Civil War in Israel

It seems that Abner’s proclamation of Ishbosheth as Saul’s rightful successor is the catalyst for open war between Abner’s forces and David’s. Still, by all appearances, David has to be forced to this action. We know that he never raised his hand against Saul, despite years in which Saul sought to take his life. Furthermore, as far as we are told, he has not raised his hand against Abner, although it appears Abner has been working clandestinely for more than five years to sway the northern tribes to himself, or at least to Ishbosheth. Having seen God advance his cause by giving him the kingship of Judah, David apparently has spent his years in Hebron waiting passively for Israel’s northern tribes to embrace him as king. But it does not appear that it is to be so simple. Abner now seems to feel strong enough to challenge David, so he marches his men from Mahanaim to Saul’s hometown of Gibeah, which is quite close to the border of Judah. In other words, it may well be that Abner is staging an offensive against David here. So David sends his forces under Joab, his army commander and nephew (1 Chron. 2:16), to counter Abner.

When the two armies arrive in Gibeah, both Abner and Joab venture out with their guards to hold a parley. They meet at a pool and seat themselves on opposite sides to talk. Abner then proposes that 12 of his men and 12 of Joab’s engage in man-to-man combat. Is Abner suggesting that representative conflict, similar to what Goliath proposed to the Israelites (1 Sam. 17:8–9), settle the issue between Ishbosheth and David? If so, it may be because he has found David’s force stronger than he expected, and his courage has been shaken. In any case, Joab agrees to Abner’s suggestion, and the men square off. Unfortunately, the contest ends in a draw when all of the combatants kill one another, leading to that place becoming known by the appropriate name “the Field of Sharp Swords.”

With that, open warfare breaks out between these two forces. Our text tells us that the two armies engage in a “very fierce battle” on this occasion, but because God’s blessing is upon David to give him victory, his men defeat those under Abner’s command. But the day is not without sorrow for David, as we will see as we press on in our study of 2 Samuel 2.