were missing of David's servants, 19 men, and Asahel. So they lost 20 completely, totally. But the servants of David had 
struck down of Benjamin and Abner's men, 360 men who died. And that's 
impressive. Those are good numbers. That 
was a good exchange for David's army. They took up Asahel and 
buried him in his father's tomb, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab 
and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak. So again, they traveled by night. 
They returned to Hebron. And we'll see, ultimately, the 
consolidation of power under David in 2 Samuel chapter 5. There's still a few things that 
need to transpire with Abner. chapter 3, and with Ish-bosheth 
in chapter 4. David then gets control of all 
Israel in chapter 5, and then the power is consolidated into 
Jerusalem specifically when we get to chapter 6. So notice, 
chapter 3, verse 1 is a summary statement. It says, there was 
a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, 
but David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker 
and weaker. Well, let's just draw out a few 
of these, or a few lessons before we close. In the first place, 
we ought to recognize in this section, as I've already pointed 
out, the division among the covenant people. Now realize the covenant 
people today, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, don't sort 
of meet at the pool of Gibeon and shove swords into each other's 
bellies or hearts or wherever you would shove your sword. But 
there is still division among the covenant people. And I think 
it's easy for us to recognize the wickedness of an Abner in 
a passage like this and forget or neglect, rather, to see our 
own wickedness, to come to grips with the reality that these six 
things Yahweh hates, yea seven, are an abomination to him. You 
know, things like hands that shed innocent blood, and pride, 
and that sort of thing doesn't surprise us. But the last statement, 
chapter 6, verse 19 of Proverbs, is one who sows discord among 
brethren. So again, Abner is a sower of 
discord. I think we'll all agree. I mean, 
there's a civil war, according to chapter 3, verse 1, that is 
described as a long war between the house of Saul and the house 
of David, as a result of one man. One man creates a civil 
war in Israel. Well, as far as the church is 
concerned, one man at times or one woman, big mouth man, big 
mouth woman, somebody that's not committed to endeavoring 
to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace as Paul 
commands us in Ephesians 4.1. Those who are not committed to 
that, those who are more inclined to sow discord among the brethren, 
can be an abnor in the church, can be an abnor among the covenant 
people, sowing discord, producing division, and causing that sort 
of strife. Again, it's not civil war in 
the sense that we're plunging swords into each other's bellies, 
but a church that is ripped apart. A church where the unity has 
been destroyed looks very much like a civil war. It's just not 
bloody physically, rather it's bloody spiritually. Calvin says, 
therefore, as far as we can, let us prevent all contentions. For where the fire is lit, it 
is difficult to put out. I've been blessed reading Calvin's 
sermons thus far on 2 Samuel. I mean, they're so rich and hearty 
and full of practical application. He says, so as much as we can, 
let us resist starting anything. And when the devil tries to incite 
us to contentions and debates, let us be prepared ahead of time 
not to give him an opening, for when he gets in, It is very hard 
to run him out. Turn over to Romans 12. The Apostle 
Paul doesn't want civil war in churches. The Apostle Paul wants 
peace and unity in churches. Notice in Romans 12, verse 9, 
let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to 
what is good, be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly 
love. In honor, giving preference to one another, not lagging in 
diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in 
hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, 
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. You see, that is the description 
of and the prescription for a church that is without civil war. A church that engages in love 
that is without hypocrisy. A church that engages in kind 
affection given to one another in brotherly love. A church that 
is engaged in giving preference to one another, not demanding 
preference for ourselves, You see, this is the recipe to avoid 
the sort of discord and division that the Lord God Himself abominates 
that we see amply demonstrated by an Abner in Israel at the 
time of David. Notice in Ephesians 4. Ephesians 
4, 29 to 32. Let no corrupt word proceed out 
of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that 
it may impart grace to the hearers. Now, the typical way that we 
expound this passage, let no corrupt word proceed out of your 
mouth, can't say bad words, don't say filthy words, can't say the 
F word. Well, certainly Paul doesn't 
want us to say the F word, but the primary emphasis of the accent 
falls on those things which tear people down. So it can be a perfectly 
legitimate, clean word, but if it's employed to tear down a 
brother or a sister, that's what Paul has in the crosshairs. Again, 
don't cuss. Don't leave here tonight saying, 
Butler said, Paul said it was OK to say bad words. It's not 
what I'm saying. I'm saying that Paul's focus 
is upon the language that we use that is used or employed 
to destroy people. to tear them down, to take them 
down, to hurt them, to bring destruction. Let no corrupt word 
proceed out of your mouth. You know how I know that's the 
case? Because look at what he says positively. But what is 
good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the 
hearers? In other words, with your words, 
don't destroy men or tear them down, but with your words, bring 
them up. build them up, encourage them 
and help them and steady them and stabilize them. Notice, do 
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for 
the day of redemption. Again, the typical approach to 
verse 30 is don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal, don't 
lie because by so doing you'll grieve the Spirit. You certainly 
do grieve the Spirit by those particular sins, but that's not 
what this context is. The grieving of the Holy Spirit, 
as Paul is applying it here in Ephesians 4, has to do with the 
way that persons in the Church treat other persons in the Church. In other words, don't be abnors 
in the Church. Don't tear down. Don't promote 
civil war. Don't be content with throwing 
a hand grenade in the midst of the body of Christ and then walking 
away and saying, how long shall the sword devour? Because we're 
not going to listen to that madness or that nonsense. Look at what 
Paul says in verse 31. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, 
clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, 
forgiving one another, even as God and Christ forgave you." 
Brethren, there are actually persons that name the name of 
Christ that don't forgive other persons that name the name of 
Christ. If you have learned anything at the cross, you ought to learn 
to forgive others. That's what Paul demands. You know what happens in the 
church? Somebody says something that is off color, somebody says 
something that offends us, and instead of manning up and going 
to them via Matthew 18 and telling them their sins and giving them 
the opportunity to repent, no, we just clam up and avoid them 
like the plague. We'd rather be in Abner. We'd 
rather sow discord. We'd rather have civil war than 
say, you know what? You sinned against me. When that 
person says, please forgive me, we forgive them and we move on. 
You see, that's the biblical pattern. It's not to hold grudges. It's not to avoid each other. 
It's not to remove someone from your email address book. It's 
not to dislike somebody on Facebook. It is to forgive. as God in Christ 
forgave you. If you ever get to the point 
where you say, I can't forgive you, you need to question, really, 
where you're at in terms of the bleeding Messiah. Because you 
are to forgive even as God in Christ forgave you. You see, 
these are Paul's tips or helps on how not to be an Abner. We 
dare to be a David. We dare not to be an Abner. And 
Paul helps us on how to not be one. And, of course, that passage 
in Philippians 2, verses 1 to 5. Therefore, if there is any 
consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship 
of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by 
being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, 
of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish 
ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others 
better than himself. Let each of you look out not 
only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." 
In other words, you cannot be in this solely for yourself. 
You are in this for the glory of God and for the good of others. You know, sometimes people say, 
why should I go to church? You know, why attend church? 
I'm just using one example. Do you know what encouragement 
you bring to your elders when you show up at church? You know 
how encouraging it is to other brothers and sisters to see you 
at church? We don't have to wonder if you're 
out having, you know, whatever, doing bad, you know. You're not 
out smoking crack if we can see you in the church, right? It's 
a good thing. I mean, the smallest thing can 
be a means of encouragement to someone somewhere out there. Believe it or not, it encourages 
my heart to see the people of God in the church of God. You 
say, well, brother, you've sure lowered the bar. No! Church attendance 
is not the only thing about Christianity, but it's certainly a part of 
it. You hear that at times. Well, 
you know, just because I, you know, I'm a Christian or church 
attendance doesn't make a Christian. Yeah, but a Christian attends 
church, don't they? What the Bible says, do not forsake 
the assembling of yourselves together, as is the manner of 
some. They went out from us, but they 
were not of us, for if they were of us, they would not have gone 
out from us. You see, brethren, that's an 
encouragement. That's the way we esteem others. 
I'm not saying, you better be at church so you can make me 
happy. That's not the point. I'm saying that small, insignificant, 
or seemingly insignificant things can be a means of encouragement 
to other persons. That's what Paul is highlighting. 
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but 
also for the interests of others. How will this decision adversely 
affect other people? Why aren't we in the habit of 
asking that question? Why is it that we don't think 
about the consequences of our actions? Why doesn't a man who 
goes out and commits adultery not stop and think, how will 
this affect my wife? How will this affect my kids? 
How will this affect my church? This has to be what Paul is talking 
about. Let each of you look out not 
only for his own interests. Why is it that this is a radical 
form of Christianity? This is basic 101 level Christian 
faith. If you are only about your interests, 
you need to repent. You need to forsake your sin. 
You need to cleave to the Messiah. and plead his precious blood, 
because those who are blood-bought actually care about other people. I know that seems revolutionary, 
but that's what Paul indicates. Ephesians 4, one more text on 
how we dare not to be an abner. We could go to many, many places 
in the scripture to be sure, but just a few select passages 
on how we can avoid this whole idea of being an Abner. Notice 
in Ephesians 4 verse 1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech 
you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Here's 
the ingredients of a worthy walk before the Lord. You know, Rebecca 
made that banana cake and she made that icing on that. There were ingredients that she 
needed to take out of the refrigerator and put together in a bowl and 
mix it up so that that cake would be as delicious as it is, right? A worthy walk does not just happen. A worthy walk is made up of ingredients. And Paul gives us those ingredients. You want to know how to walk 
worthy before the Lord? Paul's going to tell you. Isn't 
that nice? Paul doesn't say, go walk worthy 
without telling you what it looks like. He says, I beseech you 
to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called with 
all lowliness, and gentleness with long-suffering, bearing 
with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit 
in the bond of peace. You see, it must be a conscious 
decision to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the 
bond of peace. The unity and the peace that 
a church enjoys in whatever season she finds herself is a unity 
and a peace that has been prayed for, that has been sought after, 
that has been jealously, not in a sinful way I trust, Guarded. That is important stuff. Do you 
know what it's like to try and preach the Bible when you are 
looking at people that you suspect are not in harmony with one another 
or are not in unity with one another? That is a difficult 
thing. When you know you've got vying 
factions or problems or issues in the church, it's hard to go 
up and say, brethren, let's all just love each other. Because 
you know or you suspect that things are not right in Zion. 
And conversely, you know what it's like to come into the church 
and preach in times and seasons where there is unity, where there 
is peace, where you have a pretty good suspicion that people actually 
do love each other? It's liberating. It's a blessed 
thing. And this is why Paul hammers 
this over and over again in his letters. Because if in the church 
of Christ, We have this division and this disunity. We're certainly 
not fit ambassadors to go out into this world and preach the 
peace of Christ. If we can't maintain it within 
our own four walls, we're certainly not going to propagate it to 
a watching world. If the world says, look, you 
Christians can't stand each other and you fight with each other 
all the time, They're right, you know, if that's the case. 
So Paul specifies that this is the way that we dare not to be 
an Abner, that we do not sow discord among brethren, that 
we preserve the peace and unity within the context of the Church, 
and that we don't end up with a long war. Imagine that in Israel, your 
brethren, you're engaged in a long war with them. Those are dark, 
difficult days in Israel's history. So Abner's a wonderful example 
of how not to live. So reflect upon that. Calvin 
says concerning Abner, specifically his hypocrisy when he returns 
to Ish-bosheth, I mean, he gets what he wants in terms of this 
truce. Instead of going to David and saying, you know, I was wrong. 
I shouldn't have done that. I want to submit. I want Ish-bosheth 
to submit. I want the whole, you know, tribes 
of Israel to submit. No, he goes back to Ish-bosheth. 
Here's Calvin. He says, now this shows us that 
Abner admitted that he was beaten. For when he retreated with a 
much larger army than Joab, slinking away like a dog with his tail 
between his legs, I just love this brother. That, I say, is 
a confession which shows how much he realized that he was 
defeated. But even so, he still did not 
return to or subject himself to David. He always used retreat 
as the means to go forward even more. Hence, we see that hypocrites, 
even when they are humiliated, come back with pride, stubbornly 
malicious. Thus, they will not change under 
any conditions in spite of any good appearance they may put 
on, as long as this ranker is eating them up. Excellent, excellent 
observation. And then one other, two other 
quick observations. We noticed last week the opposition 
against the kingdom and the trials within the kingdom. Here we see 
warfare associated with the kingdom. Isn't that what we see? Full-on 
warfare. And warfare may be corporate. 
It may be the entire church that is subject to the brutality of 
men. It could be a selected few, at 
least at the field of sharp swords. You had 12 sort of on each side. 
So within the kingdom, you have these select few that are suffering 
persecution or undergoing warfare. Think Christians under ISIS. 
Think believers under oppressive regimes. Think those who are 
being opposed. They are kingdom citizens that 
are suffering because of the opposing enemy. And as well, 
there are seasons and instances where it is just one. Well, not 
just one, but one within the kingdom is suffering this opposition. Think Job. I mean, the devil 
oppressed Job and the devil specifically attacked Job. The instructions 
for this warfare are specified in the New Covenant application 
in Ephesians 6, 10 to 20. Put on the whole armor of God. 
You are in the kingdom, you must expect opposition to the kingdom, 
you must expect trials in the kingdom, and you must expect 
warfare in the kingdom or against the kingdom. Hopefully that warfare 
is not in it because we're Abner's, but there always will be that 
opposition, not always, there will be until the end when Christ 
ultimately subdues all of his enemies under his feet. But there 
will be opposition to the kingdom. There will be those who want 
to try and destroy the people of God. That is simply a fact 
of life. You don't like that too bad. 
If you think that's too hard, tough. You need to man up, soldier 
up, go to Ephesians 6, 10 to 20, read your marching orders, 
and then faithfully serve our master. And then in the final 
place, we see the triumph of the kingdom. 2 Samuel 3, 1. Now there was a long war between 
the house of Saul and the house of David, but David grew stronger 
and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. John Gill says, this is reckoned 
an emblem of the kingdoms of Christ and Antichrist, the one 
increasing more and more as it has and will do, and the other 
decreasing and before long will be consumed. The triumph of the 
kingdom, there is opposition, there are trials, there is warfare, 
but David grew stronger and stronger. David typifies, obviously, his 
greater son. who has all power and authority. He doesn't grow stronger and 
stronger at this point, because all authority in heaven and on 
earth has been given to him. So we serve a great king. We 
serve in a great kingdom. And therefore, we ought to have 
a hope-filled optimism about our Savior's mission in this 
world. That's what we ought to be about. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word and we thank you for these lessons 
that we can pull out of a chapter like this. And I pray that we 
would take to heart the admonitions of Paul, that we would not be 
those who sow discord, that we would endeavor to keep the unity 
of the spirit and the bond of peace, that we would consider 
consequences for the things that we do, that we would seek by 
your grace to be a faithful people serving a gracious and a glorious 
God. And we thank you that the house 
of David grew stronger and stronger. We thank you that the Lord Christ 
Most High has all authority and all power. And we praise you 
that we are our inhabitants of this blessed kingdom. We pray 
it would prevail. We pray it would conquer. We 
pray that more and more people would come to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray in his most blessed 
name. Amen.