Peace Too Late

Introduction – A Name That Holds Two Stories

My name is David Abner—two names that once stood on opposite sides of a kingdom.

One carried the harp and the crown. The other carried the sword and the seal of command.

Two men, both strong, both loyal, both flawed, whose paths met too late for peace.

It’s a strange feeling to say those two names together, David and Abner. Their story is inked deep in Scripture—not because of triumph, but because of tragedy. It’s the story of what happens when reconciliation is offered, but pride delays the handshake. When mercy stands at the gate, but vengeance gets there first.

You won’t find a psalm written by Abner. You won’t find a proverb quoting Joab. But you will find this story—tucked inside the chronicles of David’s rise—as if God Himself refused to let us forget it. And maybe the reason it’s there is that it keeps happening. In kingdoms. In families. In churches. In hearts.

The title of this message is Peace Too Late.

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1. The Long War Between the Houses

The kingdom of Israel was divided long before the word “split” appeared in the record.

On one side stood David, the anointed but not yet enthroned king, reigning over Judah from Hebron.

On the other stood Saul’s house, led by his surviving son Ish-bosheth and protected by Abner, Saul’s cousin and commander.

The Bible says, “There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.” (2 Samuel 3:1)

Abner was no villain in the simple sense. He was a soldier of loyalty and order. He had served Saul faithfully. He had built a structure, a hierarchy, a cause. He wasn’t ready to hand it all over to a shepherd boy from Bethlehem, even if that boy carried God’s anointing oil.

Abner represented the old guard—those who know the system is dying but can’t yet let it go.

And David represented the new covenant—what God is raising up next.

Between them stretched years of suspicion, pursuit, and bloodshed.

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2. A Brother’s Death and a Wound That Would Not Heal

The conflict reached a boiling point at the pool of Gibeon.

Abner led Saul’s forces. Joab led David’s men. Among them were Joab’s brothers—Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was swift-footed, quick as a gazelle, and young enough to think invincibility was a birthright.

When the battle broke out, Asahel chased Abner through the valley. Abner called out, “Turn aside from following me; why should I strike you down? How then could I show my face to your brother Joab?” (2 Samuel 2:22)

But Asahel wouldn’t turn back. And Abner, in self-defense, thrust the blunt end of his spear backward. The spear passed through Asahel’s stomach, and he fell dead on the spot.

It was war. But Joab never forgot.

Revenge began to simmer like iron left in the coals.

For Joab, Abner was no longer just the enemy’s general—he was the man who killed his brother.

For Abner, it was the accident that would shadow every later gesture of peace.

And for David, it became another fracture in the fragile foundation of a kingdom he hadn’t even finished building.

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3. A Kingdom of Suspicion

After Saul’s death, the political landscape shifted. Ish-bosheth, Saul’s weak son, owed his throne entirely to Abner’s strength. The Bible says Abner “made him king.”

But soon, a rift opened even there. Ish-bosheth accused Abner of taking one of Saul’s concubines—a symbolic act that, in those days, implied a claim to the throne. Whether Abner was guilty or not, the insult cut deep.

Abner had kept Saul’s house alive. He had risked his life for a legacy now turning against him.

And something snapped.

He said to Ish-bosheth:

> “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? … God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him—to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel 3:8–10)

At last, Abner’s pride and God’s purpose pointed in the same direction. But not for the same reasons.

Abner wasn’t repenting; he was repositioning. He wasn’t bowing to God’s will; he was salvaging his career.

Even so, God can work with that.

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4. The Meeting at Hebron

Abner sent messengers to David:

> “Make a covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.” (2 Samuel 3:12)

David’s response was gracious. He knew what Abner represented. He also knew that reconciliation—however complicated—was the only path to unity.

So he received Abner, held a feast for him, and sent him away in peace.