The Battle of Gibeon
September 24, 2021
Commentary
With Israel divided there was constant tension between the north and the south. From the beginning of David’s reign his real rival in the north was not Ishbosheth but Abner. In order to settle the question of royal succession Abner, the general in the north and David’s military leader Joab agreed to some part of a “dagger match” at the pool of Gibeon about five miles northeast of Jerusalem (vv. 12-17). Twelve men from each side were chosen to fight each other and the side with the most survivors would be declared the winner. The idea was to avoid an all-out war. The result was a victory for David’s men, but they were not satisfied to end the contest there. Instead they made hot pursuit of Abner and his friends.
An incident occurred in the battle at Gibeon which was to have serious repercussions. Asahel was killed (vv. 18-23). During the course of the battle he set his sights on Abner. He determined to chase down the old general and kill him. As he scampered up and down the rough hills of Benjamin, Abner spotted the young soldier bearing down on him. Twice Abner warned Asahel to turn aside lest he be killed. Asahel, however, refused to be deterred. As he closed in on Abner, the wily old general abruptly stopped and thrust backward with the butt of his spear. Asahel was struck with such force that the butt of the spear ripped through his belly and exited his back. Asahel died on the spot.
Abishai, a surviving brother, vows to take revenge (v. 24) but when faced by unfavorable odds gives up the chase (vv. 25-28). At this point David had lost 20 soldiers, but Abner had lost 360 (vv. 29-32). Observing that an all-out assault on the position of Abner would be extremely costly, Joab signaled his men to halt the attack. Under cover of darkness, Abner and his men marched through the Jordan valley, crossed the river and returned to the safety of Mahanaim. The battle was over but not the war.
Application
Persistence can be a good quality in my life if it is for a worthy cause. But if the goal is only for personal gain, persistence may be no more than stubbornest. As noted, Asahel’s stubbornest cost him his life. Before I decide to pursue a goal I must make sure it is worthy of my devotion.
2 Samuel 2:12– 32 (NET)
12 Then Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish Bosheth son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David also went out and confronted them at the pool of Gibeon. One group stationed themselves on one side of the pool, and the other group on the other side of the pool. 14 Abner said to Joab, “Let the soldiers get up and fight before us.” Joab said, “So be it!”
15 So they got up and crossed over by number: twelve belonging to Benjamin and to Ish Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. 16 As they grappled with one another, each one stabbed his opponent with his sword and they fell dead together. So that place is called the Field of Flints; it is in Gibeon.
17 Now the battle was very severe that day; Abner and the men of Israel were overcome by David’s soldiers. 18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. (Now Asahel was as quick on his feet as one of the gazelles in the field.) 19 Asahel chased Abner, without turning to the right or to the left as he followed Abner.
20 Then Abner turned and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” He replied, “Yes it is!” 21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left. Capture one of the soldiers and take his equipment for yourself!” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him. 22 So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. How then could I show my face in the presence of Joab your brother?” 23 But Asahel refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner. Everyone who came to the place where Asahel fell dead paused in respect.
24 So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 The Benjaminites formed their ranks behind Abner and were like a single army, standing at the top of a certain hill.
26 Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?” 27 Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, it would have been morning before the people would have abandoned pursuit of their brothers.” 28 Then Joab blew the ram’s horn and all the people stopped in their tracks. They stopped chasing Israel and ceased fighting. 29 Abner and his men went through the rift valley all that night. They crossed the Jordan River and went through the whole region of Bitron and came to Mahanaim.
30 Now Joab returned from chasing Abner and assembled all the people. Nineteen of David’s soldiers were missing, in addition to Asahel. 31 But David’s soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner’s men—in all, 360 men had died! 32 They took Asahel’s body and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Joab and his men then traveled all that night and reached Hebron by dawn.
Illustration: Newspaper Publisher Apologizes to a Politician
In the washroom of his London club, British newspaper publisher and politician William Beverbrook happened to meet Edward Heath, then a young member of Parliament, about whom Beverbrook had printed an insulting editorial a few days earlier. “My dear chap,” said the publisher, embarrassed by the encounter. “I’ve been thinking it over, and I was wrong. Here and now, I wish to apologize.” “Very well,” grunted Heath. “But the next time, I wish you’d insult me in the washroom and apologize in your newspaper.” (Today in the Word, October 1, 1993)