2 Samuel 3:1-21

Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker. ² And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; ³ And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; ⁴ And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵ And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron. ⁶ And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. ⁷ And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine? ⁸ Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog’s head, which against Judah do shew kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman? ⁹ So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the Lord hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; ¹⁰ To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba. ¹¹ And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him. ¹² And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee. ¹³ And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face. ¹⁴ And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines. ¹⁵ And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶ And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he returned. ¹⁷ And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you: ¹⁸ Now then do it: for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. ¹⁹ And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin. ²⁰ So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast. ²¹ And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

What king do you serve? That is the most important question we can answer, yet it is largely not on our minds. We live in a constitutional republic in the United States and the idea of a “king” is foreign to us. We have a harder time grasping this concept of a sovereign ruler, yet the Bible tells us that all of us are under one of two kings right now serving one of two spiritual kingdoms. There is the kingdom of this world under the leadership of “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) that we know as Satan, or the devil. Then, there is the eternal kingdom of God under the Lordship and rule of Jesus Christ. Everyone serves one of these kingdoms. What is the difference between the two? Essentially, it is the word “peace.” This is not talking about world peace or even just a mere inner feeling of tranquility. Instead, it is describing a settled peace with God. Those in Christ’s kingdom are at peace with God. Those outside of it are at war with God. Christ’s kingdom was established with His blood that was shed on a cross in order to make peace between God and man. Colossians 1:20 says, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.” By placing our faith and trust in Christ, we “have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). His kingdom is one of peace. The Christian life is to live according to that peace. Satan’s kingdom is marked by disorder and hostility. The kingdoms of this world are built upon bloodshed and destruction and are motivated by selfishness and pride. The kingdom of Christ is one of peace, using His means to reach a lost world for His glory. This week, in the life of David, we enter into a time period of war between David’s household and Saul’s household as a struggle ensues over the kingdom of Israel. The actions of Abner and the sons of Zeruiah in 2 Samuel created and heightened the conflict into a period of bloodshed. How would God bring an end to this? What would He have David, His anointed king, to do? Through an unexpected situation, we find that steps are taken to bring peace to the kingdom. From David’s interactions with Abner, we learn about the cost of peace that few are willing to pay. What we mean by the cost of peace is steps that are taken to bring the peace of God’s kingdom out in our lives as we serve Him in this world. There are three things required that we can learn from this peace as we consider that “Peace Has A Price.”

First, we are called to act according to God’s Word. In the first six verses of 2 Samuel 3, we learn that there was a prolonged war between Saul’s house led by Ish-bosheth and Abner and David’s house led by David and Joab. Over the course of time, perhaps the entire seven and a half years that David ruled from Hebron, we find that Saul’s house became weaker and weaker while David’s house became stronger and stronger. That simply means that it eventually became clear who was winning and who was losing. This served to confirm the Word of the Lord that David was His anointed king and that nothing would stop God from fulfilling His Word. Verses 2-5 detail for us the wives that David took while in Hebron and the sons that were born to him during that seven-and-a-half-year period. We are also told in verse 6 that Abner was “strong for the house of Saul” which simply means he was the clear leader on that side of things. What do these details teach us? There are two instructions as it relates to acting on God’s Word. First, if David was God’s anointed king and God’s Word testified to that, then Abner and all that were faithful to Saul’s house should have sided with David. Secondly, we see in David’s actions some unrighteousness. His many wives were a direct violation of God’s Word in Deuteronomy 17:17 when God warned that Israel’s future kings were not allowed to take many wives so “that his heart turn not away” from the Lord. Both sides failed in different ways in relationship to God’s Word. Saul’s house would suffer eventual defeat and judgment and David’s rule and descendants would suffer for his many wives. The actions of Abner and Saul’s house in failing to submit to God’s Word were that it led to division and destruction for seven plus years in the kingdom. The actions of David would lead to division and destruction in the future for him, the kingdom, and his descendants.  When you and I fail to follow God’s Word and instead act in our own prideful, worldly wisdom that consists in selfish ambition, we get the same kind of results. James 3:14-16 tells us that such wisdom produces “confusion [disorder or division] and every evil work.” The first price of peace is being willing to act on God’s Word instead of our own wisdom in pride.

Next, we must acknowledge sin’s impact. As fallen creatures, sin inevitably plagues our existence. If we are going to manifest the peace of Christ in our lives and in the church, we must be willing to acknowledge and own up to the impact of our sin. Division breaks out between Abner and Ish-bosheth because Ish-bosheth accused Abner of sleeping with one of Saul’s former concubines (that were now Ish-bosheth’s concubines). To claim a concubine or wife of the king in such a way was akin to claiming the king’s power and authority. Essentially, Ish-bosheth accused Abner of being after his throne, a throne that we must remember was given to him by Abner when he anointed him as king in 2 Samuel 2. We don’t know whether Abner was truly guilty or not, but Ish-bosheth’s accusation angered him enough to switch sides. Abner’s decision may have also been motivated by the fact that they were clearly the losing side. When Abner went to David, rather than David just receiving an enemy of nearly 20-plus years, David gave him a task that forced Abner to own up to past sins as a part of Saul’s house. David requested Michal, his first wife that Saul had given to another man while David was on the run from him, from Ish-bosheth as a proof of Abner’s new allegiance. Two things went on here. First, Abner was humbled because David made this request from Ish-bosheth that Abner would then carry out. This forced Abner to demonstrate proper submission to authority (Ish-bosheth and David). Second, it forced Abner to own up to past sin as Saul’s trusted servant. He would have been involved in Saul’s actions of giving David’s wife to another man. True peace is never accomplished by winking at sin, sweeping it under the rug, or pretending it didn’t happen. True peace and reconciliation are only possible when we do things God’s way. That way is that we must acknowledge, confess, and repent of sin. In many cases, that requires us to own up to the impact our sin has had by way of restoration and humility. When God’s people fail to hold each other accountable, not out of bitter grudges but out of genuine love, we do each other a terrible disservice. It was not unwise or begrudging of David to expect Abner to demonstrate true allegiance just as John the Baptist demanded true fruits of repentance from the religious leaders in Israel (Matthew 3:8). However, we must be gentle and humble in doing so (Galatians 6:1-3). Many Christians continue to have the same trouble in relationships with others because they continually sin in similar ways and never own up to it. Lives then become marked by discord and destructiveness, all because the same underlying sins are never confronted and dealt with. A cost of true peace is that we must acknowledge sin’s impact.

Lastly, we have to accept the Lord’s purposes. Not only did Abner follow through on the request that David had given in returning Michal, but he also went about to aid David in consolidating the kingdom by going to the elders of Israel that had been loyal to Saul’s household and convincing them to submit to the Lord’s will by submitting to David as king (v. 17-18). Abner even went to the people of Benjamin (Saul’s tribe and those most loyal to him) to convince them to support David (v. 19). When Abner returned from doing all of that, he and 20 men of his joined David in Hebron for a feast (v. 20). In response to Abner’s promise of continued support and helping David to consolidate the kingdom, David sent Abner away “in peace” (v. 21). We cannot be certain whether Abner was genuine or not because we do not know his heart. However, his actions spoke volumes as he went to all of those that he would have formerly convinced to fight against David and convinced them to join David. His actions dictated that he had a change of allegiance. What do our actions say about us? The third price of peace is submission to the Lord’s will. It is one thing to know of God’s will and speak of it, but do we actually submit to it and obey it? There can be no true peace apart from obedience to the Lord. Abner was willing to submit to David as his king and call others to do the same. Do our actions point people to the greater David, the Lord Jesus, or do they turn people away from Him?

Are we willing to pay the price of peace? We must act according to God’s Word, acknowledge sin’s impact, and accept the Lord’s purposes. The good news of the gospel is that God has taken the initiative to make peace and reconcile us to Himself. This was accomplished through the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who perfectly obeyed His Word and will in every way (act according to God’s Word), paid the great debt of sin that we owed (acknowledge sin’s impact), and fulfilled the purposes of God on our behalf (accept the Lord’s purposes). You and I now have peace with God full and free because we have one who has paid the price of peace for us. In response to Him, are we willing to pay that price in how we live our lives before a watching world and in our relationships to one another in the body of Christ?