Examining our motives

A lot of political intrigue going on here.  But as I look at this passage, it makes me think how important it is to examine our motives as we do things.

For Abner, he did the right thing, supporting David, but for the wrong reasons. 

Either he supported David because he was hurt by a false accusation by Ishbosheth, or the accusation was true, and Abner didn’t like being called out on it. 

Either way, Abner knew God had chosen David to be the next king but didn’t support him until Ishbosheth accused him of wrongdoing.

Joab, on the other hand, did the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. 

He killed Abner for killing his brother in battle.  And Joab didn’t do it in battle or even in a duel.  Rather, he caught Abner unaware and killed him with no mercy. 

It’s also highly likely Joab killed Abner because he was afraid David was going to appoint him in Joab’s place as chief general.

David’s actions are a little hard to fathom as well. 

Was he right in demanding his wife Michal back?  That’s hard to say. 

I can see why he did so, but Michal had been given to another man in marriage by Saul.  And the man did love Michal. 

How Michal felt, we have no idea.  But considering her later actions, it’s possible she loved this other man too. 

At the very least, David should have asked her what she wanted to do.  But in addition to getting his first wife back, perhaps he also wanted to solidify his claim to the throne, having married Saul’s daughter. 

Whatever the reason, one wonders if he did the right thing here.

But the last thing I wonder about is why he didn’t deal with Joab’s treachery. 

By God’s law, Joab should have been put to death.  But David didn’t do so.  Why? 

One thing David said was that Joab was too strong for him.  (verse 39)

It’s possible David didn’t think he could do without Joab’s leadership of his army.  For all his faults, he was a good general. 

It’s also possible that he didn’t want to kill his own nephew.  He did later ask his son Solomon to deal with Joab, but in David’s lifetime, he never did.  And I do think he made a wrong decision there.

What do we do in our lives and why do we do them? 

Ultimately, the one we have to answer to is God.  Someday we will have to give an account to him of all our actions, and why we did them. 

When we stand before God, can we give to him a good account? 

Or will we stand embarrassed before him because of our actions and the motives behind them?