Abner conferred with the elders of Israel: “In the past you wanted David to be king over you. Now take action, because the Lord has spoken concerning David: ‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel’s enemies.’” (2 Samuel 3:17-18)
In today’s reading of 2 Samuel, there was a lot of intrigue between Abner, Ishbosheth, David and Joab. All of it sounded like the plot of a revenge, power-control, and overtaking a new government regime movie. Maybe that is a little too fresh for what has been happening in our country lately. But through all of the accusing, back-stabbing and murder that happens in this chapter, there are still nuggets of truth that apply to our lives today.
In verse 17, Abner rallies support for David among the other tribes. This was very significant that this rally came from Abner, and not from David, himself. Even though David was the rightful king of Israel, he would not be able to reign until the other tribes submitted to David freely. This is a great illustration of Jesus’ lordship over our lives. We know that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But Jesus chooses (mostly) to exercise His sovereignty only at our invitation.
Some people do not invite Jesus to rule over anything. Others invite Jesus to reign over a small area of their lives, maybe just on Sunday mornings or some of their kids activities. And others give Jesus reign over everything that He has authority over, which is everything. That is what God desires for His children to do. It doesn’t mean it will be easy. It doesn’t mean it will be without trials or frustration. But God promises that He will be with us every step of the way. Abner is a great example of someone who eventually surrendered to God’s king. In this section, Abner also wants to influence others to surrender to God’s king, too. Not only is Abner telling these other leaders of Israel to submit to David as their leader, but he tells them to do it NOW, without delay. Let’s resolve to make Jesus lord over all that God has given Him authority… which is everything!