2 Samuel · chapter 3 of 24
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2 Samuel 3 tells how David's house grows stronger while Saul's grows weaker. Offended by Ish-bosheth, Abner offers to bring all Israel to David and is welcomed at Hebron, but Joab lures him back and kills him in revenge for Asahel. David declares he had no part in the death, orders public mourning and weeps at Abner's grave.
After the division of Israel and the battle at Gibeon in 2 Samuel 2, this chapter tells how the war slowly tilts toward David. At the same time it shows that the road to the throne is not free of violence: the blood of Asahel and Joab's jealousy threaten the unity God is preparing, and David must show that he is not allied with crime.
The war between the house of Saul and the house of David is long: David grows stronger and Saul's house grows weaker. The text lists the sons born to David at Hebron: Amnon, Chileab, Absalom, Adonijah, Shephatiah and Ithream, by six different wives.
Abner grows more and more powerful in Saul's house, and Ish-bosheth accuses him of going in to Rizpah, a concubine of Saul. Abner is furious and swears to hand the kingdom over to David, from Dan to Beersheba. He sends messengers to David, who first asks him to return his wife Michal, Saul's daughter. Michal is taken from her husband Paltiel, who follows her weeping until Abner sends him back. Abner speaks with the elders of Israel and of Benjamin, goes to Hebron with twenty men, and David welcomes him with a feast and sends him away in peace.
Joab returns from a raid and hears of it. He rebukes David, sends messengers after Abner and brings him back to Hebron, where he draws him aside inside the gate and stabs him in the belly, avenging his brother Asahel. David declares that he and his kingdom are innocent of this blood and asks that it fall on Joab's house. He orders everyone to mourn, follows the bier himself, weeps at the grave, sings a lament and fasts. The people approve. David says that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel, and that the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for him.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The text sums up that the war was long and that David kept growing stronger while Saul's house grew weaker. It is a sign that the Lord fulfills his purpose at his own pace, without David having to force it.
Abner swears to transfer the kingdom of Saul to David, from Dan to Beersheba. Though anger and self-interest drive him, his words acknowledge that the kingdom belongs to David, something Abner had known all along.
Joab draws Abner aside inside the gate as if to speak privately and stabs him in the belly, avenging Asahel's death. It is a treacherous murder that breaks the newly made peace and threatens the unity of the kingdom.
David confesses that, though anointed king, he feels weak today before the sons of Zeruiah, and asks the Lord to repay the evildoer according to his evil. He admits the limit of his power and entrusts justice to God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Amnon, son of Ahinoam of Jezreel. — 2 Samuel 3:2
Answer: Because Ish-bosheth accused him of going in to Rizpah, a concubine of Saul. — 2 Samuel 3:7-8
Answer: That he return his wife Michal, Saul's daughter. — 2 Samuel 3:13-14
Answer: Her husband Paltiel, until Abner ordered him to go back. — 2 Samuel 3:15-16
Answer: To avenge the death of his brother Asahel. — 2 Samuel 3:27
Answer: He declared himself innocent before everyone, fasted, followed the bier and wept at the grave. — 2 Samuel 3:28-35
Abner's death reminds us that reaching a good end does not justify unjust means. Joab wanted to protect the kingdom and avenge his brother, but he did it through deceit, and David made it publicly clear that he did not approve. In a church, a group or a family, a good goal must never justify a treacherous method.
The chapter also highlights the value of visible action. David did not merely say he was innocent: he mourned, fasted and spoke before the people. When an injustice happens near us, it is not enough to feel sorry in silence; sometimes we must make clear, in word and deed, where we stand.
2 Samuel 3 ends with David showing he will not win the throne through murder and with Joab still unpunished. Without Abner, Saul's house loses its main support, and 2 Samuel 4 tells how two men kill Ish-bosheth hoping for a reward from David.
Michal was Saul's daughter and had been David's wife before Saul gave her to Paltiel. Getting her back strengthened David's tie to Saul's house and his claim to the throne before the tribes. The text also shows the human cost: Paltiel followed her weeping.
No. The text states that the king had no part in the death, that Abner had left in peace, and that Joab killed him out of revenge. David declares this publicly and asks that the guilt fall on Joab's house.
Zeruiah was David's sister; her sons were Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Joab and Abishai were two of his chief military leaders, useful but violent. David admits he cannot fully control them and leaves the punishment to the Lord.