33. Joab Kills Abner: When Vengeance Hijacks Justice Series

Joab Kills Abner: When Vengeance Hijacks Justice

November 5, 2025

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

2 Samuel 3:22-39

INTRODUCTION: WHEN ANGER TAKES OVER

There are moments in Scripture when the storyline slows down, the camera zooms in, and God exposes the raw human heart—its wounds, its fears, its bitterness, its impulses, and its desperate attempts to seize control when God has called us to surrender. Second Samuel 3 is one of those moments. It is the moment where a deeply wounded man named Joab allows vengeance to hijack justice, bitterness to overpower wisdom, and human anger to threaten the work God Himself is doing through David. It is a warning for every believer, every leader, and every church.

The setting is critical: Israel has essentially been in civil war. Saul is dead. His weakened house is fading. David’s kingdom is slowly rising, not through force, but through God’s steady, providential hand. And at the very moment unity is within reach, a single vengeful act almost destroys it all. This chapter is not merely history; it is a mirror. It reveals what happens when we let wounds drive decisions, when pride replaces prayer, and when we try to accomplish spiritual purposes with fleshly methods.

I. A KINGDOM ON THE BRINK OF UNITY (vv. 22–25)

Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone? 25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.” (2 Samuel 3:22-25)

Joab Returns to a Political Earthquake

When Joab arrives from a victorious raid, he’s greeted with news that instantly ignites every wound inside him: Abner—the general who once opposed David, the man who killed Joab’s younger brother Asahel—had just visited the king. He had come in peace. David had received him warmly. And David had sent him away unharmed, with full acceptance and a promise to unify Israel under David’s rule.

For Joab, this is unthinkable. The text tells us he storms into David’s presence demanding, “What have you done?” and “Surely you realize that Abner came to deceive you.” His tone is not respectful inquiry; it is accusation. But Joab’s outrage is not discernment. It is bitterness wearing the mask of loyalty.

Three Wounds Driving Joab’s Anger

David Guzik highlights three motivations boiling beneath the surface: First, Joab is convinced Abner is a double agent. He assumes the worst because bitterness always assumes the worst.

Second, Abner killed Joab’s brother. Yes, it was in self-defense. Yes, Asahel was the aggressor. Yes, Abner pleaded with Asahel to stop pursuing him. But bitterness doesn’t evaluate facts. Bitterness remembers pain.

Third, Abner is a threat to Joab’s position. Abner was Saul’s chief military commander. He had decades of battlefield wisdom and political influence. His arrival could potentially push Joab aside.

So Joab does what bitter hearts do: he spiritualizes his suspicion. He tries to sound discerning. He frames it as protecting David. But the truth is simple—Joab is protecting himself. And that is where sin always begins.

II. THE ASSASSINATION OF ABNER (vv. 26–27)

When Joab came out from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. (2 Samuel 3:26-27)

Sin Clothed in “Righteous” Motives Is Still Sin

Joab leaves David’s presence, and without hesitation or counsel, he sets his plan in motion. He sends messengers to intercept Abner before he travels too far. They bring him back to Hebron under the guise that the king needed to speak with him further. Abner, trusting David’s peace, returns willingly. But what happens next is the darkest moment in Joab’s life.

Joab pulls Abner aside at the gate “to speak with him privately.” The language implies intimacy, confidentiality, even friendliness. It is a fake gesture of reconciliation designed to disarm him. And there—just outside the gate—Joab thrusts a dagger into Abner’s stomach and murders him in cold blood.