Thursday
Evening Bible Study
June
21, 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?
When Saul was killed in a battle with the Philistines, the tribe of Judah
asked David to be their king. The rest of Israel, under the influence of Saul’s
general, Abner, asked Saul’s son Ishbosheth to be
their king. For a while, there will be war between Ishbosheth
and David. David is currently ruling
from the city of Hebron.
3:1-5 David’s
family
: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.
:2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: His
firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam
the Jezreelitess;
:3 his second, Chileab,
by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the
third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;
:2 Amnon –“faithful”
David’s first son.
He would cause some heartache to David and the family by one day raping his
half sister, Tamar, the sister of Absalom.
:3 Chileab – “like his father”
His mom was Abigail, the gal that had kept David from taking his anger out
on the fool, “Nabal”, her husband.
When Nabal died of a stroke, David married
Abigail.
The writer of Chronicles gives another name this child was known as,
Daniel. We know nothing about this son. Considering what we know of the other
oldest sons, some think he died at an early age.
:3 Absalom – “my father is peace”
When Absalom heard that his half-brother Amnon
had raped his sister, he plotted carefully with his friends and murdered his
half-brother Amnon.
Absalom would cause the greatest heartache to David when he eventually
rises up to overthrow his father, even trying to have his father put to death.
His mother was the daughter of the king of Geshur.
We now know where Geshur is. It is the same as
the city called Bethsaida in Jesus’ day.
It is to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
:4 the fourth, Adonijah the
son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah
the son of Abital;
:4 Adonijah – “my lord is Yahweh”
When David was getting up in years, Adonijah felt that it was natural that
he would become the next king, and so he got his friends together and did just
that, declared himself king.
The only thing was that David had already planned on Solomon to become
king.
:4 Shephatiah – “Yahweh has judged”
Lesson
Messy families
Sometimes we
make the mistake of thinking that everyone else’s family is picture perfect
except for our own.
Not so.
Every family has trouble. Don’t be
too ashamed when your family has trouble.
:5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah.
These were born to David in Hebron.
:5 Ithream – “profit of the people”
These are all the sons born to David during the 7 ½ years that he ruled
from Hebron.
:3 the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur
Lesson
False Trust
We can think that multiple marriages was all about
sex. Probably not completely.
One of the things
that David is doing is working to build his power base through marriage.
It was very common for kings to make treaties with neighboring kings by
marrying their daughters.
The theory was that your neighbor won’t attack you if his little girl is
sitting in your palace (or harem).
God had some pretty clear laws concerning kings:
(Dt 17:16–17 NKJV) —16 But he
shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt
to multiply horses, for the Lord
has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest
his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
Though there are various other reasons listed here for why
horses, wives, or wealth were not to be sought after, one of the underlying
reasons had to do with trusting in God.
God wanted His leaders to be trusting in God, not in their
military might (horses), their marriage alliances (wives), or their wealth
(gold).
Billy
Graham said years ago that the three main temptations that men have to fight
are sex, money, and power.
When you’re younger, the bigger temptation is with sex
(wives).
As you grow a little older, you are more consumed with the
drive for wealth (gold).
As you get up in age, sex and money aren’t as important as
simple power or authority (horses).
God’s desire is that we learn to trust Him, not these other things.
David wrote,
(Ps 20:7 NKJV) Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
Lesson
One Wife
Illustration
Fifty Years of Marriage
After being married
for 50 years, a guys takes a careful look at his wife
one day and said, "Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept
on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep
every night with a hot 19-year-old girl. Now ... I have a $500,000.00 home, a
$35,000.00 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a
70-year-old woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of
things."
His wife is a very reasonable woman. She told him to go out and find a hot
19-year-old girl and she would make sure that he would once again be living in
a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a
10-inch black and white TV. Aren't older women great? They really know how to
solve an old guy's problems.
Don’t go down
the road of justifying multiple marriages by looking at these men in the Old
Testament.
Jesus said the rule for marriage was one man, one woman.
Jesus pointed
to Genesis – Adam and Eve.
(Pr 5:18 NKJV) Let your
fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your
youth.
3:6-21 Abner Joins
David
:6 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.
Saul had a son Ishbosheth that was not killed on
Mount Gilboa with Saul. Abner, the head of the army,
has been keeping the family of Saul in power by propping up Ishbosheth.
:7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was
Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah.
So Ishbosheth said to Abner,
“Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”
:7 Rizpah – “pavement”
Maybe her name has something to do with the fact that men walked all over
her.
Rizpah wasn’t a full “wife” to Saul, but was a
concubine, an extra lover who bore children.
But even as a
concubine, Rizpah was a connection to Saul.
If someone marries or sleeps with Rizpah, it’s
like they are making a connection to Saul, a claim to Saul’s property, a claim
to the throne.
We will see
something like this in David’s later years when a young gal named Abishag was hired to sleep with David to keep him warm. Abishag didn’t have sex with David, but she still was a
sort of “connection” with him.
One of David’s
sons, Adonijah, will want to ask his younger brother Solomon if he can have Abishag for a wife, and Solomon realizes that what Adonijah
is doing is trying to make an end run around him to lay a claim to the throne. Solomon
will have Adonijah put to death.
Ishbosheth is a bit paranoid. He thinks that
Abner must have eyes on the throne.
He’s wrong.
:8 Then Abner became very
angry at the words of Ishbosheth, 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?
:8 a dog’s head that belongs to
Judah
A dog was a pretty lowly creature in this culture. Saying he’s a dog’s head
that belongs to Judah would be referring to David, as if Abner is a worthless
spy from Judah trying to bring down Ishbosheth.
The truth is, Abner has been nothing but loyal to Ishbosheth.
He’s the one who put him in power to begin with.
:9 May God do so to Abner,
and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him—
:10 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.”
:11 And he could not answer Abner another word,
because he feared him.
:9 if I do not do for David
Lesson
Suspicion’s trouble
Sometimes our suspicions are correct.
“Just because you think everyone is out to get you doesn’t mean it isn’t
true”.
Sometimes the people we are suspicious of are actually
guilty of what we fear they are.
Sometimes our suspicions cause the problem.
Ishbosheth is suspicious of Abner and of losing
power. It’s Ishbosheth’s
own suspicions that are going to cause him to lose his throne.
Sometimes we need to be careful about how we handle our suspicions and
fears.
Sometimes the way we treat people can end up having the effect you are
afraid of in the first place.
You think that someone is thinking bad things about you – and you start
treating them rudely. And in the end, they see your rudeness and do think bad
things about you.
But the problem is that your “suspicions” are what can
drive people to do what you are afraid they will do.
:12 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.”
Abner sends a note to David saying that he recognizes that David ought to
be king. He promises to deliver the rest of Israel into David’s kingdom.
:13 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 Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.”
:14 So David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife
Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”
:13 Michal, Saul’s daughter
Michal was
David’s very first wife. She was married to David as a result of Saul’s promise
to give a daughter in marriage to whoever would slay Goliath.
When David said he wasn’t worthy of marrying a king’s daughter, Saul made
him feel better by telling him he could do something to earn the princess’ hand
– he could give Saul 100 Philistine foreskins. Which meant killing 100 Philistines.
When David had to end up leaving the country because of Saul’s jealousy and
assassination attempts, he had to leave Michal behind, and Saul married her off
to someone else.
Now David wants his first wife back.
It could be
because of love.
It could also
be because of power – Michal is one of those “ties” to the throne of Saul.
If David has
Michal back, then the unity of the nation is complete, bringing Saul’s kingdom
into the hand of David.
:15 And Ishbosheth
sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel
the son of Laish.
Ishbosheth has apparently given in to the idea
that he’s lost his place as king over Israel. He gets his sister for David.
:16 Then her husband went along with her to Bahurim, weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, “Go, return!” And he returned.
:16 Bahurim
Play Bahurim map
David has set up his government in Hebron.
Michal could have been in Gibeah where her family was from, or she could
have been in Manahaim with her brother Ishbosheth.
As she travels to Hebron, her 2nd husband goes with her as far
as the village of Bahurim, outside Jerusalem. She
goes on to David at Hebron.
:17 Now Abner had
communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, “In time past you were seeking
for David to be king over you.
:18 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.’ ”
:19 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.
:20 So Abner and twenty men with him came to David
at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with
him.
:21 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.
:17 In time past you were seeking
for David
It’s interesting that this concept of David becoming king was not only
prophesied by Samuel, acknowledged by Saul, but also something that the entire
nation actually wanted.
Abner only has to remind the people of what they’ve wanted.
Lesson
Finding your place
We’re going to see different paths that people take to the throne of Israel
and how they hold on to power.
Saul has had
his own boatload of problems – in particular his insane jealousy toward David,
his insecurity in keeping his throne.
David is the
one we want to follow – patient – he doesn’t take the throne by killing Saul,
he waits until it’s the right time and it seems right to everyone else (like
here).
We will see
Absalom, backstabbing, David’s son try to become king by criticizing David,
even trying to kill David.
We will see
Adonijah, presumptuous, try to take the throne by simply
assuming it was his to begin with, and be wrong.
When you feel a tug on your life that God might have a special thing for
you to do, be careful how you go about seeing that vision come true.
3:22-39 Joab kills
Abner
:22 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.
Joab is David’s top general. He has not been present with all the talks
with Abner. He now returns.
:23 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.”
:24 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?
:25 Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner
came to deceive you, to know your going out and your
coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”
:25 came to deceive you
Now Joab is
suspicious of Abner, or he’s lying to David to make David dislike Abner.
They have faced each other in battle when their troops clashed at Gibeon.
This was when Abner killed Joab’s
younger brother Asahel.
Asahel had taken it on himself to go after Abner, and when Abner warned
Asahel to back off and Asahel refused, Abner killed him.
Joab has some valid reasons to be suspicious of Abner – like their previous
battles.
Joab has some wrong reasons to be suspicious of Abner – like his desire for
vengeance on the death of his brother.
In addition, if Abner joins David, who do you think would become the head
of the Israeli Army? Abner (not Joab).
:26 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.
: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.
:27 he died for the blood of Asahel
Joab’s real reason for killing Abner had nothing
to do with Abner spying on David.
It was purely for vengeance.
Lesson
Revenge
One of the
problems of ancient Israel was the concept of the ancient “blood feuds”. They were something like
the Hatfields and McCoys.
If you had something to do with the death of someone in my family, I was
honor bound to take revenge and kill you. And then your family would seek
vengeance on me … etc.
This was one of
the reasons why God set up the system of “cities of refuge”.
There were supposed to be six cities set up throughout Israel, where a
person could run to for safety in case they had killed another person (Num. 35).
A trial was to be conducted in the city of refuge to
determine if the person was guilty of murder or not.
If the person had only been guilty of manslaughter, not
premeditated murder, then they would be safe in the city of refuge. They would
be protected from the “avenger of blood”.
If the person was guilty of murder, then they were to be
put to death.
Look at where the cities of refuge were on the western side of the Jordan
River:
(Jos 20:7 NKJV) So they appointed Kedesh in Galilee, in
the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains
of Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba
(which is Hebron)
in the mountains of Judah.
Hebron was one of those cities. That’s where this is taking place.
If Joab wanted to deal with his brother’s death, he could
have called for a trial in Hebron. But he doesn’t do that, instead he takes
revenge.
Abner should have been safest in Hebron, but instead he
died there.
The Bible says,
(Ro 12:19 NKJV) Beloved,
do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is
written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
: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.
:29 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.”
:30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed
their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
Apparently Joab wasn’t alone in the murder of Abner. Abishai
was also in on it.
:31 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.
:32 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.
:33 And the king sang a lament over Abner
and said: “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
:34 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.
David is calling Joab a “wicked” person.
:35 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!”
:36 Now all the people took note of it, and
it pleased them, since whatever the king did pleased all the people.
:37 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.
David’s sincere grief over the death of Abner is seen by the people and
they realize that it wasn’t his idea to put Abner to death.
:38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you
not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?
:39 And I am weak today, though anointed
king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are
too harsh for me. The Lord shall
repay the evildoer according to his wickedness.”
:39 the sons of Zeruiah,
are too harsh for me
Zeruiah
is David’s older sister. Joab, Abishai,
and Asahel were David’s nephews.
David earlier (vs. 29) lays this curse on Joab (lepers, discharges), but he
doesn’t have Joab put to death.
At the end of his life, this is what David will say about Joab to his son
Solomon:
(1 Ki 2:5–6 NKJV) —5 “Moreover
you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me,
and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner
the son of Ner and Amasa
the son of Jether, whom he killed. 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. 6 Therefore do according
to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
Joab is causing a bit of trouble for David here.
Here is David, right on the cusp of becoming king of the entire nation of
Israel, and Joab goes out and murders the key guy who is mediating this
process, because of the death of his brother.
Why does David not put Joab to death?
It could be
that he’s afraid of Joab.
It could be
that it’s because this is his nephew, the “son of Zeruiah”.
It could be that
some would justify Joab’s killing of Abner as a response to the death of his own brother.
4:1-12 Ishbosheth’s death
:1 When Saul’s son heard that Abner had died in
Hebron, he lost heart, and all Israel was troubled.
Ishbosheth realizes that he’s in a dangerous
place with Abner dying.
:2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were
captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah
and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the
children of Benjamin. (For Beeroth also was part
of Benjamin,
:3 because the Beerothites
fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until
this day.)
:3 Beeroth
… Gittaim – not sure where these are, but
they are cities in Benjamin, the tribe that Saul is from.
:4 Jonathan, Saul’s son,
had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when
the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel;
and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee,
that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
:4 Mephibosheth
– “exterminating the idol”
Not sure why this is inserted into this story.
We’ll see Mephibosheth later. Now you know why
he’s crippled.
:5 Then the sons
of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and
came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth,
who was lying on his bed at noon.
:6 And they came there, all the way into the
house, as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then
Rechab and Baanah his
brother escaped.
Apparently the food stores for the army was being
kept at Ishbosheth’s house. Being captains of their
regiments, Rechab and Baanah
went to the house supposedly to pick up the next day’s rations for the men. But
instead of getting wheat, they went in and killed their king.
Josephus records that there was a woman who kept watch at the door, and she
had fallen asleep.
:7 For when they came into the house, he was lying
on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him
and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain.
Play “Flight
from Mahanaim” map video.
The assassins start in Mahanaim, kill Ishbosheth, take all night to cross the plain of the
Jordan, and then make their ways into the Judean hills to David at Hebron.
:8 And they brought
the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said
to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son
of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his
descendants.”
:8 the Lord has avenged my lord
These fellows
feel like they have done David a favor by killing Ishbosheth.
For many kinds of kings, this would be a great favor, even worth some kind
of reward.
But not for David.
Remember that David has never lifted a hand against Saul to take his own vengeance.
:9 But David answered
Rechab and Baanah his
brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite,
and said to them, “As the Lord
lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity,
:10 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.
This happened back in 2Sam.
1:1-16. David had the Amalekite killed
who claimed to have killed Saul.
:11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a
righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now
require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?”
:12 So David commanded his young men, and they
executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool
in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and
buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.
:12 they executed them
Why did they cut off their hands and feet? Perhaps as indicating the parts
of their bodies that had perpetrated the crime.
Lesson
Right is right
There might be people who would have thought, “Well even though it wasn’t
pretty, it got the job done!”
David was appalled that it happened at all. These men were punished
appropriately. The end doesn’t justify the means.
David at this point has an appropriate sense of right and wrong.