Securing the Kingdom

2 Samuel 3-4

            Abner had clearly been the power behind the throne among Saul’s forces. To read 2 Samuel 3:6, he may have been planning a coup. At some point, Ish-Bosheth must have wondered, “Am I king or not?” Hence, the question about the king’s concubine. (Sleeping with a wife or concubine was widely understood to be part of claiming kingship.) Ish-Bosheth was trying to create a case against Abner. So, Abner defected and began negotiating an end of hostilities.

            Things are complicated by David’s general, Joab. Abner had killed Joab’s brother, Asahel, in battle, and now Joab plotted his revenge. The facts that Abner had tried to dissuade Asahel from his pursuit and that Abner had killed him in self-defense make Joab’s motivations all the more unseemly. In fact, Joab seems to be acting as much to preserve his own place as commander of David’s army than any truly personal reason. Joab murders Abner under the cover of peace. David, for his part, is livid. He mourns Abner with a full state funeral and disavows the actions of his general.

            In chapter 4, then, two of Ish-Bosheth’s men assassinate their king and bring his severed head to David, probably expecting a reward for destroying this usurper to the throne. David, as we might expect, sees things differently.

            Now, as we’ve seen already in David’s complicated relationship with Saul, we can explain these things in two ways. First, we could see that David really benefits from these two deaths. The leader of the rebel army and the rebels’ titular leader are both dead. There will be no more challenges from that quarter. This will make David’s assuming the throne of all Israel much easier. Under this scenario, it’s easy to see David feigning outrage and grief, but secretly smiling that things are finally breaking his way. The alternative is that David truly sought peace with Abner and truly considered Ish-Bosheth a mere shill of Abner’s designs.

            As I’ve said before, I think we’re supposed to think the latter of David, that he truly is a man after the Lord’s heart, truly loving his enemies as God in Christ loves His. But let’s be honest: life in a fallen world is complicated. Sometimes another person’s bad behavior brings us benefits. We don’t rejoice in the bad behavior; but we don’t reject the benefits either. Again, sometimes someone else’s loss is to our advantage. I hope we wouldn’t rejoice in their loss (I feel like the 9^th and 10^th Commandments come into play there), but would we reject the gain? In the case of David, perhaps this is also the hand of God, co-opting the wickedness of humans to bring about His plans and purposes, working through these sinful men to make David the undisputed king of Israel. It’s hard to see the Lord soiled with the deeds of sinful men, but very often that’s exactly the quiet, behind-the-scenes, bringing-good-out-of-evil way that He works.