Joab Murders Abner
March 13, 2021
Commentary
All this time Joab has not forgotten that Abner had slain his brother. Joab took things into his own hands by having Abner return to Hebron (v. 26). Pretending to whisper something of importance to Abner, Joab took him aside and stabbed him to death. Hebron was one of the cities of refuge where a murder was safe. In that city Joab could not have touched him, but they stepped outside the city. This was in revenge for Abner’s murder of Joab’s brother Asahel (v. 27). Abner had killed Joab’s brother in self defense but now Joab kills Abner in revenge of his brother’s death and perhaps also to save his position of military leadership. David was shocked when he heard what his general had done. He publicly proclaimed his innocence in the matter. He pronounced a curse on Joab and his descendants. He wished sickness, poverty, and hunger on Joab’s family perpetually (vv. 28-30).
The king ordered his supporters, including Joab, to publicly lament the death of Abner. David himself followed the casket to the grave. There he and all his followers wept. The king chanted a lamentation which he had composed in honor of Abner. The man had experienced a death unworthy of him. He had not died in battle, nor had he been executed as a common criminal. Abner had been treacherously murdered (vv. 31-34). After the burial, the people tried to get David to eat. He vowed he would not taste food until sundown. The people were pleased with this demonstration of grief over the murder of his former enemy. They rightly concluded that David had nothing to do with the cold-blooded murder of Abner. The king regarded Abner as “a prince and a great man” in Israel. His sense of justice called for punishment against Joab. All he could do was to call upon God to punish the evil which Joab had done (vv. 35-39).
Application
Joab took revenge for the death of his brother instead of leaving justice to God. I should always remember that God will repay those who deserve it (Rom. 12:19). Seeking revenge will only ruin my own peace of mind and increase the chances of further retaliation. Can I think of someone in my life presently that I would like to get even with and need to turn this over to the Lord?
2 Samuel 3:26– 39 (NET)
26 Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah. (But David was not aware of it.) 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel.
28 When David later heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood whirl over the head of Joab and the entire house of his father! May the males of Joab’s house never cease to have someone with a running sore or a skin disease or one who works at the spindle or one who falls by the sword or one who lacks food!”
30 So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.
31 David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes. Put on sackcloth. Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed behind the funeral pallet. 32 So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly over Abner’s grave, and all the people wept too. 33 The king chanted the following lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died like a fool?
34 Your hands were not bound, and your feet were not put into irons. You fell the way one falls before criminals.”
35 Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”
36 All the people noticed this and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased all the people. 37 All the people and all Israel realized on that day that the killing of Abner son of Ner was not done at the king’s instigation.
38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great leader has fallen this day in Israel? 39 Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear! May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!”