The Civil War Begins
II Sam. 2
David is king, but his troubles were not all over. Judah, his own tribe, accepted him with open arms. The rest of Israel, however, was not immediately convinced. They attempted to raise up Saul's son Ishbosheth ("man of shame") as king. The driving force behind this move was Abner, Saul's cousin and former captain of his army.
We have to remember, though, that though there was differences of opinion about who would rule, there was still a measure of friendliness and familiarity between the two armies. This is seen in the relationship between Joab and Abner.* The two seem a bit chummy. They meet together, almost to prove who is stronger in a friendly way, but what begins in a game ends in a battle. Abner was the instigator. "Let the young men play before us." It starts like a tennis match almost, with men evenly paired to fight. Each young man kills the other, though, and the match turns into a free-for-all. It ends in a massacre.
In this contest of skill, both generals were foolish, but Abner especially so. He, in his pride, suggested the contest. Later, when his army was losing, he called for terms of peace. Abner's desire to flaunt his power actually had the effect of revealing his inferiority when his men suffered the worst losses--320 versus Joab's 19!
Pride always calls for comparisons to prove itself. And pride comes before a fall. I've found in my own life that I am most prone to comparisons when I've just learned something or gained a new skill. "Hey, look what I discovered! Look what I can do!" I just can't help sharing it with everyone, with the ulterior motive that maybe they will share my newly-inflated view of myself! Usually I find out (and God usually has this happen on purpose, I think) that the person I'm crowing to has known these things for years and has practiced them as a matter of course for a long time. It's better to keep my pride to myself, and seek to mortify it, rather than crow about it. As Abner found, it just causes strife and brings shame.
*The friendly terms of the two generals is further illustrated by Abner's reluctance to kill Asahel, for, as he says, "how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?" He has some standing in Joab's eyes and doesn't wish to upset it.
David is king, but his troubles were not all over. Judah, his own tribe, accepted him with open arms. The rest of Israel, however, was not immediately convinced. They attempted to raise up Saul's son Ishbosheth ("man of shame") as king. The driving force behind this move was Abner, Saul's cousin and former captain of his army.
We have to remember, though, that though there was differences of opinion about who would rule, there was still a measure of friendliness and familiarity between the two armies. This is seen in the relationship between Joab and Abner.* The two seem a bit chummy. They meet together, almost to prove who is stronger in a friendly way, but what begins in a game ends in a battle. Abner was the instigator. "Let the young men play before us." It starts like a tennis match almost, with men evenly paired to fight. Each young man kills the other, though, and the match turns into a free-for-all. It ends in a massacre.
In this contest of skill, both generals were foolish, but Abner especially so. He, in his pride, suggested the contest. Later, when his army was losing, he called for terms of peace. Abner's desire to flaunt his power actually had the effect of revealing his inferiority when his men suffered the worst losses--320 versus Joab's 19!
Pride always calls for comparisons to prove itself. And pride comes before a fall. I've found in my own life that I am most prone to comparisons when I've just learned something or gained a new skill. "Hey, look what I discovered! Look what I can do!" I just can't help sharing it with everyone, with the ulterior motive that maybe they will share my newly-inflated view of myself! Usually I find out (and God usually has this happen on purpose, I think) that the person I'm crowing to has known these things for years and has practiced them as a matter of course for a long time. It's better to keep my pride to myself, and seek to mortify it, rather than crow about it. As Abner found, it just causes strife and brings shame.
*The friendly terms of the two generals is further illustrated by Abner's reluctance to kill Asahel, for, as he says, "how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?" He has some standing in Joab's eyes and doesn't wish to upset it.
posted by Emily at 10:25 AM
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