The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 92

Vera.17, 18.-.An urgmt appeal: an evangelistic address. "Now then do it" (ver. 18). Having resolved to transfer his allegie.nce, Abner here persuades the elders of Israel to mal"e David 'king over the whole land; as they afterwe.rds did (eh. v. 1-3). A simile.r e.ppeal may be addressed to other&, urging them to submit to the royal authority of Christ, of whom David was a type (1 Sam. ii. 10). 'l'ranslated into Ne,v Testament language, it is, "We beseech you, on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. v. 20). Consider- I. WHAT YOU SHOULD Do. Jesus Christ is King, anointed and exalted to the right hand of God; he reigns in grace and righteousnl'SS in me.ny hearts; but his kinadom is not yet fully revealed and universally extended on earth, and it cannot be s;t up "within )'OU" except by your own consent. You must: 1. Receive him heartily aa your King and Lord, your absolute Owner and supreme Ruler, as well as your Redeemer and Saviour; by a personal, inward, volunte.ry a.et; in the renunciation of whe.tever is opposed to his will, and the submission and surrender of your whole being to his direction and control. "Now be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord" (2 Chron. xxx. 8; Rom. vi. 13). " Our wills nre ours, we know not how : Our wills are ours to make them thine." 2. O<mfus him openly, by uniting with his people, testifyin~ your faith in him, and proclaiming his Name before men. "With the heart man believeth," etc. (Rom. x. 10; 2 Cor. viii. 5). "Whosoever therefore shall confess me," etc. (Matt. x. 32). 3. Serve him loyally, by obeying his commandments, assisting his friends, resisting his foes, seekin" his honour and the spread of his kiogdom. "It is not enough that I Rhould love the Lord myself alone; every heart must love him, and every tongue speak forth his praise." II. WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT. "Now then do it: for Jehovah hath spoken," etc. 1. It is the purpose of God that he should reign over you. "He must reign," either in mercy or in judgmcnt. 2. It is the promise of God that through him you may be saved from your enemies-sin, Satan, death, and hell. "There is none other Name." 3. It h&S been your own desire in times pa.st that he might be your King. "Ye sought for David both yt$terday and the day before to be king over you: now then do it." Under the bitter oppression of the ruler chosen by yourselves, in view of the superior worth of" the man of God's choice," in weakness, fear, and misery, you have often so.id. "Oh for one glorious hour of him who, in the Name of the Lord of hosts, smote Israel's most formidable foe! " But your wishes led to no practical result. "Your goodness was as the morning cloud." And now your re:Lson, conscience, and all that is best within yon urge you to accept Christ as your King. Let :,our feelings be translated into definite and decisive action, without which they are worse than useless. "Now then do it." "Crown him Lord of all." III. WHEN YOU SHOULD DO IT. Wbatever reason exists for doing it at all should induce you to do it now. There are not a few who aro persuaded of their duty, yet break the force of every appeal by delay and the intention of doing it at a future time. But: 1. The present is a 'f/W&t favourable opportunity. The King "waits to be gracious," and sends yciu the message of reconciliation. " Men and brethren, to you is the word of this salvation sent." "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. ii. 1, 2). 2. If you do it to-day, to-morrow and all your future days will be days of peace and happiness. 3. If you wait till to-morrow, it is probable that you wi,ll never do it. Your susceptibility to Divine influences will be lessened, your indisposition, which is the real cause of delay, will be increased; life i~ uncertain, probation is brief, the end is nigh. "Our gracious Ahasuerus (Esth. iv. 11) reacheth out the golden sceptre to all that have a hand of faith to lay hold of it; but then he shall take his iron mace or rod in his hand to bruise his enemies and break tnem in pieces like a potter's Tessel." Say not, with the procrastinator, "'fo-morrow" (F:xod. CH. 111, 1-3(),] rm~ SECOND BOOK OF S,U1TJP,T,, viii. 10); "Go thy wo.y for this time" (Acts xxiv. 25); for "the Iloly Ghost saith, To-day" (Heb, iii. 7). "' Cms 1. eras I' (To-morrow! to-morrow!) iij the cry of the raven. 'l'his ie the thing thot destroys mo.ny; while they are saying,' Cras ! eras!' suddenly tLe door is shut," (Augustine). "The m11n that procrastinates struggles ever with ruin" (Epiotetus). "'There is o. circumscribed space of time appointed thee, which if thou dost not employ in making all eali:n and serene within, it will pass away and thou wilt pass awny, and it never will return" (Marcus Antoninus, ii. 4). "Defer not till to-morrow to be wise ; To-morrow's sun to thee may never rise." D. Vera. 22-30.-(HEBRON.) The vengeance of Joab. [References: (1) Early life (1 Sam. xxii. 1); (2) conflict with Abner (eh. ii. 13, 24, 30); (3) capture of the strong- hold of Zion (1 Chron. xi. 6); (4) captain of the host (eh. viii. 16; xx. 23); (5) conflicts with the Ammonites aod Syrians (eh. x. 7); (6) reduction of the Edomites (1 Kings xi. 15, 16); (7) complicity in the murder of Uriah (eh. xi. 14); (8) capture of Rabbah (cli. xi. 1; xii. 26); (9) relations with Absalom (eh. xh-. 1, 29); (10) defeat and murder of Absalom (eh. xviii. 2, 14); (11) upbraiding the king (eh. xix. 5); (12) replaced by Amasa (eh. xx. 4); (13) murder of Amasa (eh. xx. 10); (14) defeat of Sheba (eh. xx. 22); (15) remonstrance with David (eh, xxiv. 3); (16) defection to Adonijah (1 Kin~s i. 7); (17) denounced by David (1 Kings ii. 5); (18) put to death by Benaiah at the co=and of Solomon (1 Kings ii. 28, 34).J 1. Among those who played a prominent part in David's reign the foremost man was his nephew Joab. He was possessed of great physical strength and daring, clear judgment and strong will, eminent military skill, and immense power over others; "a bold captain in bad times." With the ruder qualities of activity, courage, and implacable revenge, "he combined something of a more states- manlike character, which brings him more nearly to a level with his youthful uncle; and unquestionably gives him the second place in the whole history of David's reign. In consequence of his successful attempt at the 8iege of Jebus, he became commander-in- chief, the highest office in the state after the king. In this post he was content, and served the king with undeviating fidelity. In the wide range of wars which David undertook, Joab was the acting general, and he therefore may be considered as the founder, as far as military prowess was concerned, the Marlborough, the Belisarius, of the Jewish empire" (Stanley). His patriotism was unquestionable; nor was he without piety (eh. x. 12). 2. His natural gifts, good qualities, and invaluable services were more than counterbalanced by his moral defects and numerous vices. "He ever appears wily, politic, and unscrnpulous" (' Speaker's Co=entary '). "He is the impersonation of worldly policy, secular expediency, and temporal ambition, eager for his own personal aggrandizement, and especially for the maintenance of his own political ru;ccndency, and practising on. the weaknesses of princes for his own interests; but at last tho victim of his own Machiavellian shrewdness" (Wordsworth). 3. "Joab was a type of the national aspect of Judaism. He was intensely Jewish, in the tribal meaning of the word, not in its highe_r, world-wide bearing; only J udrean in everything that outwardly marked Judaism, though not regarded in its inward and spiritual reality. Nor is it without deep symbolicr.l meaning, as we have the higher teaching of history, that Joab, the typical Eastern Judrean-may we not say, the type of Israel after the flesh ?-should, in carrying out his own purposes and views, have at last compassed his own destruction" (Edersheim). I. EVIL DEEDS ARE SELDOM WROUGHT WITHOUT PLAUSIBLE PRETEXTS, It is uncer- tain whether Joab was aware of former negotiations between David and .Abner; but on returning to Hebron from a military expedition (against marnuding t:-oops, eh. iv. 2), being informed of the league that had just been made, his suspicion was aroused; he hastened to the king with the view of inducing him to shnre it, probably believing that Abner was not to be trusted; and finding the result doubtful or contrary to his expectation, resolved to take the matter into his own hands, on the ground of: 1. Guilt incurred by a. public enemy. 2. Zeal inspired for the king's safety (ver. 25). 3. Obli- gation imposed by personnl injnry, uccordin~ to the custom of blood-rewnge (Exod. :ed. 13; Nwnb. xxxv. 9-35; Dcut. xix. 1-13). This is twice mentioned by the historian  H2 THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. [ou. m. 1-39,