QT 11 Dec 13, Do not turn a blind eye to morality to speed things up

2 Sam 3:23-28 (ESV) When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace." 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone? 25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing."

26 When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

NOTE: The bible accurately records the events as they happen, but most of the time, at least in the histories, does not offer much commentary. In this case, Joab argues that Abner's truce was merely a pretense for intelligence (vs 25), although earlier passages give cause (losing the war, dispute with Ish-bosheth, and his conversations with the elders of Israel who wanted David to be king). Some commentary is offered for the death of Abner--that Joab did it to avenge the blood of Asahel, his brother. This is murder and while David recognizes it as wrong, he does not actively discipline Joab. He (Joab) was probably the de-facto Army commander at the time, and so, maybe David did not feel his position as king was secure enough to dismiss such a powerful leader. But that would mean that David also failed. He did not trust God enough to risk losing the kingdom in order to bring justice. In the next passage, David goes to a great deal of mourning and publicly praising Abner to mollify any concern that he was complicit in Abner's death. While it was probably murder, Abner's actions in rebelling against the Lord's anointed were also wrong. And while he held considerable power as a king maker, that did not justify deliberations with him. Abner stood opposed to David's rule and now he was actively undermining Ish-bosheth's rule. He was a weasel trying to play on the winning side. David and Joab were both wrong in both of their responses. The right actions would have been justice, a trial for Abner, and no secret negotiations. Let God bring about the results in his time and place. This is not a hard rule though. In this case waiting was good because the opposite of waiting meant cavorting with an enemy who had opposed God's will. Maybe if Abner had repented in a true manner, it might have been better. But none of that is discussed in the text. Another approach would have been started discussions directly with Ish-bosheth. If we have to turn a blind eye to morality to speed something along, then waiting is the better approach. If it is not a moral issue, then waiting is a personal choice between the person and God.