For Love of Battle

Reflections on 2 Sam. 2:12 - 3:1

All the men who gathered at the pool in Gibeon, just north of Judah’s border and eight miles NW of Jerusalem, were brothers. So why did they fight? Three factors contributed to this fight among friends. First, there were divided loyalties. Those with Abner were loyal to Saul’s house, and those with Joab were loyal to David. Second, there was a perceived threat. Joab undoubtedly considered it a threat to David when Abner moved his army to Gibeon. At the same time, Abner may have considered David’s growing strength to be a threat to the property of Saul’s family in Benjamin. Still, the two armies did not seem overly anxious to fight. The third factor may have simply been the male desire for a contest in which one may prove his superior strength or prowess.

THE GAME. The contest began when Abner proposed that twelve men from each side “compete before us” (v. 14). His idea was that the men would “hold a contest” (NASB) in a kind of sporting event for the entertainment of the onlookers. Undoubtedly, the proposal had been preceded by a contest of words: boasts and insults being shouted between the camps. When the taunting had escalated, the words had to be backed up with actions. The twelve men did not hesitate to accept the challenge. Each one armed with a sword but carrying no shield, grabbed his opponent with a free hand and stabbed him with the other. The “game” ended in a draw.

PRESSING THE ADVANTAGE. None were satisfied with a draw, so the two armies were soon fully engaged in battle. Abner’s men suffered heavy losses and fled before David’s men. Joab’s brother Asahel, a son of David’s older sister Zeruiah, soon found himself pursuing Abner. Abner, an older and more experienced soldier, was better armed, but Asahel was faster. Abner suggested either that Asahel give up his pursuit long enough to better arm himself by stripping a fallen soldier (Bergen, 1996, p. 304) or that he be satisfied fighting a younger soldier more his equal (J.E. Smith, 2000, p. 353). Asahel knew his advantage was his speed and refused to change either his strategy or his objective. Without turning to face his pursuer, Abner thrust backward with the butt of his spear. Asahel’s momentum carried him into the spear which passed through his stomach and out of his back.

VICTORY. David’s men who saw the body of Asahel were shocked at the death of one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam. 23:24; 1 Chron. 11:26), and their pursuit of Abner’s men was abruptly stopped. The course of the battle, however, was not changed because the other soldiers continued their pursuit and surrounded Abner’s men on a hill east of Gibeah. Abner, who had suggested that twelve men from each side begin the fighting, called upon Joab to end the fighting. Joab accepted the truce because the victory had been decisive. Only twenty of David’s men had died, but 360 of Abner’s men had been killed.

CAUSE FOR REVENGE. When Joab accepted the truce, he apparently did not know that his brother Asahel had been slain. After the dead were identified, he made a quick trip to Bethlehem to bury his brother and returned with the other soldiers to David at Hebron. Abner crossed the Jordan River and returned to Mahanaim, but Joab did not forget him. Despite Judah’s victory that day, Joab was determined to avenge his brother’s death just as Abner knew he would be (v. 22).