Text: 2 Samuel 3:20-39
Theme: The Lord’s king leads his people into peace and unity under his blameless leadership, even when the disruptive seek their own agendas ahead of God’s.
Structure/points: After his falling out with Ish-bosheth, Abner vowed to bring all Israel under David’s rule. He made a real offer to restore peace and unity under the Lord’s anointed king. But peace is a dangerously fragile thing, difficult to maintain and even harder to repair once broken. If not for the Lord our God, peace would not be possible even among His people. But we serve a God of peace who brings peace to His people through the king whom He sets over them. We see this through events at Hebron and how David responded to a crisis.
- Peaceful negotiations
- Vengeful treachery
- Unifying lamentation