2 Samuel 2-5 "By Wisdom Kings Reign" 1. The Two Camps (2:1-32) After the death of Saul, the Philistines controlled the west bank of the Jordan River. David controlled the territory of Judah. Where was the son of Saul to rule? Abner, the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army (and Saul's cousin, by the way), took Ish-bosheth, Saul's son and brought over to Mahanaim, and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. Why doesn't he just say "all Israel"? Why does he specify three tribes and two cities? (Gilead, though, had come to be synonymous with Gad). Because the Philistines control the territory of the northwestern five tribes. Ish-bosheth ruled over "all Israel" in name only. His real kingdom consisted of the eastern bank of the Jordan (Gilead) and the contested hill-country of Ephraim and Benjamin. We must also note his name. Ish-bosheth means "Man of Shame." The genealogy in 1 Chronicles 8:33 (and 9:39) calls him Eshbaal (or "man of Baal"). For that matter, Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth ("he scatters shame"), is called "Merib-baal" (Baal is advocate) in 1 Chronicles. What is going on? Were Saul and Jonathan really Baal worshipers? The word baal means master, husband or lord, and is regularly used of humans. Women regularly referred to their husbands as "my baal" my lord. It was occasionally used of Yahweh as the husband of his people. But it was also the name of the chief of the Canaanite gods, and so (especially after the exile) most faithful Israelites avoided it. Probably the reason for the names Ishbosheth and Mephibosheth is that faithful Israelites did not want to pronounce the names of false gods, and so they replaced the "baal" with "bosheth" (meaning shame) because of the shame of being named after Baal. The real question is why Saul (and especially Jonathan) named their sons with the name of Baal! Possibly it could reflect syncretistic tendencies in the house of Saul. Saul's other sons were Jonathan (Yahweh gives), Abinadab (my father is generous) and Malchi-shua (my king saves). If Ish-bosheth is the fourth, then it might reflect the downward trend in Saul's attitude. But Ish-bosheth (or Eshbaal) is 40 years old. In other words, he was born around the time when his father became king back in the days of Saul's faithfulness! So it is more likely that "Eshbaal" was not intended as a reference to the Canaanite deity. Saul probably used Baal as the generic "lord" referring to Yahweh; but later generations could not help but see Eshbaal's name in the light of Saul's shameful descent into Canaanite practices (such as consulting a medium), and so in order to avoid pronouncing the name of Baal, called his son "Man of Shame" Ishbosheth. But Ishbosheth ruled in Mahanaim. Mahanaim is a Levitical town in the territory of Gad, about 20 miles southeast of Jabesh-Gilead. Mahanaim was a fitting place to set up Ishbosheth's throne, because Mahanaim means "the two camps." And Israel was presently divided into yes, you guessed it! Two camps! Mahanaim had originally been named by Jacob when he came back to the Promised Land. At Mahanaim the angels of God met him, and so he said, "This is God's camp" (the two camps being the angels and Jacob). Then, as soon as he hears that Esau is coming, he divides his own company into "two camps" in 32:7, and prays to God for mercy thanking God that though he left the land with only his staff, now "I have become two camps" (32:10). Now the house of Jacob is divided once again. But Abner is not content to see Israel divided. He is a Union man. (As we will see, Abner is more concerned for the unity of Israel than for the power of the house of his cousin, Saul) But at first Abner is convinced that before Ishbosheth can deal with the Philistines, they must first take care of this upstart, David. So he took his army from Mahanaim to Gibeon (Gibeon is in the territory of Benjamin, just north of Judah). And there he was met by Joab, David's nephew, with the army of David. Rather than have a great battle in which Israelites are killing Israelites, they decide to have a limited combat where 12 men from each side would fight. Unfortunately, they all succeeded in killing each other, so there was no clear outcome! So a general battle ensued in which the servants of David defeated the men of Israel. As Abner fled from the battle, Asahel, the youngest of the three nephews of David, pursued him relentlessly. Abner apparently did not want to kill Asahel. Again, Abner is a Union man. He knows that if Israel is to become one, he is going to have to work with Joab. And if he kills Asahel, his relationship with Joab will become complicated, shall we say! Abner is clearly the better warrior. But, unfortunately for himself, Asahel is the faster runner! So Abner killed him. But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner until evening, when Abner called to Joab, "Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?" In other words, Okay, I'll admit it, you beat us! And Joab replies, in effect, Thanks for acknowledging your defeat. Now we'll go home! So Abner returned across the Jordan to Mahanaim less 360 men, and Joab returned to Hebron, missing only 20 but including Asahel, his brother. The story ends neatly where it began with Abner and Ishbosheth in Mahanaim, and Joab and David in Hebron. But now the situation is different. Everyone now knows that David is stronger than Ishbosheth. Joab is stronger than Abner. 2. David's Covenant with Abner (3:1-21) We are told that there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. It is not clear that there was a whole lot of fighting. There was a state of war, and probably some fighting, but over the next two years the movement was entirely one-sided. The house of David grew stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker. And as evidence of this, verses 2-5 describe David's manly powers in terms of procreation: in seven years David had six sons by six different wives! In other words, David is a virile man able to provide for a large household! Verses 6-11 then describe Ishbosheth's impotence. Abner is the man in Mahanaim. Not only is he the one who made Ishbosheth king. He is the one who led Israel into battle against David. He is the one who sleeps with Saul's concubine. He is the one who then unmakes Ishbosheth and hands the kingdom over to David. Abner is the man! And when Ishbosheth the whiny little brat complains about Abner's behavior, Abner has had enough. He probably slept with Rizpah in order to provoke Ishbosheth knowing full well that sleeping with the king's concubine was a symbol of royal authority. (We'll see this again when Absalom rebels against David) But Abner replies to Ishbosheth, am I a dog's head of Judah (Check the caleb reference) Abner says, look, I've protected you from David. Without me, you're nothing. And now you complain because I'm doing it with one of Saul's concubines! I've had enough of this! God do so to me and more also if I do not accomplish for David what Yahweh has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba! And Ishbosheth the man of shame the wimpy little coward, simply stands there mute. And so Abner sent messages to David saying "make a covenant with me, and I'll give you all Israel!" When we looked at Jonathan's covenants with David we pointed out that it was Jonathan who initiated the covenant. 1 Sam 18:3 "then Jonathan made a covenant with David" 1 Sam 20:8 David says to Jonathan, "you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you." 1 Sam 20:16 "Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David" The greater makes a covenant with the lesser. Even the slightly changed language of 1 Sam 23:18 "And the two of them made a covenant before the LORD" does not necessarily see them as equals, since Jonathan is the prince who is surrendering his right to the throne by a covenant. He is still the "sovereign" in name. (But the changed language may indicate that things are moving David is now an equal with Jonathan) But when Abner joins David, he asks David to make a covenant with him. In other words, Abner is acknowledging David as his lord. So David tests him. Good. I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face. And so David sent to Ish-bosheth and said, "give me my wife." And Ish-bosheth sent her. Why would Ish-bosheth do this? He knows that this will only solidify David's claim on the kingdom! The pansy is afraid of Abner. And he demonstrates his inadequacy as a king by cow-towing to Abner. So in Israel, in the house of Saul, Abner is the man. (The Ish) But the man, Abner, bows the knee to David, acknowledging that David is the man. And so Abner went to the elders of Israel and said, For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Abner admits that Ishbosheth is a failure. He wants to see Israel united, and he will even turn against his own family in order to see that come to pass! Abner is certainly something of an opportunist, but he is the one whom God used to bring all Israel to David. And so Abner came to David at Hebron and David made a feast for Abner, and they ate and drank together to "seal the deal" as it were. In doing this, Abner gives his life to Christ. He enters into the fellowship of the LORD's Anointed the Messiah and he pledges himself and all that he has to the service of the house of David. He confesses that David is the Christ (the anointed one) who will save Israel. 3. Joab's Murder of Abner and David's Response (3:22-39) But Joab wasn't there for all this. He was out on a raid. And when he hears that David has made a covenant with Abner, he tells his uncle David what he thinks of Abner: Abner came to deceive you... But David will not listen to him. So Joab takes matters into his own hands and kills Abner in the gate of Hebron. David's reaction is given in verses 28-39. There are two things to note about his response: 1) David wants to distance himself from Joab's act. He curses Joab's family (verse 29). He orders Joab and all the people to tear their clothes and put on sackcloth Joab must lead the funeral procession, in mourning for the man he killed. He laments Abner in v33-34, publicly calling Joab "wicked." And he fasts the whole day out of respect for Abner. But 2) David will do nothing to punish Joab. He leaves it to Yahweh to repay the evildoer. How is this right? The killing of Abner was a revenge-killing. Some have said that Joab was simply avenging his brother's murder, according to the law of Moses. But there is a little-known problem with that. Joab kills Abner in the gate of Hebron. According to Joshua 18, Hebron was a city of refuge. So if Joab is following the Law, then he should have made sure to kill Abner before he got to Hebron. But Joab kills a man who is standing in the gate of a city of refuge. Further, Asahel died in battle. Asahel died while he was chasing Abner trying to kill Abner. So it won't work to say that this is a lawful killing. Why doesn't David order the execution of Joab? I think David is unwilling to kill his nephew. Joab is a murderer, but David is not willing to lose both of Israel's greatest generals in a single day. This is plainly a case where the king decides that a strict interpretation of the law will not be good for Israel. And, whereas Joab has followed a strict policy of vengeance, David will show mercy. But David's mercy to Joab is conditioned by his curse. Abner had been brought into the covenant before he died. He died confessing David as the Christ. But David curses Joab with the request that God would always have a leper in his house in other words, that his house would always be cut off from God's covenant! Joab will eventually be put to death for his murders. In 1 Kings 2:28-34 Solomon executes his cousin (at the suggestion of David). But in this curse, we still see God's grace David gives Joab time to repent. 4. The Murder of Ish-bosheth and David's Response (4:1-12) If Joab had not interfered with Abner's plans, David would have become king of Israel much quicker. As it is was, Ish-bosheth reigned for two years, so we know that Ish-bosheth died two years after the death of Saul. And Ish-bosheth had two captains, Baanah and Rechab who were brothers. Then verse 4 simply appears out of nowhere Jonathan had a son! who was crippled in his feet. And then we come back to Rechab and Baanah. Why do we hear about Mephibosheth? Because Ishbosheth is about to die! And the author wants you to know that the house of Saul will not be extinguished. There is a son of Jonathan who still lives! Then we hear how Rechab and Baanah assassinated Ishbosheth, and cut off his head and brought his head to David. (Just like Saul's head had been taken back to Philistia) And they say to David, Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring. Here they demonstrate their utter stupidity. They do not understand David. They do not understand what it means to be the LORD's anointed! They are confusing the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of the nations. And David replied, As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth? This makes David's leniency with Joab all the more remarkable. I can only suggest that David's operating principle is that if you kill someone for my sake, I must kill you because otherwise I would be complicit in your murder, but Joab killed Abner out of his own thirst for vengeance. 5. David's Covenant with Israel (5:1-5) Verse 1 says "then," but you need to understand that there is a gap of five years between the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5. 2:10-11 made it clear that Ishbosheth ruled for only two years, while David ruled in Hebron for 7 « years. The battle of Gibeon took place at the beginning. Abner joined David 1-2 years later (then Ishbosheth is murdered). But from the death of Ishbosheth in chapter 4 to the anointing of David in chapter 5 there must have been about 5 « years. Abner's death must have complicated matters. It would take some time for the elders of Israel to be convinced that David was not complicit in the death of Abner. But eventually they come to Hebron said, Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel. (2 Sam 5:2) And so all the elders of Israel came to David at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them. Once again, we see that it is the king who makes covenants. There is no "social contract" at work here. The people are acknowledging David as king they even anoint him as king but David is the one who initiates the covenant. He is the sovereign he is the superior and so he defines the covenant. You do not enter a relationship with God (or with his Christ) on your own terms. He is the one who sets the terms.