Died Abner as a fool dieth

Sermon notes from 4 October 2019

2 Samuel 3 verses 1, 6 – 11, 17 – 36

Verse 33 “and the king lamented over Abner and said died Abner as a fool dieth.”

The Bible has a great deal to say about fools – “the fool hath said in his heart no God for me.” (Psalm 14 verse 1)  Saul described himself “I have played the fool and erred exceedingly”. (1 Samuel 26 verse 21)  Saul had hunted down the man who wanted to be his best friend, David when he came to the realisation of his own foolishness.  There are many people tonight who are playing the fool.  They are almost persecuting the one who wants to be their close friend and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  We are playing the fool if we shut God out of our lives.  The rich farmer was told by Jesus “thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” (Luke 12 verse 20)  He was busy making money, working hard but he shut God out of his life.  To live as a fool is bad but to die as a fool is so much worse.  These passages we read are about people who lived as fools.  David wept over this man Abner.  There were 2 sides, a struggle between Saul and David. Saul was rejected as king and David was anointed in his place.  Abner is the character in the story had sided with Saul initially but then moves over to David’s side.  He wins David’s heart but as he does so David`s chief of staff Joab is extremely angry and accuses Abner of being a spy.  Totally out of David’s wishes he decides to get his own way so goes out and murders Abner.  You can see the picture.  The king is broken hearted, he weeps as he follows the funeral cortege.  There is a very powerful lesson to learn from this story.

An unclaimed privilege.  You and I are privileged to have the word of God today.  It is an immense privilege to have scripture in a language we understand.  Many of us have a gospel heritage.  Like the Psalmist we can say “the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places.” (Psalm 16 verse 6) Thank God for a good heritage, a country where the gospel is faithfully preached.  Like Timothy we have godly mothers and grandmothers who taught us the word of God from an early age.  Abner had a tremendous privilege.  He returns from pursuing the enemy.  The city Hebron was a walled city and David is anticipating his return safe and sound.  Just as Abner comes to the gate of the city Joab asks to speak with him.  Hebron was one of the cities of refuge. All Abner had to do was step inside that gated city and Joab couldn’t have laid a finger on him.  Abner came to the city but he doesn’t step inside.  You and I have a tremendous privilege.  We have more than a city of refuge.  Psalm 46 “God is our refuge and strength a present help in time of trouble.”  The Bible is full of teaching about the refuge.  We are under the condemnation of a holy God and we have a refuge in God.  In Exodus 12 we see judgment coming on the land of Egypt.  The Children of Israel were being held in bondage.  God punished Egypt for their sin by plagues.  Then God said he would destroy the firstborn.  He said the death angel would pass through the land of Egypt. The children of Israel were given instructions of how they might be excluded, have a safe refuge.  They were to take a lamb for the house, shed the blood of a perfect ram lamb, a year old that was without blemish.  They were to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the door posts using hyssop.  God told them “when I see the blood I will pass over you.”  A place of refuge was prepared for them in their own home.  It is possible to believe that Jesus died in the same way the lamb died in the Old Testament.  It is possible to believe in the atoning work of Christ and fail to dip in the bunch of hyssop.  The blood in the basin had no protective effect on that family until the blood was applied.  Have we exercised saving faith, applied the blood to the door posts and lintels of our lives?  God looks for the mark of the blood.  The lamb being shed for us is not enough.  It needs to be applied.  Abner came to the walled city and also to the open gate.    The walled city is provided for us as it was for Abner.  The gate is open as it was for Abner.  The door of salvation is open.  Jesus said “I am the door by me if any man enter in he shall be saved.” (John 10 verses 9 to 11)  The gate is open tonight but it will not always be open.  Noah preached from the door of the ark, pleaded for people to come but there came a day when the door was shut by God himself.  People banged and pleaded for him to open the door but he couldn’t open the door because God had shut it himself.  There is coming a day when the door to eternal life will be fast shut.  The desire for salvation is still granted.  It is wonderful when God puts the desire in the heart to be saved.  It is terrible when we resist the stirring of the Holy Spirit on our lives.

There is an unused power.  Verse 34.  Nothing to hinder you from taking a run through the gate into safety.  God has given you and I powers, the ability to discern.  God uses his word on our consciences.  We know when God is speaking.  He has given us the ability to know the direction to go.  Not only power to discern but also the power of choice.  Why does the scripture say “See I set before you the way of life and the way of death … choose.”  God brings us to a place where he gives us that power to choose.  “Whosoever will may come.”  It is possible to choose but choose the wrong way.  Choose to accept Christ or reject Christ.  There is the power to believe that man is totally depraved.  “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10 verse 13)  He also gave us the power to exercise saving faith, to reach out to him, to call on him and trust him as our Saviour.  Joab is a type of Satan.  The devil will do anything to stop people getting into the kingdom of God.  Joab says “can I have a quiet word with you.”  There is a lesson in this.  He draws him down close to whisper in his ear, then draws the dagger and smote him in the heard.  He died right at the gate of the walled city.  So often people are brought so close and perish one step from safety.

The unwise parley.  Parley means to chat, to talk, to have a conflab with someone.  This man Abner gets up close to an enemy who parleyed to be a friend, someone who pretends to be a friend but is really an enemy.  There is an enemy who acts in the same way as Joab did with Abner.  The devil will say “you are good enough, you don’t need to get saved”, “you are a fickle kind of individual, you don’t need to make a fool of yourself, you will never keep it.”  When the devil says you cannot keep it he is correct but God gives you the grace to keep going.  God keeps us in the hollow of his hand.  The devil also whispers “if it is for you it is for you, if it is against you it is against you.  This business of getting saved, if I was meant to be saved it will come to me.”  God means everyone of us to be saved, to be brought into the kingdom of God.  “The fear of man bringeth a snare.” (Proverbs 29 verse 25)  The number of people who have said they would like to be saved are also afraid of what so and so would say.  The devil uses fear on us to make the wrong response.  David was eagerly waiting on Abner coming through the gate.  In the same way the Saviour stands with outstretched arms.  Jesus continually reached out to others in the New Testament – think of Jairus’ daughter – “daughter come forth” lifting the child into his arms.  He healed the sick, made the deaf to hear.  Abner was one step from safety.  He was listening to another voice and died as a result.  If you are not a Christian tonight I would exhort you to step in while the gate is still open.