“he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead to say to them, “‘The LORD bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.”
– 2 Samuel 2:5
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you okay with paradigm changes or would you rather that everything remains as a norm? Are you okay with transitions or would you rather that everything stays status quo? Are you okay with utilizing an alternative or would you rather that everything continues as is? Would you prefer to stay each year in the same class grade in your school or would you rather move up to the next class grade at the end of each school year? Would you prefer to have just one teacher each school year teach all your classes or would you rather go to different classes each school year with each class having a different teacher? Would you prefer to stay in the school that you have been going to even if for one reason or another the academic experience that you had been hoping to have in the school is not happening or would you rather begin at a different school so that you can have better educational opportunities? Because there is really no way to escape having to make life changes, how do you go about making a life change? Because a life change oftentimes involves having to compete with other guys and/or gals to get the best grade, to get on a team, to get a job, to . . ., how do you go about ‘defeating’ guys and/or gals to get the best grade, to get on a team, to get a job, to . . . because a life change invariably is influenced by a change of environs, how do you go about ‘accepting’ the new environs? Do you do it David’s way or do you do it the way that Abner and Joab did?
When Saul was positioned as the first king over the Israelite people groups guys and gals, Saul picked Abner to be the commander over his army. Abner was a cousin of Saul. After Saul and three of his four sons were killed during a battle with an invading Philistine people group army, Judah tribal clan guys formally positioned David to be their next king. David picked Joab to be the commander over his army. Joab was a nephew of David. Instead of accepting David as being the next positioned king over the Israelite people groups guys and gals, Abner – a few years later, arbitrarily decided that 40 years old Ish-Bosheth – who was Saul’s remaining living son, should be the next king to rule over the Israelite people groups guys and gals. Because animosity was festering between Judah tribal clan guys who supported David and the other Israelite people group tribal clan guys who were behind having Abner have Ish-Bosheth rule as their king, the two military leaders of the two groups – who were Abner and Joab, decided on Gibeon Pool as the site to resolve the rift that was taking place because of Judah tribal clan guys having decided to make David their king when the guys from the other Israelite people group tribal clans were assenting to having Ish-Bosheth be their king. Guys in Benjamin tribal clan – which is the tribal clan that Saul and Abner were from, were the key advocates for Ish-Bosheth being king. Abner’s plan to bring resolution to the two group’s hate for each other was to have twelve guys from Bejamin tribal clan and twelve guys from Judah tribal clan face off against each other with the thought that the last guy standing will represent who will be officially recognized by everyone as being king over all the Israelite people group guys and gals. Joab agreed to Abner’s plan. The clash that was planned between the twelve guy sides from Benjamin and Judah tribal clans – with Judah tribal clan being the tribal clan that David and Joab were from, did not last long. As each guy grabbed his opponent’s head, each guy was able to stab his dagger into his rival’s side which . . . which led to an out-and-out brawl between Benjamin tribal clan guys and Judah tribal clan guys. Joab’s Judah tribal clan guys badly defeated Abner’s Benjamin tribal clan guys. Judah tribal clan had 20 of their guys killed while Benjamin tribal clan had 360 of their guys killed. Asahel was one of Judah tribal clan guys killed. Asahel was Joab’s kid bro. Asahel was killed by Abner after this wild gazelle fast kid caught up with Abner to kill him. Abner – after he told Asahel to back off – that he did not want to kill him because he did not want to have to face his big bro afterwards, still ended up jamming his spear butt through Asahel’s stomach. After getting cornered with his guys on Ammah Hill, Abner asked Joab to stop fighting – that if they kept killing each other, that the Judah clan and Benjamin tribal clans – who had allotted land next to each other in the land area that God had given to the Israelite people group guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land would always bitterly hate each other. Joab concurred. Even though Joab would prove himself over time to being a ruthless leader, this time Joab permitted Abner and his guys to return home to their families without anyone else being killed. Samuel recounts this incident in his second Samuel Book – in Samuel 2.
Several years before Abner decided that Ish-Bosheth should be the next king over the Israelite people groups guys and gals, David sent a message. Verse 5 says, “he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead to say to them, “‘The LORD bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.” Even though Saul had tried for years to kill him, David unreservedly respected Saul as being the guy who God wanted to be the first king over His specially chosen guys and gals. The two choices that your grandpaa always has in life is to either pull a David by thanking and affirming other guys, gals or kids no matter what they have done to him or to pull an Abner and Joab by trying to put one over, pull down and/or get even with a guy, gal and kid who has . . . what would you do?
2 Samuel 2 (1034)