II Samuel Chapter 3
Please read: II Samuel 3 –
One might be tempted to think that God was ok with King David having more than one wife or his son Solomon who had many, many wives, but that is not the case. God had previously given the Levitical law wherein God had set laws concerning the man who was to serve as king of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. David was not obedient to God when he followed the customs of the times and took more than one wife.
Deuteronomy 17:17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
It might be tempting to think that God allowed it because He blessed David and his kingdom. But as we dive further into scripture, we will see the many ways that his sin of polygamy will be costly within his own family.
David’s first wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, was wrongfully taken away from him and given to another man. In this chapter David will use his kingly power to get her back, but again he already had multiple wives, and this was not right. But such were the times during humanity’s struggle with kings; multiple wives were a sign of power and a token of negotiations.
Let's Reflect
1. The first verse tells us that the strength of Ishbosheth (Saul’s son), who had been named king of all of Israel (except the region of Judah), was growing weaker. David, who was king of Judah, was willing to wait for God’s timing in giving him the whole kingdom. According to verse 6 what was the climate like between Ishbosheth and David’s men?
2. Ishbosheth’s right hand man was Abner who was also the general of the army having served his father Saul. Abner angered Ishbosheth by sleeping with a concubine that “belonged” to Saul (who was deceased). When Ishbosheth confronted him about the act and it being disloyal to the throne, it really angered Abner and he threatened to take away the kingdom from Ishbosheth. According to verse 10 what was the threat?
3. Abner was angry and power hungry. He carried out his threat. It’s “funny” that he knew who was to be the rightful king of Israel and yet he had fought against him. According to verse 10 what did Abner say he would do?
4. Abner sent messengers to David to propose a covenant to be made between them. In exchange what was Abner going to give David?
5. David was willing to make a covenant with Abner, (in reality – king Ishbosheth), but he wanted his wife Michal back as a part of the agreement. Michal would have been Ishbosheth’s sister or more than likely a half-sister. We can see that Ishbosheth really didn’t value a woman either. What does verse 15 say that he did to make this treaty?
6. It is crazy how humans can use God’s Words or Scripture to serve their own purpose. Abner did exactly that when he asked the elders of Israel to remember what God had said about David. What did Abner say that God had said? See verse 18
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7. Abner kept his end of the bargain. He went around talking to all the elders convincing them that the kingdom should be united under David. What did David do when Abner brought back the report to him, of the discussions he had on David’s behalf?
8. Joab, the commander of David’s army, was upset to learn that David had allowed Abner to leave. He obviously did not trust Abner and secretly went out to do what to Abner?
9. David learned of the murder of Abner and was upset, but he put the blame squarely on Joab. We know from the previous chapter that Joab had an underlying cause for hating Abner and wanting him dead. According to verse 30 what was that underlying cause?
10. David mourned the death of Abner and made speeches about his greatness. Abner had been a great war leader for certain. David was so upset that he would not eat. What does the Bible say about the people as they observed David’s response to the death of Abner? See verse 36.
