
The Battle of Gibeon
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
2 Samuel 2:12-17
12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.”
15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.
17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

Abner is on the march. He made Ish-boseth the king of what remained of Saul’s kingdom and the first order of business was to confront David.
Now let’s remember that Abner and David had history, that Abner “discovered” David for Saul, he knew of David’s prowess on the battle field, he had been loyal to Saul during the hunting of David, and he had been publicly shamed by David, in front of all his troops. You remember when David crept into the camp and took Saul’s spear? Abner took a serious shaming then.
Abner may still be licking his wounds!
It seems that Abner and Joab had communicated and coordinated a place and time for confrontation. Initially it seemed the two men decided to be “civil” about the terms of battle. The setting appeared to be a polite meeting of national leaders, a diplomatic conference amongst warriors. But these men were warriors, battle hardened soldiers that knew the fate of the kingdom was to be decided on the battlefield.
Why then suggest the battle of the 24 soldiers?
Was it suggested in order to save the lives of fellow countrymen? The nation had just split with the anointing of David and the crowning of Ish-boseth. Up till then, the men were all united as the nation of Israel.
Or was it that both generals understood the weakness the nation would suffer if both armies fought to the death? After all, it may have been only a few weeks previously that the Philistines rampaged through the nation, showing their dominance and striking a serious blow on the nations army.
I want to think the generals were thinking of the nation as a whole at this time, but the end result was simply a bloodbath with no desired outcome. Even if some of one group of 12 survived this fight, would not the armies take up arms again, if not that day, soon enough.
No, twenty-four soldiers fell that day, with much blood spilling out. As an act of honor for these men, the field was named the Field of Sharp Swords. Instead of risking all the soldiers, 12 of each side would battle, and die. A futile act that accomplished nothing. 12 men sacrificed to no end. And a bloody civil war broke out. Israel was at war with itself, consuming itself and becoming weaker and weaker militarily with every man falling.
How foolish for a nation to war against itself. For the sake of the pride of two generals, a nation was on fire.
At this point, what could David do? He was being guided by God onto the throne of Israel, and because of loyalty to Saul and a desire to maintain position, Abner forced his hand. Did not Abner know of the promise of God, the anointing of David to rule over all Israel? I suggest he knew, but was not concerned about the peace of the people of Israel, just the power of his position.
My friends, may I remind you we have Abner’s in the church. We must recognize that strong, self willed men often fight to get into leadership positions within the church body, thinking they are great gifts to the kingdom of God. But as Abner was destroying the kingdom he publicly pledged allegiance to, so these men and women who seek power also, with a feigned humility, seek control over the flock, no matter the cost.
When I think of this condition within the church, I ponder on what it means to lead. How is it to best impact those we love without shoving our opinions sometimes violently down their throat.
May I suggest the written/spoken word, fitly spoken, with a quiet humble spirit is powerful for the one who has ears to hear.
Also, any attempt to force our will on another believer seems to be beyond the scope of our calling. Now of course if I see a brother walking into a busy street, I will not quietly mention John 3:16 and hope for the best. I will force my will on him, knocking him back to the sidewalk, away from the traffic.
That should be obvious, but in relation to counselling our brothers, I often think of Paul in his relationship with Apollos. Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, requested (strongly urged) Apollos to travel to Corinth. Apollos decided not to.
1 Corinthians 16:12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
Paul didn’t seem threatened by the decision Apollos made, though it was against his wishes! How could Apollos reject the counsel the great apostle provided?
For myself, I reconcile this conflict understanding that both men answered to Jesus. Apollos related to Paul as a man who was his brother, and not his Lord.
May we sit under leaders in the church who understand the importance of believers following Jesus directly as opposed to interjecting their opinion into the relationship between the believer and his Lord.
With that said, I would like to emphasize to all who read this that this is a call to obedience to Jesus, not a call to disobedience to a Christian leader. There is a difference! May we have the wisdom, grace and humility to understand the ways of God for our lives!
And watchout for those Abners! They seem to be multiplying, tearing the church apart and letting many die on the field of battle for the sake of their wants!
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