“May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house! May Joab’s house never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”
~ 2 Samuel 3:29
Hi James and Ellen,
How would you like to have six bros – with each bro having a different ma? How would you like it if your dad was a king? What do you think that your lives would have been like if you lived over 3000 years ago? What do you think that you would you have done for fun – as kids, if you lived over 3000 years ago? Ask your dad and/or ma what he, she or they think that kids did for fun over 3000 years ago. Samuel over 3050 years ago was led by God to anoint a tall dude by the name of Saul to be the first king over God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Saul spent forty years trying to be king. Because Saul was more concerned about how he was perceived by other guys than he was about doing what God wanted him to do, Saul did not lead well as king. Abner – who was Saul’s right hand guy, tried to position himself to become the next king by having a compromising relationship with Rizpah – one of Saul’s concubines. When Saul along with three of his boys died in the battle at Mount Gilboa, Abner took it on himself to have another one of Saul’s boys – Ish-Bosheth, take on being king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Samuel – in 2 Samuel 3, recorded what resulted from some very wrong motives, from abject disobedience to the Mosaic law that God had given to His specially chosen guys and gals through Moses to obey and from personal selfishness and conceit. When Abner was confronted by Ish-Bosheth for having an illicit relationship with Rizpah, Abner disavowed his relationship with Ish-Bosheth and tried to side up with the guy who would be the next king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. This guy – who was David, had been anointed by Samuel years earlier to be the next king – after Saul, over the Israelite people group’s guy and gals. Even though Ish-Bosheth took on being the second king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, no guy has ever credited Ish-Bosheth as having been the second king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals.
If you would have liked to have lived 3000 years ago on planet Earth, would you have been okay with your dad being the second king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals – God’s specially chosen guys and gals? Would you have been okay living in a family in which your dad had a number of wives and you had a lot of bros? Would you have been proud of your dad if he had to regularly leave where you lived to fight against and kill guys who wanted to kill you? Would you have been okay with the opportunity that you would have had to be one day a king or queen? When Saul died in the battle at Mount Gilboa, God already had David in place to be the next king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. The Israelite people group’s guys and gals by this time knew that Samuel had anointed David to be their next king. When Saul died in the battle at Mount Gilboa, David did not step forward to officially take on being king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Your grandpaa believes that Abner knew that David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Your grandpaa also believes that when Abner realized that it was not going to happen with Ish-Bosheth being king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals that he would have the power control that he thought that he should have, he decided to align himself with David. David already had a strong right hand guy – Joab. Joab really dislike Abner. Abner had killed one of Joab’s bros during a battle. When Abner – through his intermediaries, asked David if he could talk with him, David told Abner that he would meet with him on the condition that Abner bring him a gal who he really liked. The gal’s name was Michal. She was one of Saul’s daughters. Michal was to have become David’s wife years earlier but when Saul became jealous of David, Saul gave Michal to another guy to be that guy’s wife. David also got in touch with Ish-Bosheth to tell Ish-Bosheth that he wanted Michal to become his wife or . . . Ish-Bosheth by this time had very little support to continue on as king over the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. When Saul’s family lost the power and prestige that they once had had, David’s power and prestige grew among the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Joab did not waste any time taking out a potential competitor to his position of being David’s right hand guy as well as avenging his bro’s murder; Joab stuck a knife into Abner’s stomach – killing Abner. Because he was willing to talk with Abner about joining his camp, David was not a happy camper when Joab assassinated Abner. Even though Joab was avenging the death of his bro – Asahel, who had been personally done in by Abner, David asked God to put a curse on Joab and on Joab’s family because of what Joab did when he jammed a knife into Abner’s stomach. David’s curse on Joab and on his family is recorded in verse 29, “May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house! May Joab’s house never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”’
Doing something with the wrong motives, doing something in disobedience to the expectations that God has for His specially elected guys and gals to live by and doing something selfishly invariably leads to affecting the lives of other guys and gals in hurting, negative ways. A compromise to what God expects His specially elected guys and gals to do in obedience to His will will invariably lead to another compromise of God’s expectations. If you do not make living for God through serving Him in every way your daily passion to do, you will invariably end up pulling an Abner or a Joab or . . . David at the same time became known as being a man of God in spite of the times that he compromised his relationship with God. Do not begin to try to figure out why God has happen what happens as . . .
2 Samuel 3 (368)