Peace

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

PEACE NOT WAR

2 Sam 3:17-27

17 Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, "For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the LORD promised David, 'By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.'" 19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin wanted to do. 20 When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, "Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a compact with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. 22 Just then David's men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace. 24 So Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing." 26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the gateway, as though to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

NIV

Here we have the character of three men, David, Abner, and Joab. Of course, David is no innocent regarding the slaying of men by his sword, for he is a great warrior and fought in Saul’s army against enemies of Israel. However, now he has become king of Judah, and his headquarters are in Hebron. David knew Abner was a servant of Saul, but now we see that David gave Abner a feast and made an agreement with him, and sent him away in peace. When we look at the character of Abner, we still see this self-centered man, for he knows Saul’s reign is coming to an end and sees David as the rising star, so it was time to switch sides, throwing his allegiance to David. Joab would have nothing to do with Abner being anywhere around the kingdom David ruled over, because Abner had killed his brother. We can see into the life of Joab, who lives with a heart filled with anger, unforgiveness, and revenge. Although David sent Abner away in peace, Joab had him brought back so he could avenge the death of his brother, and he killed Abner. What we learn here in this narrative is the truth about forgiveness and keeping our heart pure from anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and wanting to seek a way to get even or get back at someone who we think has wronged us in some way. It is far better to live in peace with everything. We are told through the author of Hebrews, which is ultimately the Spirit, that we are to make every effort to live in peace with all men, and to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. In the letter to the Corinthians, we are told to be of one mind and live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with us. David gives us that example in this narrative, being at peace with Abner, even giving him a feast. This should be the goal of our hearts, to truly live in peace, being of one mind, being in harmony with everyone, even giving, metaphorically, a feast, or maybe even a feast in reality, to someone we may once have been against, holding a grudge, or harboring ill feelings toward. We certainly do not want to take any lesson from Joab, for not only did he kill Abner, but he also acted without the knowledge of David, who had sent Abner away in peace. Let us simply live in peace.