2 SAMUEL 3 - GOD IS IN CONTROL
2 Samuel 3
Chapter 3 of 2 Samuel is powerful reminder that God is in control. It can so often feel that life is out of control, but rest assured God’s promises to you will be fulfilled. For years David had been living in caves, running for his life and subject to the whims of Saul, though God had promised to make David king of Israel. And now David is King Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. And it would be easy for David to be satisfied and to take the view that God had fulfilled his promise. But God has promised to make David King of all Israel, not just Judah. And as God states in Numbers 23:19:
God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
In other words we can rest assured that God’s word and promises, will come to pass. And God will often use the desires and actions of selfish and godless men to achieve His ends. In chapter 3 we see the actions of men that are clearly not aligned with or following God’s commands and yet, in their selfish rebellious acts they are leading to the fulfillment of God’s purposes. God is in control. And though God allows man to exercise free will, God is maneuvering the seemingly random, free, and all too often sinful actions of men, to ultimately fulfill God’s purposes. Chapter 3 begins by telling us that the real power behind the throne in Israel is Abner, and not the king, Saul’s son Ish-bosheth. Abner was commander-in-chief of King Saul’s army, and after Saul’s death while Judah crowned David, we are told that Abner had crowned Ish-bosheth over the rest of Israel.
Abner had made Ish-bosheth king though he was well aware, as he states in 2 Samuel 3:18 that God had not only promised David the throne, but promised that David would save Israel from the Philistines. And yet to retain his own power Abner has defied what he knows to be the will of God, causing unnecessary warfare between Israel and Judah; and forestalling Israel’s redemption from the Philistines. But man cannot thwart the will and promises of God. Having promised David the throne, God will deliver.
And God uses Abner’s self-importance to create the circumstances leading to the fulfilment of His will.
Ish-bosheth, figurative king of Israel, is disturbed that Abner is having relations with a concubine of his father, named Rizpah. This was not simply a matter about a woman. Throughout the old testament we are told that such relations are reflective of the position, strength and authority of a man. Abner’s relations with Rizpah (previously the concubine of a King) was a subtle statement regarding Abner’s true power in Israel.
Insulted that Ish-bosheth would question his authority, Abner conspires to make David king of all Israel. Abner will ultimately pay the price for his alliance with David. Joab, who will later become captain of David’s army, kills Abner in revenge for the death of his brother Asahel. And this seemingly becomes another stumbling block in David’s ascension to Israels throne. And yet again, God’s promises will prevail. David will be made king and bring redemption to Israel. God’s purpose in making David King is not just for David’s sake, however, or just for Israel. God is putting David on the throne of Israel to pave the way for the true King, which is to come. Like David, sinful men pursuing their own agenda will ultimately fulfill God’s greatest promise, when they crucify the King of kings. And in fulfilling that promise, God will bring redemption to all mankind, through Jesus Christ, and with it, the reminder that he is truly in control. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20:
All the promises of God are yes in Christ.