2 Samuel 3:22-26
Verse 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!
After Abner’s visit David would have been feeling pretty good. The time he had waited to reign the whole nation of God was coming into being. David may have started making some mental notes about what he needed to do next. Should he move north so he would be closer to the northern tribes? How many people would that mean are going to be under his rule? He wasn’t given much time it think about it as he was interrupted by his main man, Joab.
Joab had been out with David’s men, raiding a city like they had done many times. They had raked in the loot and he was excited to show the king all they had gained. His joy was short lived as he finds out that the general from the opposing army had been there for a visit, promising much to David. Joab didn’t like Abner and didn’t trust him. Besides Abner was the one who killed his brother. Joab couldn’t stand the man.
Joab was fuming and David would have quickly had to change his line of thinking to catch up with what Joab thinks is going on. Joab was quite close to David and had been for years. He had been around for the years of wandering and knew that David would one day become king. But the David he was most familiar with had wisdom on the battlefield, how could he let the general of the opposing army simply walk out?
David respected Joab and was willing to see where he was coming from. As Joab lists the probable things that Abner was looking for during his visit, David would have done a quick mental breakdown of what had been done and said. Between what he remembered and what Joab was pointing out, David was getting the whole picture clearly. He may have been had by the army general he had enjoyed the upper hand on for multiple years.
Joab didn’t take his time figuring out what to do next. He realized David had let his guard down and was now in a situation that could be placing the whole kingdom in a predicament. Without telling David, Joab sends messengers out to bring Abner back. But was it David he was really concerned for?
Making It Personal
Have you ever questioned someone else’s decision? Did the choice affect you directly? Do you think about how your decisions will affect others?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever thought someone made a bad choice? Have you ever made a bad choice? What can help you make good choices?
Closing Prayer
Father, there are so many times we lack wisdom in our day to day lives. Please give us the desire to seek Your wisdom before making any decisions in life. Help us make choices that will bring You glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.