From the very first, David shows himself to be a complete failure as an administrator. As combat commander, he is unsurpassed. As a charismatic king and shepherd of the Hebrew people, he is the standard others must strive to match. As administrator making smart decisions, he is hopeless. Even his political maneuvering is pretty smart, but he fails time and again to act as impartial judge in ridding his court of troublemakers. We call him noble for supporting the royal prerogatives of Saul and Saul's household, but he goes too far in keeping a sentimental attachment to certain people. He loved too much, and could not bring himself to do what was wisest at times.
2 Samuel 3:1 -- This verse is more of a summary that belongs with the previous chapter. That first battle set the tone for the bitter feud that followed.
3:2-5 -- All the while, David begins to build a family in Hebron. Each of these sons are born to a different mother, and we discover that David has added to his harem. Maacah of Geshur comes from an area very near his rival's throne in Mahanaim, and marrying her may have been purely political. Her homeland was just east of the Sea of Galilee.
3:6-11 -- The real power behind the effort to maintain Saul's dynasty was Abner. Ishbaal knew this, and may have been looking for a way to assert himself. His accusation against Abner is most likely bogus, but correctly captures the sort of power Abner held. A royal heir inherits the harem of his predecessor. To claim access to the harem is to claim the throne. Ishbaal was whining about Abner's de facto control of the kingdom, and accuses him of treason.
Abner's retort basically asks if the king regards him as a supporter of that usurper in Judah. On the contrary, all his immense power and influence has been turned to keeping Saul's dynasty alive. Had he wished to betray Ishbaal, it could have been easily done by now. With this unforgivable insult, Ishbaal succeeded in making his best ally into his worst enemy. Abner quotes the prophecy he had previously fought against on behalf of Ishbaal. The young king was left silent, implying he was also powerless. The charade was over.
3:12-16 -- Abner offers to come over to David's side and use his influence to bring the northern part of the nation under his rule. David welcomes the offer, but sets one strong requirement: that Abner return Michal to him. While this is politically proper, in that his marriage to Saul's daughter strengthens his claim to the throne, it is most likely illegal. While it is true Saul's giving of her to another man was forcing her to commit adultery, not to mention a major public insult, for David to reclaim her is tantamount to adultery, too. Still, his prior claim was honored by Ishbaal's court. Abner took custody of her, threatening her second husband in the process.
3:17-21 -- Abner made good on his promise to make David king of all Israel. Apparently he had resisted a strong element in the northern tribes wishing to embrace Samuel's prophecy about David. He signified his intent to now go along with that. Critically, the writer also mentions he persuaded the Tribe of Benjamin to transfer their loyalty, as well. Their stamp of approval would take the wind out of anyone else's resistance, since Saul had been one of their own. The celebration was appropriate honor for Abner and his entourage of representatives. Abner promised his next appearance would be at the head of the official crowning delegation.
3:22-27 -- Joab's embrace of the blood feud was completely unwarranted. His younger brother died in combat, and it was childish to hold Abner personally accountable. All the more so since Abner tried his best to avoid killing Asahel. Joab might have been the better warrior and commander, but he was far beneath Abner's honor.
When Joab came back at the head of a victorious raiding party, he was told he had just missed Abner. They specifically mentioned that Abner was sent away in peace, as a friend of David. Joab rushed in to tell David he was foolish for believing Abner, that Abner was spying. It didn't matter what David said, because Joab was determined to take revenge. He secretly sent messengers to catch Abner, and persuade him to come back. Joab went out the gate to meet him, and pretending to have a private conversation, pulled him into one of the numerous small chambers found near the gate of every large city. These would normally be used for public legal matters, and would be the easiest place to meet strangers coming into town. During war, these served as guardrooms and armories. Joab murdered Abner, having the element of surprise. Had it been a fair fight, things might have turned out different.
3:28-30 -- David's public excoriation of Joab was hardly going far enough. The man had committed murder, and David refused to take proper action. While this may have had political overtones, the real fault is David's own character flaw, which would haunt him all his life. We also learn the Abishai was complicit in Abner's murder.
3:31-39 -- In an effort to further distance himself from this crime, David insured full military honors for Abner's funeral, requiring Joab and Abishai to participate publicly. David's mournful lamentation was yet more shame heaped on Joab. The public took notice of David's extravagant mourning over Abner, and approved of his sentiment. Still, David fell short of proper response, and it would cause him grief later. Joab, faithful and mighty warrior, was an incurable troublemaker, constantly jealous of others' glory.
4:1-3 -- Still, good came of Abner's death, in that Ishbaal and his court realized it was all over. The scribe struggles to pull together some loose ends here. After Abner's departure, Ishbaal was at the mercy of his own Benjamites. Two of his captains were from a Benjamite clan that had been enriched by Saul, when he gave them one of the old cities of the Gibeonite Alliance, Beeroth. To do so, Saul had to drive out the resident Gibeonites, who had been promised they could stay, after finagling a peace treaty with Joshua (Joshua 9). They fled to Gittaim, also known as Gath, and still lived there at the time this was published. Thus, Saul sinned in this, and the clan that occupied Beeroth also sinned. This was a subtle indicator these two captains could not have been honorable men.
4:4-8 -- There is an abrupt introduction of Mephibaal (recall earlier notes about changing the suffix from baal to bosheth; see 1 Chronicles 8:34). This was Jonathan's sole surviving son, five years old when his father died. In fleeing with the boy, his nursemaid dropped him and permanently crippled his feet. Thus, we note that, while the royal line of Saul is about the pass, there is one survivor of Saul's household.
We return to the scene at Ishbaal's court. Like most places in the world where daytime temperatures in summer can become intolerable, the custom in Israel was to take a sort of siesta during the hottest part of the day. The young king was resting as expected, and the captains entered under the pretext of fetching rations for their troops. The soldiers would normally have been fed from the king's larder. Even the most rudimentary palace would have been built with an outer court, probably open air, and outer rooms for servants, and a kitchen near the family rooms of the king. So it was just a few steps from their supposed errand to the king's bed, and they removed his head.
These two escaped by heading straight down the Jabbok Valley, and across the open plain along the Jordan River, crossing it at night. Sometime the next day, they arrived at Hebron, bringing their grisly trophy to David. Their pious exclamation that God had avenged David by their hands was just for show. These men were not even as honorable as mercenaries.
4:9-12 -- Apparently David had asked them to describe in detail how they came to possess this head of Ishbaal. His response indicates he knew, and there had been no time for a runner to arrive before them. So David uses their words, and declares that, surely as this Lord lives, so they too shall receive their just reward. Notice that his order to execute went to the "young men" -- a term usually denoting those old enough to volunteer as armor bearers, but not old enough to draft as warriors. They are essentially teenagers in training to become soldiers. For these to execute army captains is to heap shame upon the the condemned, for it indicates they were not regarded as proper men. The act strips away their rank. To dismember their bodies of hands and feet was a very strong symbolic condemnation reserved for thieves and murderers. Hanging corpses near the pool would guarantee maximum exposure, since someone from each household in the city would pass there at least once each day. The news would spread quickly.
David is quick to execute judgment on strangers, but utterly fails to balance things. He shows far too much favoritism to those close to him.
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Ed Hurst
10 July 2004
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