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So beginning in chapter 3 at 
verse 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. Sons were born to 
David and Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam, 
the Jezreelitess. His second, Kiliab, by Abigail, 
the widow of Nabal, the Carmelite. The third, Absalom, the son of 
Meacah. the daughter of Telmai, king 
of Gesher. The fourth, Adonijah, the son 
of Hagith. The fifth, Shethetiah, the son 
of Abidal. And the sixth, Ethreum, by David's 
wife, Agla. These were born to David and 
Hebron. Now it was so, while there was war between the house 
of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening 
his hold on the house of Saul. And Saul had a concubine whose 
name was Rizpah, the daughter of Ayah. So Ish-bosheth said 
to Abner, why have you gone into my father's concubine? Then Abner 
became very angry at the words of Ish-bosheth and said, am I 
a dog's head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to 
the house of Saul, your father, to his brothers and to his friends 
and have not delivered you into the hand of David. And you charge 
me today with a fault concerning this woman? May God do so to 
Abner and more also if I do not do for David as the Lord has 
sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul 
and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah from 
Dan to Beersheba." And he could not answer Abner another word 
because he feared him. Then Abner sent messengers on 
his behalf to David, saying, Whose is the land? Saying also, 
Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with 
you to bring all Israel to you. And David said, Good, I will 
make a covenant with you, but one thing I require of you. You 
shall not see my face unless you first bring Michael, Saul's 
daughter, when you come to see my face. So David sent messengers 
to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Give me my wife, Michael, whom 
I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. And Ish-bosheth sent and took 
her from her husband, from Paltiel, the son of Laish. Then her husband 
went along with her to Baharim, weeping behind her. So Abner 
said to him, Go, return. And he returned. Now Abner had 
communicated with the elders of Israel saying, in time past 
you were seeking for David to be king over you. Now then do 
it. For the Lord has spoken of David 
saying, by the hand of my servant David, I will save my people 
Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies. 
And Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin. Then Abner also 
went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron, all that 
seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin. So Abner 
and 20 men with him came to David at Hebron, and David made a feast 
for Abner and the men who were with him. Then Abner said to 
David, I will arise and go and gather all Israel to my Lord, 
the king, that they may make a covenant with you and that 
you may reign over all that your heart desires. So David sent 
Abner away and he went in peace. At that moment, the servants 
of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. 
But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him 
away, and he had gone in peace. When Joab and all the troops 
that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, Abner, 
the son of Ner, came to the king, and he sent him away, and he 
has gone in peace. Then Joab came to the king and 
said, What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why 
is it that you sent him away and he has already gone? Surely 
you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to 
know you're going out and you're coming in, and to know all that 
you are doing. And when Joab had gone from David's 
presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him 
back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. Now 
when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate 
to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the 
stomach so that he died for the blood of Asahel, his brother. 
Afterward, when David heard it, he said, my kingdom and I are 
guiltless before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner, the son 
of Ner. Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father's 
house. And let there never fail to be 
in the house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, 
who leans on a staff or falls by the sword or who lacks bread. So Joab and Abishai, his brother, 
killed Abner because he had killed their brother, Asahel, at Gibeon 
in the battle. Then David said to Joab and to 
all the people who were with him, tear your clothes, gird 
yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner. And King David 
followed the coffin. So they buried Abner in Hebron, 
and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, 
and all the people wept. And the king sang a lament over 
Abner and said, should Abner die as a fool dies, your hands 
were not bound nor your feet put into fetters. As a man falls 
before wicked men, so you fell. Then all the people wept over 
him again. And when all the people came 
to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David 
took an oath saying, God do so to me and more also. If I taste 
bread or anything else till the sun goes down. Now all the people 
took note of it, and it pleased them, since whatever the king 
did pleased all the people. For all the people and all Israel 
understood that day that it had not been the king's intent to 
kill Abner the son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, 
do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this 
day in Israel? And I am weak today, though anointed 
king. And these men, the sons of Zariah, 
are too harsh for me. The Lord shall repay the evildoer 
according to his wickedness. Amen. Well, last week we considered 
the reminder concerning the civil war in chapter 3 at verse 1. There was a long war between 
the house of Saul and the house of David. Remember, this was 
initiated by Abner. Abner essentially was the power 
in the northern kingdom. Ish-bosheth was basically a puppet 
king. Abner was his commander, but 
basically Abner called the shots, and Abner and 12 men went to 
the field of the sharp swords and there battled with 12 men 
of Judah. The men of Judah obviously were 
victorious, gave pursuit, and the men of Judah was victorious 
over many more than in the northern tribes. So it tells us in verse 
1, this long war continues. David grows stronger and stronger. 
The house of Saul grows weaker and weaker. So that's a continual 
theme that we see from 1 Samuel 16 on, the rise of David and 
the decline of Saul. And then in verses 2 to 5, we 
saw the increase in David's house. It mentions the various sons 
born to him by various wives. This was a mark of significance 
among the kings in those days. The more wives, the more sons, 
the more blessings, or so it was believed. But of course, 
Deuteronomy 17 prohibits the king from multiplying wives. 
from multiplying wealth or multiplying weapons. That doesn't mean he 
can't have a wife and have some degree of wealth and have some 
weaponry, but he's not to put his trust in those particulars. 
And if he does multiply wives, he runs the risk of having his 
heart led astray, as does happen in the case of David's son Solomon. As well, one of the reasons why 
these kings did such things were to increase political alliances. It wasn't primarily to gratify 
sexual loss, though that was probably in view, it was to maintain 
political alliances. And then we saw the defection 
of Abner, the specific occasion Abner went into Saul's concubine 
and that upset Ish-bosheth. Now remember, when Abner does 
this, it's essentially saying that he has the rights and the 
entitlement to what was the king's. Later on, Absalom will lie with 
David's concubines, and it will sort of set forth the same sort 
of lesson. And so when Ish-bosheth challenges 
Abner, Abner gets angry at him, and then Abner essentially says, 
I'm going to take my marbles and go home. I don't want to 
play with you anymore, Ish-bosheth. He says, I'm going to go and 
I'm going to meet with David and I'm going to take the northern 
tribes and power will be consolidated under David at this particular 
time. Of course, this was a good idea for David because David 
needed that support from the north. So David enters into this 
agreement. I do believe it was indeed a 
covenant. I think the text indicates that 
clearly. So the end of verse 22 or end 
of verse 21, we have Abner. and David meeting together, ratifying 
this agreement, and then going their separate ways. As Robert 
Vanoy says, upon the successful conclusion of the negotiations 
between David and Abner, things appeared to be moving toward 
an outcome with significant benefits for both individuals. David profits 
because of consolidation, the United Kingdom. Abner's going 
to profit because David certainly is going to exalt Abner in this 
new united monarchy and Abner is going to have a place of prestige. 
That's what Vannoy goes on to say. David would finally become 
king over all Israel and Abner would have positioned himself 
to play an important role in David's court. He then says, 
but neither David nor Abner anticipates Joab's reaction to the agreement 
they had made. and that's what we find here 
in verses 22 to 39. It breaks down into two sections, 
the anger of Joab in verses 22 to 27, and then the response 
by David in verses 28 to 39. Now if we saw in Abner a degree 
of ambition and self-seeking, we certainly see that in Joab 
as well. Now the text indicates that he 
kills Abner because of what had happened to Asahel. But when 
we look at the text a little bit more closely and then we 
look at some of the surrounding context, we see that there are 
other motives involved probably for Joab than just to avenge 
the death of his brother Asael. So let's look first at the anger 
of Joab. In verses 22 and 23, he returns. At that moment, the servants 
of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. 
Remember, when David and his men lived in Ziklag in Philistia, 
that is precisely what they would do. They would go out on these 
raids and they would defeat the peoples and they bring back the 
spoils. Well, Joab is out doing such and such while Abner and 
David are having their historical meeting to transfer the power 
of the northern tribes into the hand of David. And so when Abner, 
or then it says that Abner was not with David in Hebron for 
he had sent him away and he had gone in peace. Don't miss this. At the end of verse 21 we see 
that David sent Abner away and he went in peace. We see that 
in verse 22. He had gone in peace. And then 
this is what they instruct Joab concerning in verse 23. He has 
gone in peace. The idea is also in security. Because this agreement was reached, 
David essentially sent him off in peace and in security. In 
other words, David sent him off with his blessing. They had ratified 
this agreement. All things were in place. They 
were going to move forward on this particular plan. As far 
as Abner was concerned, everything was good. As far as David was 
concerned, everything was good. But as Vannoy points out, neither 
of them had taken into consideration what Joab would think concerning 
this particular arrangement. So I said last week, there is 
the elements of the ratification of a covenant. They had a meal 
together. This is something that comes up. in the midst of covenant 
making. There are meals that are had. 
As well, the threefold emphasis that Abner went in peace, the 
fivefold curse pronounced by David upon Joab in verse 29. We'll see that a little later 
as we move on. But probably that was the curse 
that would have fallen upon David had David reneged on or broken 
the covenant with Abner. So it was Joab that broke the 
covenant with Abner by putting that knife into his belly. So David pronounces that five-fold 
curse upon Joab in Cain. As well, the extent to which 
David went in order to distance himself from Abner's assassination. David wanted to make sure that 
all Israel knew that it was not he that was complicit in the 
death of Abner. So various elements suggest that 
there was a covenant in place between David and Abner. Joab 
then takes this particular action. So men tell Joab what had happened 
and now notice that Joab confronts David in verses 24 and 25. which 
Joab's a bit of a mixed, or a bit of a loose cannon. There are 
times when he gives support to David, he's a good military commander, 
he's a battle proven man to be sure, but he's not always the 
most faithful, and this is certainly not something that a subordinate 
should do to the king. Verse 24, Joab came to the king 
and said, what have you done? What are you doing? I mean, could 
you imagine that? Your subordinate comes to you, 
you make a decision at work, or you make a decision in your 
kingdom, or your child comes to you, you know, you've changed 
dinner time from 5 to 5.30, and your five-year-old comes and 
says, what have you done? Don't you know that you're not 
supposed to operate like this? This is sort of the posture that 
Joab presents here. And then he says, look, Abner 
came to you. Why is it that you sent him away 
and he is already gone? The implication being in peace 
and in security. If Abner came to you, David, 
you should have slit his throat. Remember, it was Abner that propped 
up Ish-bosheth. It was Abner that got the support 
of those northern tribes in the first place. It was Abner who 
went and confronted your men. there in chapter 2 of 2 Samuel. This is his attitude in this 
particular instance. Now notice in verse 25, surely 
you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you to 
know you're going out and you're coming in and to know all that 
you are doing. So he introduces this suspicion 
or tries to introduce this suspicion into David's mind. David, don't 
you know Abner really doesn't want peace. Abner really doesn't 
want a covenant. Abner only wants to know what 
it is that you're doing so that he can indeed be your demise. So Joab is certainly making his 
case before the king. Now what is the issue here? Again, 
notice in verse 27. It says, so that he died for 
the blood of Asahel, his brother. Notice as well in verse 30, it's 
not just Joab that participates in this, but their other brother 
Abishai. So Joab and Abishai, his brother, 
killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon 
in the battle. So that is the specified reason 
in the text. But as I said, when you look 
outside this particular context, you'll note that there is an 
ambition that drives Joab as well. There is a desire that 
Joab has to be the sort of head honcho or the big kahuna or the 
number one cheese. If Abner is successful in this 
covenant with David, then David is going to recognize Abner and 
Abner is going to rise. What does that mean for Joab? 
If Abner rises, then Joab potentially decreases or declines. You see the rub. Joab doesn't 
want this to happen. Certainly he wants to avenge 
Asahel. That is not in question. But could it be that there's 
something else driving him? Vengeance over Asahel, but as 
well, protection of his position as David's number one man. Calvin 
said that he, Joab, was led by envy in that he feared that Abner 
would reach a higher degree of honor and that he would no longer 
be David's enemy. You see, he's threatened. He 
is jealous. He's like a child here, conniving 
and trying to set things in order so that his position is protected. John Gill says, this Joab said 
to David, to this, I'm sorry, this Joab said to set David against 
him, feeling if he should be received into favor, he would 
be a rival of his. And besides, his breast was full 
of revenge against him for the death of his brother. So the 
acknowledgement of the vengeance element, but as well the acknowledgement 
of this reality that if Abner is promoted, then Joab is going 
to be shorted. Now, we might look at 2 Samuel 
3, and we might see the obvious implications that Abner was a 
wretch and that Joab was a wretch, but I agree with Calvin. We may 
agree with this, and we may not, and we may approve that what 
we see is a violation of God's law, but we're not too far away 
from this. Now, it may not be the case that 
we're jockeying for position in the northern tribes, or we're 
jockeying for position, you know, as the second in command under 
the king of Israel or Judah, but there is nevertheless this 
selfishness and ambition that does fill the hearts of God's 
people. In fact, in Galatians chapter 
5, when the apostle deals with the fruit of the Spirit, he also 
deals with the works of the flesh. And in Galatians 5, 19 to 21, 
those works of the flesh include selfish ambition and envy. Now, you all know what envy is. 
Envy is when we want something that someone else has, but even 
more importantly, we don't want them to have it. That's the difference 
between jealousy and envy. If I'm jealous of Isaac's car, 
I just want what he has. If I'm envious, I don't want 
him to have that car. And that's probably what's going 
on in the heart of Joab. He doesn't want Abner to be in 
this position. He wants that position for himself, 
but he also really doesn't want Abner to have it. So again, I 
would just ask that as we survey this particular section, as we 
see the sins of an Abner and we see the sins of a Joab, we 
need to guard our hearts against the sins that we entertain in 
our own breasts when it comes to selfishness and an ungodly 
ambition. There's nothing wrong with working 
hard or seeking to be the best at what you do for the glory 
of God, for the honor of God, but if it's simply so that you 
can look good to others or gratify this desire that you have for 
ambition or to indulge in the fact that everybody is applauding 
you and just heralding you as this wonderful specimen of a 
human being. If that's your motive, then you 
need to repent. That's godlessness, it's unrighteousness, 
and we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. 
We're not to make our prestige and our fame known. Our desire 
and our intention is to bring glory and honor to God. Kyle 
and Dalich add that Joab hoped in this way to prejudice David 
against Abner, to make him suspected as a traitor that he might then 
be able to gratify his own private revenge with perfect impunity. And you know, not to get too 
super off the track here, but there is a sense where what Joab 
is doing is basically slandering Abner. Now, again, this is something 
that we run the risk of. Maybe not, maybe you all are 
the exceptions to this particular rule, but for the most part, 
persons have a tendency to run down others while making themselves 
look good. Isn't this what Joab does? Surely 
you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to 
know you're going out and you're coming in and to know all that 
you're doing. Now that's wrong on a whole host of levels. In 
the first place, it is to call into question David's savvy and 
David's ability to deal with men. I mean, does the king of 
Israel need Joab to set him straight on how he is to read men, on 
how he is to validate and confirm when it comes to covenant making? 
This is really high-handed in terms of Joab's treason against 
the throne because David is a bright fellow. David didn't lead all 
these men in battle. David didn't get to this point 
by being a dummy. And so for Joab to suggest this 
calls into question David's intelligence, but it does in fact run down 
Abner's character. As far as we know, when David 
sent Abner away and he went in peace, Abner was legit. David 
thought he was legit. David didn't suspect that Abner 
was just trying to assess David so that he can, you know, bring 
him to an end. So what Joab is doing is he's 
putting someone else down to put himself up. And we need to 
guard our tongues when it comes to this very thing. We could 
go to other passages in the New Testament where we are told to 
set a guard over our mouths. You know, if anyone among you 
thinks he is religious but does not bridle his own tongue, This 
man's religion is useless. That's what James says. If anyone 
thinks he is religious, but he does not bridle, notice, his 
own tongue. You don't need to police everybody 
else's tongue. You need to police your own. 
I love the individuality of certain scriptures that we oftentimes 
universalize and generalize. Proverbs 4, for instance, says, 
keep your heart with all diligence. Whose heart do we typically keep? 
Everybody else's. Did you see what so-and-so did? 
Did you see where so-and-so went? Keep your heart. That's a 24-7 
job. Bridle your tongue. That's a 
24-7 job. You don't do that very well. 
You certainly can't look after the tongue and the heart of your 
neighbor. When you've mastered your own 
heart, you've mastered your own tongue, well then, maybe you 
can add some or lend some help to that poor slob next to you. 
But brethren, when we see a Joab running down an Abner, we ought 
to not just say, wow, what a terrible guy Joab is. We ought to be careful 
that we're not running down other people as well. You know, there's 
an old adage, it's better to shut up and look smart than to 
open your mouth and confirm that you're a dummy. Actually, that's 
from the Proverbs, the Jim Butler translation. Do you see what 
Joab is doing here? Now, notice the assassination 
of Abner in verses 26 to 27. When Joab had gone from David's 
presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him 
back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. This 
is stressed over and over and over and over again. David did 
not know it. David was not complicit. David 
did not participate in this. David is not a covenant breaker. 
David's not a perfect man, as we have seen and as we will see. But when David shakes hands with 
Abner, David doesn't then plunge a knife into Abner's belly. So 
the text is conspicuous and the text does want us to see that 
David was not a part of this particular arrangement. Now in 
verse 27, Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took 
him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there 
stabbed him in the stomach so that he died for the blood of 
Asahel his brother. Now we need to understand that 
this was wrong. This was not legit. Abner thought 
that everything was cool with Joab. Abner knew that he had 
killed Asahel, and Abner knew that Asahel was Joab's brother. 
But after having dealings with David and realizing that Joab 
was David's second in command, Abner probably thought that everything 
was cool. Joab wants to have a private 
meeting. I'll go meet with Joab. Joab's 
idea was a bit different. He plunges a knife into his belly. We need to appreciate that when 
Abner... Now, Abner's a wretch. Don't 
get me wrong. You were here last week. You 
were here the few weeks before when we took the time off for 
the holidays. I pointed out that Abner's a 
wretch. But we ought not to add sin to 
a person that doesn't deserve it. When Abner killed Asahel, 
it was a wartime situation, wasn't it? It was a wartime scenario. Asahel was pursuing Abner so 
that Asahel could kill Abner. In the second place, Abner tried 
to persuade Asahel not to follow him. Remember that in chapter 
2? Maybe give me a bit of a nod. Didn't Abner say, look, basically, 
don't mess with me. I'm a proven battle-tested warrior. Asahel, you will lose this exchange. Again, I think that's the essence 
of what he's communicating there. But Asahel continues to give 
pursuit. So then Abner takes the butt 
end of his sword and he drives it into Asahel. I don't think 
Abner wanted to do it. In fact, he feared this very 
thing because he was Joab's brother. And remember, probably back then, 
Abner's thinking, you know, if things don't work out with Ish-bosheth, 
I'm going to want to get in good with David. If I want to get 
in good with David, I'm going to have to be on good terms with 
Joab. I think probably this is, you 
know, the way Abner thinks and the way Abner was engaged in 
all this. That's not what's going on here. 
This is not wartime. This was a private meeting where 
Joab wanted to speak to Abner confidentially. and there he 
stabbed him in the stomach. John Gill says, because he had 
slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle, which was 
no just reason at all. Again, don't get me wrong, if 
somebody kills someone, they should die. I'm a firm believer 
in the death penalty, whoever sheds man's blood, by man his 
blood will be shed, for in the image of God he made man. That's 
Genesis 9.6. It's upheld through the entirety 
of the Bible. The New Testament, Romans 13 
specifically, teaches the death penalty. The magistrate doesn't 
carry a sword just because it's shiny and it looks nice. He carries 
that sword so that, if necessary, he can wield deadly force against 
criminal offenders. However, the death penalty is 
to be engaged in according to a legal process. Deuteronomy 
17, Deuteronomy 19, you don't just willy-nilly execute people. 
Wow, he stole, well stealing's not a capital offense. He killed, 
therefore we just hack his head off. No, there's due process. 
There's still an order that is to be followed. That's not what 
Joab is doing. Joab buries this knife in the 
belly of Abner. The text specifically says, because 
of the blood of Asahel, but there does seem to be more in line 
of what's going on with Joab. So back to Gil. which was no 
just reason at all. His blood was shed in war, this 
in peace, in cold blood and under the guise of friendship." Probably 
so. I mean, Abner's been sent by 
David in peace, in security. Certainly, Abner wouldn't be 
out of line to think Joab's on board. If King David is making 
these deals, hopefully he briefs his highest military commander, 
and when the military commander wants to see me, Abner doesn't 
have any reason not to go. Now, I wonder if he might have 
had some suspicion. I don't know if I'd be that willing 
to go meet in private with somebody whose brother I killed, but, 
you know, the text doesn't really get into that particular thing. 
And then what Gil goes on to say, that was shed with reluctance 
talking about Abner and Asahel and after fair warning and in 
defense of himself. But this willfully in Joab, unawares 
to Abner and in great deceit and hypocrisy. Now it's interesting, 
when David comes to die, he gives Solomon instruction to kill Joab. And this is what David says in 
1 Kings 2.5. Moreover, you know also what 
Joab the son of Zariah did to me, and what he did to the two 
commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasot 
the son of Jether, whom he killed, and he shed the blood of war 
in peacetime. You see, we have David's commentary 
that what Joab does in this instance is wicked. It wasn't righteous, 
it wasn't legitimate vengeance, it was an act of wickedness. 
And he shed the blood of war in peacetime and put the blood 
of war on his belt that was around his waist and on his sandals 
that were on his feet. Now that man Amasa in 2 Samuel 
19, you can turn there just to get a flavor of what Joab's about. Notice in 2 Samuel 19 at verse 
13, and say to Amasa, are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also 
if you are not commander of the army before me continually in 
place of Joab. Now does Joab respond to that 
saying, well I guess I've been demoted, I ought to just thank 
You know, my lucky star is that I still have a job. That's not 
what Joab does. Look at 2 Samuel 20, beginning 
in verse 4. And the king said to Amasa, assemble 
the men of Judah for me within three days and be present here 
yourself. So Amasa went to assemble the 
men of Judah. But he delayed longer than the 
set time which David had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, 
now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. 
Take your Lord's servants and pursue him, lest he find for 
himself fortified cities and escape us.' So Joab's men, with 
the Carathites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went 
out after him, and they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba 
the son of Bichri. When they were at the large stone 
which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was dressed 
in battle armor. On it was a belt with a sword 
fastened in its sheath at his hips. And as he was going forward, 
it fell out. Then Joab said to Amasa, Are 
you in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard 
with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not notice the 
sword that was in Joab's hand, and he struck him with it in 
the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground. and 
he did not strike him again, thus he died." So imagine you 
work at Walmart and your boss says, you know, I'm really impressed 
with the service of your work associate there. I'm going to 
give him a raise and I'm going to give him your position. Then 
you meet him back in sporting goods and you stab him. That 
is essentially what Joab is doing. He doesn't want any challenge 
to his authority when it comes to being David's right-hand man. 
That is precisely David's commentary in 1 Kings 2, verse 5. As I mentioned earlier, it's 
one thing for us to appreciate what Joab and Abner before him 
did in terms of these acts of wickedness. Listen to what Calvin 
says. He says, it is certain that ambition 
is the most mortal evil that can possibly happen to the church 
of God. When everyone wants to advance 
himself, and wants to be seen by others. Man, that's gold. You know, in a day and age where 
there's celebrity preachers and there's this sort of almost rock 
star status afforded to men of God, I think we need a good dose 
of this reality, that ambition. and a self-seekingness is really 
discouraged by God in the scriptures. We ought to take a cue from Abner 
and from Joab. We ought to be humble. We ought 
to be lowly. We ought to thank the Lord God 
for what it is that we have. Again, that doesn't mean don't 
do good work, be a terrible employee, never get promoted. That's not 
what I'm saying. Be a hard worker, be a diligent 
person, but you're not doing it just so you can get the accolades 
of men, not so your ambition is gratified or satisfied, but 
rather that God would be glorified. Now notice the response by David 
in verses 28 to 39. He, first of all, declares his 
innocence. Verse 28, afterward when David 
heard it, he said, my kingdom and I are guiltless before the 
Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. Now, David 
is a diplomat. David is politically savvy. David 
is at a unique juncture in redemptive history. He is the king over 
Judah. He is going to be the king over 
all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. That means both kingdoms, the 
north and the south. And so David has been presented 
with this opportunity to oversee or to rule, rather, over the 
northern tribes. He's got to tread delicately 
here. In some sense, you've got to 
jump into the passage and realize, why does David go to these lengths 
to make sure that no one knows that he is guilty of this crime? 
Because he's trying to bring together two kingdoms. He is 
trying to have a united monarchy under God Most High. This was 
indeed the Lord's plan, that David would be the ruler over 
Israel. David has the southern tribes, 
but because of Abner and Ish-bosheth, he doesn't have the northern 
tribes. Now he has the opportunity to have the northern tribes, 
but what do you think the northern tribes are going to think about 
this unification if they hear that Abner's been stuck in the 
belly? If they think for a moment that 
David is complicit in this, they're not going to submit to David. 
Does that make sense? The northern tribes aren't going 
to say, yes, we want David. David just brutalized Abner. 
Now, we know that Abner was a wretch of a human being. you know, probably 
his mother loved him, and the tribes of Israel loved him. They 
thought he was a good leader. He had done some good things 
for Israel. So if the northern tribes hear 
that Abner was murdered, and they know that it was by Joab, 
they're going to suspect, well, Joab is David's second in charge, 
so David must have put him up to this. So that's why David 
declares his innocence. That's why David calls for public 
mourning. That's why David engages in his 
own lament. That's why David addresses his 
own people. David takes great pains so that 
this whole plan to unify the kingdom doesn't crumble around 
him. Now, I don't think David's doing 
this because he's driven by selfish ambition. David really is a man 
after God's own heart. David really is typological of 
his greater son. the greater son of David looked 
upon multitudes and he felt compassion for them because they were like 
sheep having no shepherd. I think this is ultimately what's 
driving David. The consolidation of the kingdom 
isn't so that David will progress and be glorified in the land. 
It's so that God will be glorified and so that Israel will be protected. 
So I think David's motives are righteous and pure and so he 
has to go to these great lengths to distance himself from Joab's 
activity. Gil describes it this way in 
terms of the public declaration of his innocence in verse 28. 
He says that he was the rather led to make this public declaration 
because he knew that the death of Abner in this way would be 
resented by the friends of Saul's family and be an obstruction 
to the union of the two kingdoms which it was known Abner was 
endeavoring to bring about. And imagine that. Here Abner 
is. The northern tribes at that point 
probably didn't know all the ins and outs, as we know them, 
because we've been given divine commentary on just what a wretch 
Abner was. But the northern tribes see Abner 
as this champion of unification. I mean, imagine this today. He 
would be the hero of heroes. Abner, he's just trying to bring 
people together. I mean, he got a meeting with 
King David, and David agreed with him and sent Abner away 
in peace and safety. And now Abner's got a knife in 
the belly? I mean, this would really upset 
the apple cart. That's why David does what David 
does. Notice, he goes from this declaration 
of his innocence to pronounce this curse upon Joab in verses 
29 to 30. Let it rest on the head of Joab 
and on all his father's house. And let there never fail to be 
in the house of Joab one who has a discharge. Now I'm going 
to just give you a little bit information here not so everybody 
that's gross but so we can understand that David means business here. 
David takes this whole idea of covenant making with Abner very 
seriously. And if Joab is going to break 
that covenant via knife to the belly, then Joab is going to 
reap the curses associated with that covenant. This idea of discharge, 
probably relative to Leviticus 15. Robert Alter says, the single 
Hebrew word zav refers to a man suffering from a diseased discharge 
from the male organ. That's what David says concerning 
Joab and his father's house. John Gill says, one that hath 
an issue, a gonorrhea, which was reckoned infamous and very 
impure according to the Jewish law and rendered persons unfit 
for society. Again, David's not playing games. 
And this would certainly underscore the reality that he was not involved. I mean, if David's invoking this 
curse upon all those involved in this activity, certainly David 
would be foolish to say, you know, I want to have this discharge 
from areas that I'd rather not mention. That's just not the 
case. And then leprosy is what else 
he says, or is a leper. And then he says this idea of 
one who leans on a staff. And I think I mentioned last 
week, the phrase can refer to a woman's 
spindle. It might refer to Joab and all 
those in his household do the work of women, which would be 
quite an insult. I mean, to go from a military 
commander to working with spindles as a woman, That would be quite 
a decline in one's stature, in one's rank. You see, David is 
basically saying, may bad things come upon Joab as a result of 
what had happened here. Or he may fall by the sword. 
He isn't working with spindles. He's in battle. Hopefully, he 
invokes the curse that he'll fall by the sword. Or who lacks 
bread. Let him be poor. You know, if 
you ever read Psalm 109, it's an imprecatory psalm of David, 
and he prays specifically that his enemies would be, you know, 
would be impoverished. They'd have to go from place 
to place begging for their bread. The psalter that we have here, 
we've never sang Psalm 109, we should sing it, but it says, 
may strangers steal his hard-earned cash. When the boys were younger, 
we would sing that psalm and we'd dedicate it to abortionists, 
you know, that would be our imprecation. And I know that little clause 
particularly puzzled Josh. Strangers steal their hard-earned 
cash. He said, that doesn't sound like 
the Bible. Well, it's a paraphrase of what the psalm says, but that's 
the essence of it. May strangers steal their hard-earned 
cash. May him be impoverished. You see, David means business 
here. It was wrong for Joab to do what Joab had done. Verses 
31 and 32, public mourning. David said to Joab and to all 
the people who were with him, tear your clothes, gird yourselves 
with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner. And King David followed 
the coffin. So they buried Abner in Hebron. 
The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner. 
And all the people wept, and the king sang a lament over Abner 
and said, should Abner die as a fool, dies. Your hands were 
not bound, nor your feet put into fetters, as a man falls 
before wicked men, so you fell. The idea being, you didn't die 
in battle. You didn't die in combat. You 
weren't taken as a prisoner of war and then ultimately slain. No, it wasn't that at all. You 
died as a fool died. You died before a wicked man. 
You died before a man who basically deceived you and tricked you 
and put a knife into your belly. And then notice what we have 
in terms of this oath taken by David. And then it is seen by 
all the people, according to verse 37, all the people and 
all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's 
intent to kill Abner, the son of Ner. So David was successful, 
and I don't think he was doing it to be successful. He was doing 
it, yes, to be diplomatic. Yes, he was doing it as a politically 
savvy move, but he was doing it because it was true. He wasn't 
involved. It was not his part in this particular 
situation. As the reigning king, he needs 
to make sure that his subjects see that he's not out putting 
knives into people's bellies in private sort of meetings here. 
So the people understand that. And then David says in verse 
38, says to his servants, do you not know that a prince and 
a great man has fallen this day in Israel? I think we can also 
conclude David's a very forgiving man, isn't he? I mean, Abner 
was against David, and then Abner changed, and David just sees 
him as a prince and a great man. David has some qualities I lack. 
Verse 39, and I am weak today, though anointed king, and these 
men, the sons of Zariah, are too harsh for me. It's a difficult 
statement to sort of understand. I mean, when David says, and 
I am weak today, I don't think it means that, you know, he's 
afraid of Joab, but it's probably because he's pretty new at this. 
It's probably because it's still a fresh situation, the consolidation 
of the kingdom. He doesn't quite have the power 
and the authority yet in the eyes of all people that he will 
have and that he will be able to exercise. But it is intriguing 
that he spares Joab here. That's a question I have when 
I leave this chapter. Why didn't he order the execution 
of Joab? I mean, yes, he says, I am weak 
today. Though anointed king, these men, 
the sons of Zariah, are too harsh for me. I don't think David would 
be afraid of Joab. I mean, David walked out against 
Goliath and took his hat off. David doesn't strike me as the 
kind of guy that would back down in fear over anybody that crossed 
him. It would be others that would 
back down from David. So that's at least a question 
I have. Why did he spare Joab? I don't 
know. I can read what Gil has on this 
section. He does understand it, I think, 
in a good way. He says, and I am this day weak, 
though anointed king. He says, which seems to be given 
as a reason or for an excuse why he did not inflict just punishment 
upon the murderer according to the law of God because he was 
weak, not in body or mind, but with respect to the kingdom. 
That was like a tender branch or in its infant state. and great 
care and caution were to be used that it was not overturned. He 
was a king by unction, not by birth. The son of the late king 
was yet up against him and was possessed of the far greater 
part of the kingdom. He was indeed anointed by Samuel 
to be king over all Israel, but as yet he was not put into the 
possession of the kingdom he was anointed to. He was anointed 
and made king over Judah and invested with the office of king 
there and settled in it, and yet his power was not very great 
there." So he's working towards this. Ish-bosheth is going to 
die in chapter 4, and then David will assume officially the entirety 
of the kingdom, but he still doesn't execute Joab. So anybody's 
guess on that is as good as mine. I mean, Joab did commit an act 
of cold-blooded murder. But David is content by saying 
at the end of verse 39, "...the Lord shall repay the evildoer 
according to his wickedness. And it's of course in First Kings 
2, David gives the order to Solomon to destroy Joab which is carried 
out I think by Benaiah. I think it was Benaiah. Benaiah was a swordsman that 
took care of business for Solomon. So in this passage, we certainly 
see the diplomacy of David, the covenant with Abner for the consolidation 
of power, the response to Joab's assassination of Abner. He did 
a very excellent thing. Because he was innocent of it, 
he declares that innocence. He pronounces this curse upon 
Joab and his family. He engages in a public mourning. He laments over Abner. So we 
see that David handled all of this well. And then also we see 
the envy and ambition of Joab. We saw it in Abner. We see it 
here in Joab. He feared he would be excluded 
by Abner's rise in power. I really believe that's what's 
going on. Yes, he felt bad and wanted to bring vengeance upon 
Abner for the death of Asahel, but the way that he went about 
it was not righteous. And so we see this ambition and 
this envy and even assassination in order to protect his position. You see, that's the thing about 
sin. It's usually guarded or it's usually when we sin, we 
typically have to do other sins to protect that sin. And if we 
are engaged in ambition and selfishness, and if we only want what we want, 
and we're only interested in ourselves, then we're going to 
engage in a lot of sin in order to advance our cause, and in 
order to protect our particular kingdom, and in order to make 
sure no one ever brings us down. And as I mentioned, we ought 
to learn from this the envy and the ambition that we face. the envy and ambition that we 
face. Calvin says, there will not be 
anyone among us who does not detest Joab's action. It is a 
detestable act. Everyone will so judge it. But 
nevertheless, there will not be anyone who does not follow 
him unless God takes care of the matter and governs us by 
his Holy Spirit. It's very important. We'll all 
say, oh, that's terrible. Joab, you terrible crumb of a 
man. But we got the same sort of ambition. Again, I hope we're not plunging 
knives into people's bellies because they bake better cakes 
than we do, or they're better sellers at Walmart. But we have 
our ambition, and we have our selfishness, and we need to be 
careful. We need to understand there will not be anyone who 
does not follow him unless God takes care of the matter and 
governs us by His Holy Spirit. And then finally, we ought to 
appreciate, as New Covenant believers, when the Lord Jesus Christ promises 
in Matthew 16, I will build my church and the gates of Hades 
shall not prevail against it, sometimes that's a difficult 
promise for us to believe, isn't it? I mean, when we see the sorts 
of things that constantly plague the church, we see the encroachments 
of a God-hating state. We see in many countries the 
absolute destruction of Christians and churches. We see Christians 
dispossessed from their homes, or businesses, or their churches 
destroyed, or their throats cut, or whatever it is, or they're 
in prison. We see that, and it's very difficult for us to sort 
of conceptualize that, yeah, Jesus is building his church. 
Or then you come to the West, and you see, you know, what goes 
under the name of church, but it really, there's no gospel. 
It's moralism. It's therapy. It's that sort 
of sappy thing that you could get on, you know, in chicken 
soup for the whatever soul. I mean, it's that kind of stuff 
that's being, you know, proclaimed in pulpits, and we wonder how 
in the world is Jesus building his church? Well, I think that's 
why it's good for us to read the Old Testament, because God 
is building his kingdom here, isn't he? I mean, through all 
of the mayhem, through all of the ambition, through all of 
the selfishness, through an assassination, what happens in 2 Samuel 5? God 
builds his kingdom on earth. Now, I realize the kingdom of 
God is comprehensive, but it is visibly represented in the 
nation of Israel in the Old Testament. I mentioned this on Sunday at 
the end of, I think it's in First Chronicles or wherever in Chronicles 
when Solomon takes the throne, it says he sat on the throne 
of Yahweh. That's huge. Solomon sat on the throne of 
Yahweh. What's that mean? The kingdom 
of God is localized, it is present on earth, visibly represented 
in the nation of Israel. So, not even in spite of all 
these things, but through all these means, God built his kingdom, 
and he'll do that today. Now, that doesn't mean, okay, 
we can go out and murder, we can go out and assassinate, we 
can go out and sin, we can be full of ambition and selfishness 
and pride, and, you know, we can just trust that Jesus will 
build His church. No, I'm not saying that. But I'm saying be 
encouraged, because God, who is able to build His kingdom 
in Old Covenant Israel, is certainly able to build His kingdom in 
New Covenant Israel, which is the church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word and we thank you for the encouragement that 
we receive and the admonition that we receive as well. And 
I pray that you'd help us to guard our hearts in this area 
of selfishness and ambition. Help us also, God, to have hope 
and to be filled with encouragement, to realize that Christ is building 
his church and that Christ is going to be victorious and he 
will have dominion from sea to sea. We thank you for these things, 
God. We pray for the church at large. 
We pray for those who are suffering under godless regimes. We pray 
that you'd uphold your people in prison, uphold your people 
as they've been dispossessed from their houses, their businesses, 
even their countries. We just pray that you'd watch 
over your saints, cause them to persevere in the midst of 
these things, and may they contrary to hope, in hope, believe the 
promises of God. And we ask these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.