2 Samuel 3:1 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
There is a lot of bad behavior in this chapter. We find out that David now has six wives, and he demands that Saul’s one living son—Ish-Bosheth—give Michal, daughter of Saul, back to him, even though it means taking her away from her husband Paltiel. Abner, who has known that David was the God-anointed king, vows to help him achieve the throne—not out of loyalty to God or David, but in a spirit of revenge against Ish-Bosheth.
2 Samuel 3:9 May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath….
Additionally, Joab waylays Abner and kills him just outside of the gates of the city of refuge so that he can avenge his brother’s death, even though Abner had a right to safely seek refuge there. And David, while he does verbally censure Joab, does nothing to correct Joab, his chief military officer, for the underhanded way he murdered Abner.
2 Samuel 3:27 …And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed [Abner] in the stomach and he died.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the realization that we are all human, fallible, flawed, but that You can, will, and do use us in Your service if we will only give ourselves to You. Forgive me for the many, many times that I, too, have behaved badly in Your sight. Help me to focus my eyes on You only and to seek always to do Your will. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Samuel 3:28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner….”
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.