Day 111: Trusting God’s Timing and Methods — A Reflection on 2 Samuel 3–4

From today’s reading, David is still ruling from Judah, but there’s ongoing conflict and war between the house of David and the house of Saul. To be honest, Abner, Saul’s army commander, seemed like the one running things from the house of Saul’s end, while Ishbosheth was more of a figurehead monarch.

How did I reach that conclusion? Ishbosheth accused Abner of sleeping with one of his late father’s concubines, and Abner was furious about it. The Scriptures do not tell us whether the accusation was true, but Abner went ahead to ask if this was what he deserved for being so loyal to Saul, his family, and his friends — even after Saul’s death. He even swore by the name of the Lord to help hand over the entire kingdom to David “as the Lord had promised,” and that the Lord should strike him if he didn’t do so. Ishbosheth’s response? Silence. He was so afraid hearing Abner say these things that he could no longer speak.

He was king positionally, but he didn’t really have any power or authority. Abner basically made him king, and now Abner was threatening to remove him from the throne.

Reading this reminded me that if men give you something, they can take it back. They are not infallible. In Yoruba language, it’s called “siregun” — eni yan ma siregun — meaning human beings can hold favours over one’s head. They help you with something and remind you all the time of their good deeds, whether to make you feel like you’d be nothing without them, or in hopes of reciprocation, or to always get you to do their bidding. They can taunt you because of the role they played in your success and even blackmail you.

God isn’t like that. He doesn’t hold favours over your head. The Bible records that He makes the sun shine on both the good and the evil. God uses people to bless and help other people, but when He’s the one behind the scenes, we can rest assured that He’ll take all the glory — not man. I felt bad for Ishbosheth sha, lol.

Another thing that stood out to me was that Abner knew that God had promised David would rule over the whole of Israel. He knew all this while but still didn’t think to switch to David’s camp or help him prior to this moment. This shows me that all of this rancour between him and Ishbosheth was just God making everything work together for David’s good.

Abner follows through with his threat. He sends messengers to David requesting that they make a solemn pact. David accepts but says he will only discuss if his wife, Michal, Saul’s daughter, is returned to him. Saul had given Michal to another man during the time he was trying to kill David. Abner takes Michal from her current husband, Palti, and brings her to David. Palti was apparently a lover boy, lol — the Bible records that he followed Michal a long distance, weeping behind them, until Abner asked him to go back home. I may have had an “awww” moment when I read that, lol.

Abner also began consulting with the elders of Israel and the men of Benjamin to make David king according to the word of the Lord.

He visited David with twenty of his men to tell him that all the people of Israel and Benjamin had agreed to support him. David received Abner warmly at Hebron with a feast, after which he sent him off safely.

Joab and Abishai, two of David’s high-ranking officials, weren’t at Hebron when Abner visited. They had gone to raid a place and returned with much plunder. Upon hearing that David had sent Abner off safely, Joab was furious. He had an unsettled score with Abner and sent messengers to trick him into returning to Hebron. When Abner arrived, Joab took him aside as if to speak privately but ended up stabbing him.

David knew nothing of this plan. He mourned Abner’s death and arranged his burial. He even fasted, and the Bible records that this pleased the people very much, as they realised he had no hand in Abner’s death.

When Ishbosheth heard of Abner’s death, you can imagine how afraid he was. And for good reason too — in just a few days, two of his men beheaded him while he slept. Those officers, being the “heroes” that they were in their own minds, travelled all night to show David the head of the king of Israel.

David didn’t see them as heroes but as men who murdered an innocent man. He had his young men kill them and then arranged for Ishbosheth’s burial.

Again, I’m reminded of the kind of heart that David had. Yes, he desired to be king, but he wanted it on God’s terms. It’s the same reason why he didn’t kill King Saul even with the many opportunities he had to do so.

I think that even without Abner’s support, if David wanted, he could have easily attacked the house of Saul and gotten rid of Ishbosheth, making himself king a long time ago. But David trusted God to bring His word to pass. He didn’t try to “help” God.

This is so profound for me — I must learn to use God’s methods and God’s strategies in walking into my promised destiny. God is able to bring His word to pass, and I don’t need to scheme or manipulate my way through.

I’m praying the Lord will help me to trust not just His word, but also His methods and timing. Amen.