Confusing situations in life can often point us to outside help, typically turning toward those we know for advice. However, while looking outside of our limited viewpoint is prudent, all advice is not necessarily wise; learning to decipher it will serve you well. You can begin reflecting on those in your life now so if you are put in a position where advice is needed, you will know who to trust… surround yourself with wise counsel!
Okay now, please understand that does not mean you ought to nix out of your life anyone who does not offer wise counsel, rather, take note of the ones who do.
Abner takes it upon himself…
Israel’s first king, King Saul, had died and the nation was without a leader. After awhile, David inquired of the Lord if it was his time and he received that confirmation. Then, he was anointed publicly over Judah (and likely Simeon, as it’s land was in the middle of Judah), this being long after he was privately anointed king in front of his family (during King Saul’s reign).
King Saul’s cousin, Abner, held a position of power, the commander of Saul’s entire army. Abner’s role is not made clear immediately after King Saul’s death, but he intended to take that matter into his own hands. On the other hand, David already had his own loyal crew of men, of which his nephew, Joab, became commander.
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Abner took it upon himself to make Saul’s son king over “Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.” (2 Samuel 2:9) When studying the timing of this, it seems as though ‘all of Israel’ was more of a power grab as the Philistines controlled much of Israel.
To stay in power, Abner headed up the control of the king by anointing one himself. Nowhere do we see God was in this decision.
The two camps…
Abner chose the city of Mahanaim to anoint Ish-Bosheth as king. Mahanaim was on the east side of the Jordan River, in the tribe of Gad. Already, it represented a divided Israel (Joshua 22) with Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh settling apart from the other tribes.
Jump back, if you will, to Genesis 32:1-2 where Jacob is about to meet Esau. Before this, he stops when he sees angels and names the place “Mahanaim”, meaning ‘two camps’. This is a stunning confirmation for Jacob and an incredibly relevant name:
- It is the location he met angels as he fled from Esau (Genesis 28:12),
- Then it became the place he again met angels as he fled from Laban and was about to meet Esau (Genesis 32:1-2).
Each occasion there represented two camps seemingly at odds with each other. Scared and nervous, with his own camp divided into two factions for protection after having just left his divisive Father-in-law’s camp, he carried an expectation for more hostility upon meeting Esau’s camp.
Now, the city name comes full circle as we see yet again, it is used to signify two camps. The nation of Israel had been divided into two camps as there were now two kings, thanks to Abner.
Power grabs…
After essentially confirming the Eastern tribes were under the rule of Ish-Bosheth, Abner strategically crosses over the Jordan and moves to Gibeon, within the tribe of Benjamin. (If you recall, Benjamin was the tribe of King Saul where loyalties to Ish-Bosheth naturally lied.) Since David had stationed himself in Hebron, within the middle part of Judah, the Benjamite border to Judah was a good location to stop David’s power from expanding north.
Joab met Abner in Gibeon where he was challenged to a hand-to-hand combat with 12 men of their choosing. While it would have been a great time to step away, Joab took him up on it; this speaks a bit toward the influence Abner had over others as we’ll soon see comes into play. Each leader tried to trick the other, and all 24 men ended up dead.
Then the real battled ensued, which very likely could have been Abner’s plan as the men of Benjamin came to his rescue thereafter solidifying Ish-Bosheth as their leader, not David.
Ulterior motives…
One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received was “be cautious receiving advice from someone who has nothing to lose.” This means that if someone doesn’t have a vested interest in the result, their advice should be taken with that understanding in mind. If you fail because you followed their advice, they are out nothing. Obviously this doesn’t mean all advice from an outsider is bad, but only you know the risks involved with your decision and will have to live with the consequences and results.
Another piece of advice well-received is “be cautious receiving advice from someone with ulterior motives.” Abner had ulterior motives, he wanted power. He was power hungry and also very influential.
In chapter 3, he starts to lose some of that power as David’s house grows. To retain his position and gain more control, he attempts to grow his own house (not Ish-Bosheth’s) by sleeping with King Saul’s concubine.
To Ish-Bosheth’s credit, he confronts Abner about this because there was a greater significance to this than mere passion; it typically represented a new king establishing his position by taking over the harem (concubines). However, Abner’s response says a lot about who he is.
Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a dog’s head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.” And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
2 Samuel 3:8-11
What do we learn here about Abner?
- He blames Ish-Bosheth for calling him out, as though innocent;
- He uses women for power;
- He deflects with anger from his attempt to obtain more power;
- He manipulates him with a false sense of past loyalty;
- He feels he alone controls whether or not David would take over;
- He knew this whole time that David was the intended King after Saul; and
- He was so influential that Ish-Bosheth could not even answer him.
Ish-Bosheth’s rise and downfall surrounded the advice and direction of Abner. Abner was not a man of God, he was there when Samuel warned all of Israel about turning away. It didn’t stop him, his appetite for power could not be squelched. It oozed into the manipulative advice he gave others.
It is not a bad thing to watch those around you and how they live their lives; challenge what you know about them against the Bible to see if they are aligning themselves to the Bible or to something else, like power. When they make mistakes, are they quick to truly repent or do they get caught and exhibit worldly sorrow because they have earthly consequences? Before you go to someone for advice, consider the source.
Surround yourself with wise counsel…
On the other hand, we see in these set of chapters that David took a different approach to advice. We continually see throughout his life that he recognized God’s role and as a result of that foundation, he also sought His advice. Not only that, but the counselors around him did not take issue with it. It is extremely important when you surround yourself with wise counsel that they support (and encourage) you first toward God as the ultimate counselor.
After this David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.” So David went up there…. 2 Samuel 2:1-2a
And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.”
2 Samuel 5:19-20a
And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.
2 Samuel 5:23-25
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.
2 Samuel 7:18-21
David reflects here that God knows everything there is about David, yet David still goes to Him. Sometimes it is a common thought that because God is omniscient and knows our thoughts, we don’t need to bring them to him. David shows us this is not true; it is because God is all-knowing that we bring everything to Him. See, David not only sought the Lord’s wisdom, he was grateful for it. We would do well to carry that same attitude.
Wisely decipher…
David was not a perfect follower, neither were his advisors. None of us are, but it is where we can take great comfort. God gave us a greater gift than anything, Himself and His Word. It can be easy to forget that we have the wisest Counselor of all times, for all times, and at all times. We can always go to Him, and He wants us to. We can also turn to the Bible at all times; it is extremely relevant and holds classic wisdom that transcends time and cultures.
Seek the Lord first when advice is needed, but also turn to Him to put wise counsel in front of you and to help decipher what is bad counsel. God rewarded Solomon for asking for wisdom… that should tell us something about asking God for Biblical wisdom. Seeking Him is good!
Surround yourself with wise counsel… in Heaven, then if need be, on earth.
Last Week
1 Samuel 26 – 2 Samuel 1
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So much heartache in that family!
Wisdom is true a precious commodity!