Tag: Abner

RESOURCE FRIDAY: Power Plays (2 Samuel 3:1-11)

Today we return to our Friday series through 2nd Samuel! Having left off at the conclusion of chapter two we pick up today in chapter three and the moment when the ‘anti-Christ’ partnership between Abner and Ishbosheth goes south. It’s amazing how little holds together godless unions; and such a contemplation ought to provoke appreciation for all that holds together Christ-centered relationships! That is just one of the lessons illustrated for us in this passage. There are examples of God’s awe-striking sovereignty, encouragement as it relates to the Christian’s expectation of sanctification, and a reminder that long before David’s fall in 2nd Samuel 11 there was his disobedience to Deuteronomy 17 recorded in 2 Samuel 3. Such a reminder should help us catch the little foxes of ‘unremarkable sin’ that can not only spoil the vines of fruitful Christian living but can lead to a fall with far-reaching consequences.

With that being said, may you be edified and enamored as you behold and study the revelation of God in 2nd Samuel 3:1-11.

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RESOURCE FRIDAY: Civil War (2 Samuel 2:12-32)

Today we continue our Resource Friday study through the book of 2 Samuel. Abner didn’t play king-maker in Mahanaim for simply the fun of it. Ishbosheth was simply a means to his own self-centered ends. And for Abner to attain the preeminence he sought, he would have to remove the rival God-appointed king and his fledgling kingdom. Abner’s strategy of choice – a 12 on 12 battle and the subsequent exciting of a civil war.

There are plenty of verses to study and plenty to learn in the passage before us, including (but not limited to): a reminder of things that God loves and hates, how the Spirit-inspired narrator laid literary groundwork for us to better understand who Joab is, and how Abner is an illustration of how futile it is to wage war against the kingdom of God and the Gospel of His Son.

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RESOURCE FRIDAY: One King Too Many (2 Samuel 2:1-11)

After a week’s intermission to consider the subject of the limitless knowledge of God we continue our Resource Friday study through 2 Samuel. It’s hard to communicate in a brief intro all the aspects of this text that are worthy of contemplation and meditation. But to highlight some: in this study you will see David demonstrate dependence on God and be reminded how the Son of God perfectly practiced such dependence; you will see why those who claim to live in Christ must not walk as Abner walked; and how, although the Christian life may feel like a series of marathons, and ‘waiting seasons’ may seem renewed over and over again, God is infinitely worthy of trust, and we, like David, should pursue being faithful to the commitments we’ve made and helpful to those around us while we wait.

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