05 Israel and Judah at War

Though the land mass of the nation of Israel is relatively small, being approximately the size of the state of New Jersey, it has had more wars fought on its soil, than any other nation in world history. However, one of the saddest, and certainly avoidable wars, was the civil wat which ensued after the people of Judah named David their king.

1 The Challenge to David

Abner, who had been Saul’s top military commander, refused to accept David as king, and therefore appointed Saul’s sole surviving son Ishbosheth as king over every other Israelite tribe, thus causing David to be the king of the tribe of Judah alone.

However, that wasn’t the only challenge from Abner, as he and David’s top commander Joab met in Gibeon, were Abner suggested a “contest” between soldiers on both sides.

While Ishbosheth had been declared to be Israel’s king, the real rival of David was Abner, who obviously held a grudge because his leader Saul had not remained king. It seems that in his closeness to Saul throughout the years, he had developed much the same disdain for David which Saul had.

Rather than forming his own opinion, he simply fell in line behind Saul.

God’s Word is clear to believers, that were not to allow the world to influence our thinking, but rather to submit to the Holy Spirit, so that He might transform our thinking:

Romans 12:2

Culturally, it was the custom of the day, for nations in conflict to attempt to resolve issues between them, by having individuals or small groups to engage in battle, with the victor representing victor for the nation itself. However, while that was often the case where nations were involved, in this instance, these had become warring factions within the same nation:

2 Samuel 2:14-16

The fierceness of the battle was commemorated, as they began calling the location “the Field of Sharp Swords”.

Sadly, they were commemorating a battle, which was outside of God’s will, and showed their simple inability to resolve a conflict in a congenial manner.

The Bible is clear to believers, about the harm caused by treating one another in the fashion the world does:

1 Corinthians 6:1-5

Even though the conflict between Israel and Judah had taken place in the days of the Old Testament, the Lord desired for His people under the Old Covenant, to be lights and examples to the world, just as He does for the church today.

Sadly, there’s no recorded evidence of anyone from either Israel or Judah (including David), calling upon the Lord, to ask direction or to ascertain God’s will in how to resolve the conflict. Rather, the opposing commanders decided a small-scale battle, was to be the means to determine which side would claim victory.

The Bible does declare that there are times when war is appropriate:

Ecclesiastes 3:8

But because neither side had consulted the Lord’s will in the matter, this certainly would not have qualified as a just war.

2 Abner Kills Joab’s Brother

The “competition” between the men of Judah and Benjamin, was only the beginning of what would become more intense fighting, as larger contingents from both sides would engage in battle:

2 Samuel 2:18-23

Scripture tells us that Joab, Abishai, and Ashael were first cousins of David, which would explain their staunch loyalty to him:

1 Chronicles 2:16

Abner was no doubt aware of the fact that the brothers were related to David, which would have certainly influenced his feelings toward them as well.

Therefore, by killing Joab’s brother Ashael, Abner was more than killing the brother of the opposing army’s commander but was striking a blow at David as well.

Even so, from the text, while it seemed that Abner was someone hesitant in killing Ashael, that would later be shown not to be the case at all.

Despite Abner strongly suggesting that Ashael turn aside from pursuing him, David’s cousin continued doing so, thus showing his strong allegiance to David.

Abner then struck the young man with the blunt end of the spear with such force, that it went completely through him, killing him on the spot.

And while Abner had apparently secured the first victory against the rival family, Joab would make it his life’s ambition to avenge his brother’s death.

3 A Temporary Truce

The two surviving brothers, Joab and Abishai hotly pursued Abner to the edge of the Wilderness of Gibeon, until sunset. However, the area was deep into the stronghold of the tribe of Benjamin and had been Saul’s headquarters at one time.

Once Abner felt safe within his territory, Abner then called out to Joab, and requested that the two sides enact a truce:

2 Samuel 2:24-32

Abner wanted to use the time to assess his next move, therefore he suggested the truce. Joab stated, that had Abner not called for the truce, they would have continued the pursuit until the point of exhaustion.

However, Joab agreed to the truce, thus ending the pursuit of the man who had killed his brother.

4 A Lengthy War

While the two sides entered a truce that night, it would only be a temporary cessation. The conflict would continue throughout the two years Ishbosheth remained upon Israel’s throne:

2 Samuel 3:1