Let Your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and Your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ (2 Sam 3.9)
So may God do to Abner and so may he add to it!
Background
The beginning of this chapter in 2 Samuel tells us that there was a “long war” between the house of David and the house of Saul. Ishbaal, Saul’s surviving heir, was claiming the throne of Israel, but David was anointed king chosen by God. The writer tells us that David was winning this war.
Abner, the commander of Saul’s army (now Ishbaal’s army) was gaining power among Ishbaal’s people. When a report came to Ishbaal’s ears that Abner had been sleeping with Saul’s concubine, Rizpah, he confronts the commander. Concubines were often given to kings as part of a deal with a political or foreign ally. Such a concubine belonged to the king—so much so that even if the king’s son slept with one, it was considered incest.
Because Saul was dead, and Ishbaal was cleaning his throne, the concubine belonged to Ishbaal as the presumptive king. For Abner to sleep with her was not only insubordinate, but it also showed an arrogance and, in Abner’s case, a clue to his selfish ambitions.
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