Almost everyone has been on the losing side of some dispute at one point and had to decide how long it was worth continuing to fight for it. Abner lived that tension at the height of his life, and his story shows the price of choosing power before truth.
Son of Ner, cousin of King Saul, Abner was the commander of Israel’s army throughout his relative’s reign. He was a respected general, the military arm of the nation’s first royal dynasty.
When Saul died in battle, Abner would not accept the end of that reign. He took Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, to Mahanaim and proclaimed him king over Israel, while David already reigned in Judah, anointed by God.
The rivalry exploded at Gibeon, in a clash between the two armies. During the retreat, young Asahel, brother of the general Joab, pursued Abner closely. Abner asked him to give up the chase, but Asahel would not listen, and Abner killed him with a thrust of his spear.
That death planted a seed of vengeance that would sprout years later. For the time being, the civil war dragged on, until Ish-Bosheth accused Abner of getting involved with Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, a move read as ambition for the throne.
Offended, Abner decided what he had perhaps known for some time: it was time to recognize David as the rightful king. He gathered the elders of Israel and negotiated the union of all the tribes under a single scepter.
But before peace could be sealed, Joab lured him into a private conversation at the gate of Hebron and killed him, avenging his brother. David mourned publicly and called Abner a leader and a great man fallen in Israel.
Abner’s life reminds us that discerning God’s will is not enough; we must act on it without waiting for circumstances to become comfortable first. It also reminds us that God recognizes worth even in those who come late to obedience.
