2Samuel 1-2

Thursday Evening Bible Study

June 14, 2012

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?

The book of 1Samuel ended with the death of King Saul.

Play Philistine March map video

The Philistines had amassed an army and attacked the Israelites in the valley of Jezreel near Mount Gilboa.

Saul was wounded by an arrow and knew he wouldn’t survive

(1 Sa 31:4–6 NKJV) —4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

Play Beth Shan Ziklag map video

The Philistines found Saul’s body the next day, cut off his head, stripped him of his armor, and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

The inhabitants of the city of Jabesh Gilead found out about all this, and since they were the city that Saul had rescued at the beginning of his reign, they sent out a contingent of Navy Seals who recovered Saul’s and buried is at Jabesh Gilead.

While all this battle was playing out in Jezreel, David and his men had returned to their city of Ziklag to find that the Amalekites had raided their city and taken all their families and all their stuff.

David pursued the Amalekites, was able to recover everyone alive, and has now headed back to his city of Ziklag.

1:1-16 Report of Saul’s Death

:1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag,

:2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

:2 on the third day

Because it would take this man three days to get from the battlefield in Jezreel to Ziklag, the conclusion is that David was fighting the Amalekites at the same time that Saul was fighting the Philistines.

:3 And David said to him, “Where have you come from?” So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

:4 Then David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.” And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”

:5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

:5 How do you know

Lesson

Just the facts

If we’re not careful, we can get caught up thinking that something is true, when in fact it just might not be true at all.

Illustration

Internet rumors

--- WARNING, DANGER! ---

I know this guy whose neighbor, a young man, was home recovering from the trauma of his friend's aunt who took her kids to a Burger King restaurant in a major city and they all got bit by snakes in the ball pit. Anyway, he decided to forget his troubles by having a few stiff drinks at Mulligans, and the next thing he awoke in a hotel bathtub full of ice and he was sore all over. When he got out of the tub he saw a note on the mirror saying that HIS KIDNEYS HAD BEEN STOLEN by Bill Gates, and he could only get them back by dialing 9-0-# and forwarding 5000 emails to a dying girl at Disney World.

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!! My uncle's friend heard this story from his neighbor who got it from a guy …

(Pr 18:13 NKJV) He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

David wants to know how this man got this information. He doesn’t want to listen to rumors.

David finds out that this man claims to have first hand knowledge – he claims to be there.

That’s better than hearing something second or third hand.

It is possible that this man is lying, but when you see the consequences of this man’s story, I don’t think he was lying.

If he had been lying, he would have changed his story as soon as things turn bad.

:6 Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

:7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’

:8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

:9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’

:10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

:10 I took the crown …

This man thinks he has things figured out.

He knows that Saul and David are at odds.

He figures if he finishes Saul off and takes the crown to David, he might get a promotion, or at least a reward of some kind.

Lesson

Opportunity knocks

This man’s an opportunist.

He sees opportunity knocking, and he wants to answer the door.

He doesn’t stop to think about what’s right and what’s wrong, like killing the King of Israel.

Not every opportunity is what you think it is …

Illustration

A man was reading the paper when an ad caught his eye. It loudly announced, “$500 Porsche! New!” The man thought that it was very unusual to sell a Porsche for $500, and he thought it might be a joke, but he said to himself, ‘it’s worth a shot.’ So he went to the lady’s house who was selling the Porsche and she led him into the garage. Sure enough, there was an almost brand new Porsche. “Wow!” the man said, “Can I take it for a test drive?” “Sure,” answered the lady. Unlike what he expected, the man found that the car ran perfectly. When he got back to the lady’s house, he asked her, “Why are you selling me this great Porsche for only $500?” Then the lady replied with a laugh, “My husband just ran off with his secretary, and he told me, ‘You can have the house and the furniture, just sell my Porsche and send me the money.’ “

Wait! That’s not a good illustration! That man’s dream came true!

But that’s not always how things turn out in life, is it?

This man thinks he’s going to become David’s new friend. Instead he is going to be dead.

This is how David will remember it later during another similar situation:

(2 Sa 4:10 NKJV) when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news.

:8 I am an Amalekite

The Amalekites were a nomadic people who lived south of the land of Israel.

We’ve talked often of what a great illustration they are of our “flesh”, our “sin nature”.

When Israel was coming out of Egypt, they had to fight with the Amalekites because they constantly hunted those Israelites who were a little slower than the main group as they were travelling.

God said that as a result He would deal one day with the Amalekites.

Saul had been ordered to wipe out the Amalekites, and it was tied to what had happened on the way out of Egypt:

(1 Sa 15:2 NKJV) Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.

Saul went on his mission from God and didn’t exactly do what God had told him to.

Among other things, he had left Agag the king of the Amalekites alive.

But that wasn’t all that Saul had spared.

David had just returned from rescuing his family and friends from the Amalekites, so obviously there were plenty of Amalekites left.

Now we find that Saul had Amalekites in his own army.

We’re going to see that an Amalekite claims to have killed Saul.

By the time we get to the book of Esther, we see an Amalekite named Haman attempt to wipe out all the Jews.

Lesson

The flesh

Another term we use for our “flesh” is the “sin nature”.

It’s that part of us that just loves to do the wrong things. It loves to disobey God any chance it gets. And it’s not going away until you get to heaven.

How do we handle our “flesh”?

Sometimes we get to thinking that if you can’t beat it, you might as well join it.

We think that it’s probably not that big of a deal if we just give in to the temptation, and then our “flesh” will be quiet again for awhile.

Illustration

Temptation and Fishing

Consider the case of some amateur Massachusetts tuna fishermen. Talk about underestimating the consequences! In 1999, for the first time in forty-seven years, the tuna were running only thirty miles off Cape Cod. And they were biting! You didn’t have to be a professional to catch them; all you needed was a sharp hook and some bait. And the rewards for doing so were substantial. Rumor had it that Japanese buyers were willing to pay $50,000 for a large blue fin. As a result, many ignored Coast Guard warnings and headed out to sea in small boats. What these new fishermen didn’t realize was that the problem is not catching a tuna – the problem comes after they’re caught.

On September 23, the “Christi Anne”, a nineteen-foot boat, capsized while doing battle with a tuna. That same day the twenty-seven-foot boat “Basic Instinct” suffered the same fate, while “Official Business”, a twenty-eight-footer, was swamped after it hooked onto a six-hundred-pound tuna. The tuna pulled it underwater.

- from "The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham", by Harold Myra, Marshall Shelley

The fishermen underestimated the power of the fish they were trying to catch.

Handling temptation is a little harder than it looks.

Give in once and you can be sunk.

Saul has lived his life as “tolerating” the Amalekites.

And now one of them has killed him.

Paul wrote,

(Ro 8:13 NKJV) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

If I live my life by “tolerating” my sin nature, it will sink me.

If I learn what it means to “put to death” my sin nature, then I can win the battle.

What does it mean to “put to death” the sin nature?

I think it involves learning to say “no” to yourself.

And that’s something that we can learn to do if we do it “by the Spirit”.

Illustration

The spirit is willing

There was a ghost who haunted an old house outside of town, and over the years many rumors had circulated about the whys and whatnots of this particular spook. Finally a photographer decided he would go and take pictures of the house and the ghost that lived there. Upon arriving the ghost actually greeted him at the door, and upon welcoming him in told the man that he would be more than pleased to pose for some pictures. The photographer, extremely grateful for the opportunity, readied his camera and began taking many pictures, however his flash did not seem to be operating well. He finished the session and upon thanking the ghost returned home to develop the pictures. Upon doing so he found the picture were all grossly under or over exposed and he fell to his hands and knees weeping saying, “The spirit was willing, but the flash was weak.”

Learning to put the “flesh” to death is a lot like going on a diet

You have to say “no” to the wrong foods. You have to say “no” to too much food.

You have to say “yes” to exercise.

Personally, I wish there was just a little pill I could take to make me lose weight, but I’m not sure there is such a thing.

Learn to say “no”. Learn to “die” to yourself.

:11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.

:12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

:13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

:14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

:15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died.

:16 So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

:16 Your blood is on your own head

David will bear no guilt in putting this man to death because he has admitted by his own mouth that he was the one who killed the King of Israel.

:15 he struck him so that he died

While Saul was a little nicer to the Amalekites, David had no pity.

Saul had even allowed an Amalekite in his own camp.

David puts him to death.

1:17-27 Song of the Bow

:17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son,

:18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:

:18 the Song of the Bow

Saul was a big guy, almost invincible in hand-to-hand combat. But Saul was brought down by an arrow shot from a “bow”.

:18 the Book of Jasher

Jasher – yashar – straight, upright, correct, right

We no longer have a copy of this book. There are other books mentioned in the Bible which we no longer have copies of.

Joshua also refers to this book as well when writing about the battle at Gibeon (Jos 10:12-13).

(Jos 10:12–13 NKJV) —12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

:19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

:19 How the mighty have fallen

This is a phrase that has made it’s way into our culture – you’ll see it used when some great person or organization stumbles.

This could be the title of the song, the phrase will be repeated three times. (vs. 19, 25, 27)

:20 Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon— Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

:20 Tell it not in Gath …

Play Gath map

Gath and Ashkelon were two of the main Philistine cities.

Though David wouldn’t want it, it would be told in Gath. The Philistines had taken Saul’s head and armor and were taking them on a tour of the Philistine cities.

:21 “O mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Nor fields of offerings. For the shield of the mighty is cast away there! The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

:21 Gilboa, Let there be no dew

Play Treeless Gilboa map.

When the Jews returned to Israel in 1948, they began a great project of planting trees throughout the land.

Yet because of this verse, they won’t plant trees on the northern most portion of Mount Gilboa.

David’s “curse” actually becomes prophetic.

:21 not anointed with oil

It might be that this is talking about how the Philistine arrow didn’t treat Saul’s shield as the shield of God’s chosen, the “anointed” one.

It was also a common practice of putting oil on the shields to help make the arrows glance off them.

:22 From the blood of the slain, From the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

:23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions.

:24 “O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury; Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

:24 weep over Saul

Lesson

Treat them differently

Step back and think about who is saying this. It’s David.

Saul had been insanely jealous of David.

Saul had tried to put David to death many, many times.

Saul had ruined David’s marriage to Michal.

Saul had affected all of David’s family, causing them to flee as well.

Saul had made David resort to living among the Philistines.

And now David is encouraging everyone to mourn for Saul along with him. I’d be calling for a party! Ding Dong the witch is dead!

These are not the words of an angry, bitter man.

We ought to learn to treat people differently, more like Jesus would treat them. That means that sometimes we don’t do to them what they do to us.

Play Biker. I wasn’t impressed by the biker as much as by the old ladies…

Paul wrote,

(Eph 4:30–32 NKJV) —30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

:25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was slain in your high places.

:26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me; Your love to me was wonderful, Surpassing the love of women.

:27 “How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war perished!”

:26 Surpassing the love of women

It is a sad thing in our current society that people will look at something like this and jump to the conclusion that David and Jonathan were somehow homosexual lovers.

You have to be careful to not interpret historical events based on our current society’s culture.

In our current culture, we tend to connect the word “love” with “sex” 9 out of 10 times. That’s sad. The word used here for love can include a sexual love, but also quite a few other kinds of love as well.

love – ‘ahabah – love; of man toward man; of man toward himself; between man and woman; sexual desire; God’s love to His people

Is it possible for two men to “love” each other without it being sexual?

I certainly hope so.

I’m afraid that in our modern culture, some of us men are a little reluctant to show too much “love” toward other men because we don’t want people to get the wrong idea.

Paul gave us a great definition of “love”:

(1 Co 13:4–8 NKJV) —4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails…

Could you / should you learn to have this kind of “love” toward another person of the same sex? Absolutely!

Jesus said,

(Jn 13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is the “mark” of a true Christian.

2:1-7 King David

:1 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.”

:2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

:3 And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

David is now aware that things have changed in the nation.

He now asks God for the next step he is to take.

:1 Hebron

Play Hebron map clip. This was the city that was given to Caleb. It seems to have been a sort of “capitol” of the tribe of Judah.

:4 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.”

:4 there they anointed David king

David had already been anointed by the prophet Samuel to one day be king (1Sam. 16:13). But it has taken quite a few years for this to take place. It has taken a few years for men to realize what God had already done.

:5 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.

:6 And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing.

:7 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.”

:4 The men of Jabesh Gilead

These were the people that Saul had first rescued when he became king.

The men of Jabeshgilead had found out about Saul’s death and that the Philistines had hung Saul’s body on the wall of the city of Bethshan (1Sam. 31). They took some of their best fighters and raided Bethshan, taking Saul’s body back. Then they cremated Saul and buried his body. They had done this because Saul was the one who had rescued them when Nahash the Ammonite had surrounded their city and threatened to either kill them or gouge out their eyes (1Sam. 11). It’s also possible that since Saul’s tribe of Benjamin had been rebuilt by the people of Jabesh Gilead, that some of Saul’s relatives may have been from Jabesh Gilead.

2:8-11 King Ishbosheth

:8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim;

:9 and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

:9 Ishbosheth

Apparently not all of Saul’s sons had died in the battle at Gilboa.

:8 brought him over to Mahanaim

Play Mahanaim map clip.

Mahanaim is on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

The Philistines have conquered the northern part of Israel, and are now in control of the Jezreel Valley, probably from their fortress at Beth Shan.

:10 Ishbosheth, 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.

:11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

:10 two years … seven years

This might be giving us the impression that it took the rest of the nation 5 years to make David king after Ishbosheth dies.

It could be that it’s just saying that it was two years into Ishbosheth’s reign before the next set of events takes place.

2:12-32 Israel vs. Judah

:12 Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

:13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, 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.

:13 Gibeon

Play Gibeon map video. Gibeon among other things was a well known “high place” where the Tabernacle of Moses was being kept at this time (1Chr. 21:29)

Gibeon had an interesting history.

This was the city where the inhabitants had sent messengers dressed up as travelers from a distant land to make a peace treaty with Joshua during his conquest of the land (Josh 9). Though they deceived Joshua, they were not wiped out and became a part of the nation.

This was also where a battle took place in Joshua’s day where the inhabitants of Gibeon were being attacked and because of Joshua’s treaty with them, he came to their aid. This was where Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still, and the day was an extra 24 hours long so Joshua could complete the battle (Josh 10).

This was also the place where apparently Saul had gone a little wild and had slaughtered some of the people of Gibeon when he shouldn’t have. This sin had brought about a famine in the time of David (2Sam. 21).

There was apparently a well-known “high place” there, a place to sacrifice (1Chron. 16:39), and apparently at one time the Tabernacle of Moses had been kept there, separately from the Ark (1Chr. 21:29).

This was a place where in David’s latter reign a man named Sheba tried to revolt from David and then hide in Gibeon. (2Sam. 20)

This was where Solomon would go to offer sacrifices at a high place and where God met him in a dream and asked him to ask for whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom (1Ki. 3).

:14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

:14 compete – sachaq – (Piel) to make sport; to jest; to play (including instrumental music, singing, dancing)

It seems that this might have been intended to be a sort of contest to see who should be king over Israel, Ishbosheth or David. It has been suggested that this was to start off as a wrestling match.

It kind of reminds me of the Freeway Series, Dodgers vs. Angels. I guess it’s a rivalry, but part of me wants to root for both teams.

:15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

:16 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.

:17 So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

:18 Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle.

Zeruiah was David’s older sister. These three guys are David’s nephews.

:19 So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.

As the game had turned deadly, Asahel gets an idea that he’s going to pursue – he’s going to kill Abner, and nothing is going to stop him.

:20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?” He answered, “I am.”

:21 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.

:22 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?”

It might sound as if Abner is trying to trick Asahel into stopping the chase because he’s afraid of Asahel, but that’s not the case.

Abner knows he can kill Asahel. Abner knows Joab and he doesn’t want to have to face Joab after killing his brother.

Joab is the head of David’s army.

:23 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.

:24 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.

:25 Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill.

Abner is a cousin of Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin.

:26 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?”

:26 Shall the sword devour forever?

Abner is trying to reason with Joab and his followers to stop the fighting. They are all Israel. They shouldn’t be fighting each other.

(2 Sa 2:26 NLT) Abner shouted down to Joab, “Must we always be killing each other? Don’t you realize that bitterness is the only result? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?”

Lesson

Who’s the enemy?

Sometimes we find ourselves fighting with the wrong people.

We can end up hurting each other.

(Ga 5:14–15 NLT) —14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

Husbands and wives – too often we get into difficulty and find ourselves fighting each other. We shouldn’t be against each other, we should be on the same side.

Believers – sometimes we get into outrageous arguments with other Christians because they believe a few things a little differently than we do.

Shame on us.

It’s okay to discuss and debate, but know when it’s time to quit.

Unbelievers – sometimes we get tricked into thinking that the unbeliever is our enemy. The truth is, they are just a prisoner being held captive by our enemy.

(2 Ti 2:23–26 NLT) —23 Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. 24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

Our real fight is with Satan.

(Eph 6:12 NLT) For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

: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.”

:28 So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore.

Joab comes to his senses and calls off the fight.

: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.

:30 So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.

:31 But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died.

:32 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.

:23 Asahel fell down and died

This would be an offense that would not be forgotten.

Joab would one day get revenge on Abner.

:31 three hundred and sixty men who died

Lesson

Getting out of hand

Sometimes a little innocent mistake can turn ugly.

Play Stooges Pie Fight

Sometimes it’s not a pie, but what was meant to be a harmless comment gets misunderstood and things go badly.

Turn it around before it gets too late.

(Pr 15:1 NKJV) A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Sometimes we have the ability to stop a fight before it occurs.

I wonder if we could learn to grow in how we handle conflict.