“Yo’av went to the king and said, ‘What have you done? Here, Avner came to you, and you sent him away, and now he’s gone! Why? You know Avner the son of Ner — he came only to deceive you, to learn what campaigns you’re planning and to find out everything you’re doing!‘”-2 Samuel 3:24-25
Here’s something women might not know about men.
When we insult each other, the nature of our insults is to accuse the other of acting like a female.
As politically incorrect as this is, that’s the way it’s always been among dudes.
Why do I bring this up?
Well, this is exactly how Yo’av insulted David when he expressed his anger about David meeting with Avner behind his back.
There is a very offensive sexual undertone in Yo’av’s remarks that can only be discerned in the original Hebrew.
When we read this passage in English, it seems that Yo’av’s only worry is that Avner came to find out about David’s military plans and that David might have unwittingly leaked important information.
Many English Bibles will render Yo’av’s complaint to David as him saying, “Avner only came to trick you.”
But the undertone was that “Avner came to you only to seduce you.”
This phrasing is pretty much identical to what Ishbosheth said to Avner when he called him on the carpet for seducing Rizpah, Saul’s concubine.
You get the idea, right?
The whole point is that Yo’av was amazingly bold in what he said to David.
But what’s even more amazing is that David took these offensive insults sitting down
This was blatant insubordination if you think about it.
But to understand why Yo’av went hog wild on David, let’s examine what was going on inside of Yo’av’s head.
Yo’av was well aware that if the northern and southern kingdoms joined under one king, there wouldn’t be space for two top commanders.
Only ONE person could be second-in-command to the king.
Yo’av knew what Avner was up to – that he was attempting to finagle his way into becoming David’s right-hand man.
He also felt humiliated because David had conveniently arranged the meeting with Avner while he was away.
His worst nightmares were unfolding right before his eyes.
Yet, Yo’av wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
There was a reason he was a top military leader.
Immediately, Yo’av sent messengers to chase after Avner.
It seems he lied to Avner, telling him something about David needing him to come back.
Avner had only gone a few miles north from his meeting with David in Hebron when the messengers reached him at a place called the Cistern at Sirah.
When Avner returned to Hebron, thinking all was well, Yo’av met him and led him to a quiet spot between the city gates.
Avner was in a relaxed mood and not expecting anything.
Big mistake on Avner’s part.
Because at that instant, all of Yo’av’s pent-up fury and rage was unleashed upon Avner.
The Scripture says “There he struck him in the groin, so that he died.“
Yo’av’s blade struck directly into Avner’s manhood – the same manhood that had penetrated Ishbosheth’s concubine.
So we have some more sexual undertone being expressed here, which is quite common in Scripture although our English Bibles mask out a lot of it.
Yo’av had accomplished two things with this death blow.
By killing Avner, Yo’av got rid of a rival for his role as David’s second-in-command.
He also avenged his duty as the family’s GO’EL HADAM or “blood avenger.”
So what’s the takeaway for today?
The first lesson is to realize this is a perfect case study of how fleshly men act to gain or protect their power.
Driven by ego, lust, and greed, men will lie, cheat, steal, commit sexual sins, and even murder to gain or protect their power.
In this case, this was a story about two men fighting each other over who would become the King’s right-hand man.
However, the second lesson is to realize that it’s not necessary to lower yourself to such sinful behavior to elevate yourself.
If you simply rest in God’s Will and His plans for your life…
The Lord will protect you and smooth out the paths for you…
Without all of the stress, conniving, and backstabbing behavior…
Ya feel me here?
Over and out.
I leave you with these verses from the Psalms:
“The Lord says to my lord:
‘Sit at my right hand until
I make your enemies a
footstool for your feet.'”
-Psalm 110:1
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Since, then, you have been raised with Messiah,
set your hearts on things above,
where Messiah is,
seated at the right hand of God.”
-Colossians 3:1
“Then Zavdai’s sons came to
Yeshua with their mother.
She bowed down,
begging a favor from him.
He said to her,
‘What do you want?’
She replied,
‘Promise that when you become king,
these two sons of mine may sit,
one on your right
and the other on your left.
But Yeshua answered, ‘
You people don’t know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?’
They said to him, ‘We can.’
He said to them,
‘Yes, you will drink my cup.
But to sit on my right and on my left
is not mine to give,
it is for those for whom
my Father has prepared it.”‘”
-Matthew 20:20-23
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory
and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word.
After he had provided purification for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
-Hebrews 1:3
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