The Peace Breaker

The Peace Breaker
Words of Faith 1-10-25
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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2 Samuel 3:28-39
[28] Later, when David heard about this, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. [29] May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house! May Joab's house never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food." [30] (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.) [31] Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner." King David himself walked behind the bier. [32] They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb. All the people wept also. [33] The king sang this lament for Abner: "Should Abner have died as the lawless die? [34] Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before wicked men." And all the people wept over him again. [35] Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!" [36] All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. [37] So on that day all the people and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner. [38] Then the king said to his men, "Do you not realize that a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? [39] And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!"

This reads like an incident torn from the headlines of a modern newspaper. Two nations at war had finally brokered a peace treaty. An envoy from one side came into the camp of the other to negotiate a surrender and merger, but an assassin broke the peace! We have heard similar stories in modern times. Some people are so committed to bitter violence that they will break their own law to effect personal vengeance and stop the peace process.
But there was more going on here. Who was this guy, Joab? He was actually David's nephew, but he was an older nephew. Joab was the son of David's sister, Zeruiah. Since David was the youngest son in his family, this "nephew" was probably about his age or not too much younger. He became the "commander of the host," the army of David.
When Joab murdered Abner, he claimed to be avenging the death of his brother, who died on the field of battle against Abner. Many interpreters believe that Joab was threatened by the possibility that a peace treaty with the other tribes would result in him losing his position to Abner. Later, Joab would murder yet another who was promoted to his position as commander. He also would one day participate in the death of Uriah.
We can see why David turned Joab over to the Lord for justice-- "And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!"
This was a critical time for making peace. David could not afford to alienate Joab or the followers of Abner. David renounced the murder of Abner in the strongest of terms, actually cursing the house of Joab, but stopped short of prosecuting the murder. This was apparently because of Joab's strong influence over the army and the family relationship.
This all was a way of distancing himself from the act of violence and declaring himself and his kingdom innocent of Abner's death. The assassination posed a profound threat to the fragile peace process that Abner and David had brokered. He led the people in a time of mourning and grief and demanded that Joab do the same.
There are some profound messages here. By not rooting out the peace breaker Joab posed within his ranks, David kept a presence handy that really did not represent his heart. He knew that Joab could be ruthless and would one day be tempted to use him to carry out an evil deed against Uriah. The most important lesson is to take great care in who you keep near you.

Father God, help me to focus on You and You alone. Keep me in touch with the larger plan of Your rule in my life. Draw me near to You in peace that is everlasting. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.