Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Samuel
Chapter 3: David Waxed Stronger and Stronger
The long war grinds on, but its outcome is never in doubt: 'David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.' Abner turns to David and begins to bring all Israel over, only to be murdered in cold blood by Joab. David's public grief clears his own name and reveals a heart still tender before the LORD.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Samuel chapter 3. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 3 charts the steady rise of David's house, the defection of Abner, and his treacherous killing by Joab. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
David's House Grows Stronger (2 Samuel 3:1-11)
David steadily prevails while Saul's house wanes, until a quarrel drives Abner to abandon Ishbosheth for David.
Stronger and Stronger, Weaker and Weaker
"Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker. And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine? Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, which against Judah do shew kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman? So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba. And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him."
Word Study
"waxed stronger," Hebrew holek ve-chazeq (הֹלֵךְ וְחָזֵק), "going and growing strong," a Hebrew idiom for continual increase. The verse sets the whole trajectory: "David waxed stronger and stronger (going and growing strong), and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker." It is the same picture Scripture gives of every work God has ordained: it may face long opposition, but it advances irresistibly, while what God has set aside slowly fails. So it was said of another child, "and the child grew, and waxed strong" (Luke 1:80; 2:40), and of the early church, "the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24). The kingdom God builds cannot be finally stopped. Notice too the sad irony in Abner's outburst: he angrily swears to hand the kingdom to David "as the LORD hath sworn," openly admitting he had known all along that God had given the throne to David, yet had fought against it for his own power. Men may resist God's declared purpose for a season, but the tide is set; David waxes stronger and stronger.
Explanation
The chapter frames the whole conflict in one sentence: the war is long, but David steadily prevails and Saul's house steadily fails. A list of the sons born to David at Hebron follows, and among them are names that will later bring him great sorrow, Amnon and Absalom. The real power in Ishbosheth's kingdom is Abner, who "made himself strong" for Saul's house. But a quarrel breaks it apart. Ishbosheth accuses Abner of taking Saul's concubine Rizpah, an act that would have signaled a claim to the throne. Abner, enraged at the ingratitude of the weak king he had propped up, turns on him and swears to transfer the whole kingdom to David, admitting that the LORD had promised it to David all along. Ishbosheth, powerless, cannot even answer him. The rival kingdom is crumbling from within.
Gospel Focus
"David waxed stronger and stronger" is a word of quiet assurance for all who serve God's purpose. His kingdom does not always advance swiftly or without opposition, the war was "long," but it advances surely, and the powers set against it wane. The Lord Jesus said His church would be built and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Whatever seems to prosper against Christ's cause is, like the house of Saul, only "waxing weaker and weaker." Take heart, then, in seasons that feel like long war: the outcome is settled. And take warning from Abner, who knew God's revealed will yet resisted it for years to serve himself, and turned only when his own interest was crossed. How much better to yield to God's purpose gladly and early than to be dragged to it by wounded pride. The throne belongs to God's Anointed; blessed are those who own Him willingly.
Abner Turns Israel to David (2 Samuel 3:12-21)
Abner makes a covenant with David, Michal is restored, and Abner rallies the elders of Israel to the LORD's chosen king.
The LORD Hath Spoken of David
"And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee. And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face. And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines. And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel the son of Laish. And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he returned. And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you: Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin. So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast. And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace."
Word Study
"league," Hebrew berith (בְּרִית), "covenant, treaty, binding agreement." Abner proposes to "make a league (berith)" with David, to bring all Israel under his rule. The word berith is the great covenant word of Scripture, the same used of God's covenants with Noah, Abraham, and David himself. Here it marks the political reconciling of the nation to its true king. The condition David sets, the return of Michal, his first wife, is both personal and pointed: she was the daughter of Saul, and restoring her underlines David's rightful place. The most striking note in Abner's appeal to the elders is his quotation of God's own word: "the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel." Abner grounds the ingathering not in politics but in the declared will of God, David is the LORD's chosen deliverer, "my servant." The scene is a picture of a people being brought, at last, into covenant submission to the king God had appointed to save them.
Explanation
Abner acts decisively. He sends to David offering to bring all Israel over, and David agrees, with one condition: the return of Michal, Saul's daughter, whom Saul had torn from David and given to another man. Her second husband, Phaltiel, follows her in tears until Abner sends him back, a poignant human cost in the shifting of kingdoms. Then Abner campaigns among the elders of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin (Saul's own tribe), reminding them that they had long wanted David and that the LORD Himself had appointed David to save Israel. He comes to Hebron, is honored with a feast, and pledges to gather all Israel to David. David sends him away in peace, the reunification of the kingdom now seemingly at hand, and all of it framed as the fulfilling of God's spoken word.
Gospel Focus
The ingathering of Israel to David rests on a divine word: "the LORD hath spoken of David... I will save my people Israel." The nation is drawn to its king because God appointed him to save them. So the true and final ingathering of God's people rests on God's word concerning His Servant, the greater David, of whom the Father says, "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Christ is the LORD's appointed Saviour-King, and to Him a people is being gathered out of every tribe into covenant submission and joy. As Abner urged the elders, "Now then do it", so the gospel urges every heart: God has spoken of His Christ; delay no longer, but come and own Him King. The feast at Hebron, where David honors those who come to him, hints at the greater feast of the King who receives all who are gathered to Him, and reigns "over all that thine heart desireth" in Him.
Joab Murders Abner (2 Samuel 3:22-39)
Joab treacherously kills Abner in revenge, and David openly mourns, clearing himself of the innocent blood.
I and My Kingdom Are Guiltless
"And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace. When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace. Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest. And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, which brought him again from the well of Sirah: but David knew it not. And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread. So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle. And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David himself followed the bier. And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him. And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down. And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness."
Word Study
"guiltless," Hebrew naqi (נָקִי), "innocent, clean, free from guilt." When the murder is done, David's first concern is that he and his kingdom be "guiltless (naqi) before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner." He knew that innocent blood defiles a land and a throne, "blood... defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it" (Numbers 35:33). Joab's deed was cold treachery: he lured Abner aside "quietly" and struck him "under the fifth rib", the very wound Abner had dealt Asahel, private vengeance dressed as justice, and murder in a time of peace. David's public mourning, fasting, and lament are not mere politics but a genuine and God-fearing effort to disown the crime and keep his conscience and his crown clean of blood. He commits the judgment to God: "the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness." The man after God's own heart will not build his kingdom on murder, even the murder of a former enemy done in his favor.
Explanation
Joab returns to find that David has made peace with Abner, the man who killed his brother Asahel, and he is furious. Feigning concern that Abner is a spy, he secretly recalls him and, at the gate of Hebron, takes him aside and murders him, striking him exactly as Abner had struck Asahel. It is blood revenge, and treachery besides. David, when he learns of it, is horrified. He solemnly declares himself and his kingdom guiltless of the blood, pronounces judgment on Joab's house, and orders public mourning. He himself walks behind the bier, weeps at the grave, laments Abner's undeserved death, and fasts all day, refusing to eat. The people see it all and are satisfied that the king had no part in the murder. David closes with a lament for a fallen "prince and a great man" and a confession of his own present weakness: the ruthless sons of Zeruiah are "too hard" for him, but "the LORD shall reward the doer of evil."
Gospel Focus
David's response to Abner's murder shows a conscience tender toward innocent blood and a faith content to leave vengeance with God. He would not profit from wickedness done in his name, but disowned it publicly and committed the wrongdoer to divine judgment: "the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness." This is the very spirit the gospel commends, "avenge not yourselves... Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19). Joab, by contrast, is the picture of the man who takes justice into his own hands and stains himself with blood; his crime will pursue him to the end (1 Kings 2). The kingdom of God is never advanced by the murderer's knife, and Christ's throne is founded not on shed innocent blood but on His own blood freely given. Where Joab shed innocent blood to serve himself, the Son of David shed His own innocent blood to save His enemies, and that blood "speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24). Keep your hands clean; leave the reckoning to God.
Chapter 3 in Review
2 Samuel 3 sets the whole conflict in one line: "David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker." When Ishbosheth insults him, the powerful Abner turns to David, openly admitting the LORD had promised the kingdom to David all along, and sets about bringing all Israel over, restoring Michal and rallying the elders on the ground that "the LORD hath spoken of David." Reunification seems at hand. But Joab, nursing a blood grudge for his brother Asahel, treacherously murders Abner at the gate. David, horrified, disowns the crime, declares himself and his kingdom guiltless of the blood, mourns publicly, and commits the doer of evil to God's judgment.
For the Apostolic reader, David's irresistible rise pictures the sure advance of God's kingdom against long opposition, "the gates of hell shall not prevail." The ingathering of Israel to God's appointed, saving king foreshadows the gathering of a people to the greater David, of whom God has spoken, "he shall save his people from their sins." And David's refusal to profit from Abner's murder, leaving vengeance to God, sets the pattern of the clean hands and tender conscience that mark the man after God's own heart, and points to the Son of David, whose throne rests not on innocent blood shed, but on His own innocent blood freely given.
- "David waxed stronger and stronger", God's kingdom advances surely, and what opposes it wanes.
- Abner knew God's will yet resisted it for years; yield to God's purpose gladly, not by wounded pride.
- Israel is gathered to David because "the LORD hath spoken of him", as a people is gathered to Christ the Saviour-King.
- David disowned Abner's murder and left vengeance to God; the kingdom is never built on innocent blood.
Questions for Reflection
- Where do you need to trust that God's cause, though in "long war," is surely growing stronger?
- Like Abner, do you know God's will yet resist it for your own interest? What would glad, early yielding look like?
- When wronged, can you keep your hands clean and leave the reckoning to God, as David did?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- David's house grows stronger; God's purpose advances: 2 Samuel 3:1-11; Luke 1:80; Acts 12:24; Matthew 16:18.
- Abner gathers Israel to David; the appointed saving king: 2 Samuel 3:12-21; Matthew 1:21.
- Joab murders Abner; David guiltless of blood; vengeance is God's: 2 Samuel 3:22-39; Numbers 35:33; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 12:24.