God Makes the Difference: 2 Samuel 2:12-17
We can always be assured of victory in the end when we fight on God’s side. This doesn’t mean the world will not have its day. The Bible affirms the possibility of human rebellion periodically taking form. In the final days, human rebellion against God will make life quite difficult for those who follow Him. Even then, God will ultimately carry His side to victory.
Once Abner marshalled support from all of Israel except Judah, he believed he had numbers and resources on his side. Abner had the support of eleven of the tribes of Israel. David had the sole support of Judah.
Abner has forgotten about the significance of God. David may not have human numbers to his advantage, but he has the Lord fighting for him. With God supporting David, how could he possibly lose?
Believing himself in the stronger position, Abner calls for a contest to determine which side can claim victory. Abner’s ploy is the same as the ploy Goliath used against the Hebrew people. Goliath believed to have everything going in his favor, so he called for a battle between himself and any one Hebrew person rather than fighting a battle that would risk everyone’s life. Abner makes the same decision now. Abner wants to put as few warriors as possible at risk. In this way, when the victor is shown, the military strength of the Hebrew people is largely undamaged.
David’s general, Joab, agrees to the contest. Joab and Abner each send a dozen people forward, and in each pairing the warrior from Judah and the warrior from Benjamin simultaneously kill one another. Abner may have been wanting to spare the lives of as many warriors as possible, but the warriors were too evenly matched. Each bout ended with a stalemate between the two sides.
Looking more deeply into the scenario, there is a significant reason why each fight ended in a stalemate. God did not want the battle to end with a single blow based on human strength. When Abner raised up Ish-bosheth to be king, he was not merely rebelling against David but also against God. Abner picked a fight with God, and God would show Abner who was truly in charge.
After the twelve bouts all ended in stalemate, the two sides resorted to fighting the old-fashioned way. They picked up their swords and went after one another. The Bible speaks of the battle being fierce, with Abner’s side taking devastating losses.
When the conflict was based on human strength, no clear victor could be found. When the battle involved God’s hand, David’s forces carried the day. The people of Judah were victorious because they fought on same side as God. The people of Judah were victorious because God carried the day. We can always be assured of victory in the end when we fight on God’s side.
