But He's Popular...

Then Abner said to Joab, "Now let the young men arise and hold a contest before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."  So they arose and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish- bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.  Each one of them seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath- hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.  That day the battle was very severe, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. (2 Samuel 2:14-17 NASB)

Saul, the king, has died.  His uncle and general, Abner, has set Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, as king over Israel, but on the other side of the Jordan.  Abner has then garnered support from all over the northern tribes of Israel for this new king.

In the mean time, David has been set as king over Judah; a very strange thing to have happen in Israel, but also a sign of things to come.   His general is Joab, one of three sons of David's sister, Zeruiah.  David has sent a blessing to one of the Northern cities who showed kindness to Saul.  Other than that, he doesn't seem to have done anything 'maneuvering' to try and become king over the whole of Israel.

So, the two sides meet at a pool in the hills of Benjamin.  It may have been arranged as a talk, it may have been by chance, or through the cleverness of one side or the other.  We don't know.  But what we do know is that Abner has the brilliant idea of having the young men fight as sport before them.  Each of the 24 kills his opponent (or 'fellow', the Hebrew word for 'friend'), and they all fall together.  Thus the pool is named for this sad event, "Hklkath-hazzurim" which means "The Field of Daggers".

But the battle doesn't go Abner's way, and he escapes, but is chased by the fastest of the soldiers in Judah, one of Zeruiah's sons, Asahel.  Abner kills Asahel, and that stops Judah, but Joab, Asahel's brother, isn't stopped until the troops rally around Abner again.  Abner asks Joab to stop the killing, and Joab does, but I wonder if it was because he thought he couldn't take Abner just at this moment.

The character of Abner puzzles me.  He seems to be the general, but is rarely in sight as stuff happens between David and Saul (with one exception).  He is rarely mentioned in battle sequences (probably assumed?).  And then, as Saul dies, there is no mention of Abner anywhere.  The next thing we read is when Abner sets up the seemingly weak son of Saul as king.  After that, Abner comes to the forefront and we finally get a view of this guy.

Abner seems popular.  He convinces many tribes, living in areas now controlled by the Philistines, to follow this guy on the other side of the Jordan.  Later on, he seems able to then turn these same tribes around to follow David.  He is the 'king-maker' in Israel.  And he doesn't seem to mind switching sides when internal stuff goes wrong (see chapter 3).  On the other hand, when it comes to 'delivering' as a general, like a football coach, we want to see victories.  He doesn't seem able to deliver.  So why is he so popular?

I wonder if, like his nephew Saul, Abner is one of those 'likable' guys; able to sway the crowds with his charisma.  He says the right things, waves his hands, tells a funny story, and is if by magic, the whole world follows him.  He's the pied-piper of Hamlin, and all Israel are his children (or rats).  I remember such guys in school, and they really bugged me.  They seemed wrong more than half the time, but everyone wanted to follow them, be close to them, be noticed by them, and they led the school to...well, it seemed they led us nowhere actually.  Maybe I was/am bitter.

Abner seems like one of these guys to me.  He is good in a fight, he takes down Asahel with the 'wrong end' of his spear.  And he is a wonderful leader if having people follow is the mark of one.  But he doesn't seem to be able to take them anywhere.  He suggests a fight and his side loses 350 people.  His enemies only lost 20, and 12 of those were at the pool, and one was Asahel.  That's not such a great 'score', yet the people rally around him again.  And that works as he faces two guys, Joab and Abishai.  Sure, facing two guys, he's able to stop the fighting, what happened before when he was booking it away from the fight?  Why was he running in the first place?

I've read ahead, and I know Abner goes down, but I'm not cutting my emotional attachment to him so it's not so hard to take.  I'm looking at this guy, and wondering if God really wanted him to go down.  He seems to have none of the 'God brought about a victory' sort of thing going on like David's men.  He doesn't seem to be interested in the king he set up since he switches sides rather quickly.  I don't see a 'victory' attached to his leadership, so where's the benefit of his popularity? 

Okay, so here's my take away:  I am bitter.  And I'm bitter because I'm jealous.  I want to be the one people look to for leadership, direction, wisdom, and so on.  I want the attention they got.  But that's wrong, and here's why:  That would make me a distraction from God.  Plain and simple, I'm supposed to be about pointing people to Jesus, not spouting off wisdom and so on.  Who cares what I think when God is waiting to communicate His real wisdom to His human creatures. 

Fortunately for me, I've never really been one of those people just follow charismatically.  The only reason people have followed me is because they thought I was smart.  Once they realized I'm not that smart, well, they found someone else to follow.  But I have craved that fickle tide of acceptance found in the favor of the crowd (or mob).  That craving needs to stop. 

The only sustaining peace for my soul is found in my service to my King.  As He comes to the forefront, and I fade into the background, as by magic, I find peace (or peace finds me).  Peace, the true sort that seeps deep into my soul and gives me a sense of wholeness, is found in the background around the throne of my Master.  Why would I look for it by pandering to the fickle tide of popularity of people just as lost as I am? 

So, I am to follow the example of David, not Abner.  In his example God does His best work.  In Abner, the work of God is simply delayed.  So, I will worship.  That's first.  Then I will serve my Master.  That's second.  Whatever happens after that will at least come from or happen with me in the right context of peace.  I like the sound of that, it sure beats the whole host of alternatives.