2 Samuel 3:22-30: a reflection

22Behold, David’s servants and Joab came from a raid and brought in a great plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23When Joab and all the army who was with him had come, they told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” 24Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, and he is already gone? 25You know Abner the son of Ner. He came to deceive you, and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you do.” 26When Joab had come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David didn’t know it. 27When Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him quietly, and struck him there in the body, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother. 28Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29Let it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” 30So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

When Abner comes to make peace with David and is sent away in peace, Joab, whose brother Abner had killed in battle, is consumed with the desire for revenge. He secretly sends for Abner, takes him aside as if to speak with him, and murders him in cold blood, to avenge his brother's blood. Joab's nursed desire for vengeance led him to a treacherous murder, killing a man who had come in peace, poisoning the very peace David had made. The harbored grudge, the determination to avenge, drove Joab to a great and treacherous wrong, showing how the desire for revenge, nursed and acted on, corrupts and destroys.

Notice how the desire for vengeance drove Joab to a treacherous wrong. He had nursed his grudge against Abner for his brother's death, and when the chance came, he acted on it, murdering Abner treacherously under the guise of a private word. The desire for revenge, harbored and then acted upon, led him to a cold-blooded murder, a betrayal of the peace, a great wrong. Vengeance, nursed in the heart and carried out, corrupts the one who harbors it and destroys others; it drove Joab to treachery and murder. The harbored desire for revenge did not bring justice or peace, but a great and destructive wrong, poisoning what David had made peaceful.

That is worth taking to heart, for the desire for vengeance, nursed in the heart, corrupts and can drive us to great wrong. We can nurse grudges, harbor the desire for revenge against those who have wronged us, and let it fester; but Joab shows where such nursed vengeance leads, to treachery, to great wrong, to the destruction of peace. The desire for revenge, harbored and acted on, corrupts the one who holds it and destroys. Do not nurse the desire for vengeance in your heart, letting a grudge fester until it drives you to wrong; it corrupts and destroys, as it drove Joab to murder Abner. Refuse to nurse the desire for vengeance in your heart, which corrupts and can drive you to great wrong, as Joab's harbored grudge led him to murder Abner treacherously; for the desire for revenge, nursed and acted upon, does not bring justice or peace but corrupts the one who holds it and destroys, and we are better to let it go than to let it fester into wrong.

Lord, when Abner comes to make peace with David and is sent away in peace, Joab, whose brother Abner had killed in battle, is consumed with the desire for revenge. He secretly sends for Abner, takes him aside as if to speak with him, and murders him in cold blood, to avenge his brother's blood. Joab's nursed desire for vengeance led him to a treacherous murder, poisoning the very peace David had made. The harbored grudge drove Joab to a great and treacherous wrong. Show me how the desire for vengeance drove Joab to a treacherous wrong. He had nursed his grudge against Abner for his brother's death, and when the chance came, he acted on it, murdering Abner treacherously. The desire for revenge, harbored and then acted upon, led him to a cold-blooded murder, a betrayal of the peace. Vengeance, nursed in the heart and carried out, corrupts the one who harbors it and destroys others. The harbored desire for revenge did not bring justice or peace, but a great wrong. Take that to my heart, for the desire for vengeance, nursed in the heart, corrupts and can drive me to great wrong. I can nurse grudges, harbor the desire for revenge against those who have wronged me, and let it fester; but Joab shows where such nursed vengeance leads. Keep me from nursing the desire for vengeance in my heart, letting a grudge fester until it drives me to wrong; it corrupts and destroys, Lord, as it drove Joab to murder Abner. Help me refuse to nurse the desire for vengeance, and let it go rather than letting it fester into wrong.