On
hearing of Abner’s assassination, David immediately disavowed that he or his
house had anything to do with the cold-blooded murder. He then pronounced a
curse on Joab and his father’s family and ordered Joab and all the people of
Judah to mourn the death of Abner. He demanded that they tore their clothes and
put on sackcloth. David gave Abner as dignified a burial as it could be, like a
sort of state funeral. He even followed the mourners. The dead body of Abner was
carried on a bier to the grave to be buried in Hebron. Verse 32 said that David
lifted his voice and wept aloud at the graveside and all the people followed suit.
David's grief affected the people so much that there was a great outpouring of
anguish that day. The king then let out a lament in verses 33-34.
In
his lament, David began by asking, “Should Abner die as a fool dies?”
This rhetorical question implied that Abner did not deserve such a
treatment. He was after all a smart person. Had he not been taken out in cold-blood,
he would have something going for him. Using poetical language, David implied
that Abner should be treated better and not like a fool or a villain. He ought
not to die as if he was a criminal with his hands bound and feet chained. As
far as David was concerned, Abner’s death as un-deserving. It was a lawless act
promulgated by Joab.
In
David’s action, we see a great leader with the spirit of magnanimity. We had
seen how conniving Abner was in the past. He did all he could to prevent David
from reigning over Israel immediately after Saul’s death. He chose to
deliberately put Ish-bosheth on the throne of Israel so that David could not
access the throne immediately. Then he manipulated the puppet king while
creating problems for David and his men with all the needless skirmishes
between them. Although Abner had done much to hurt him before, yet the king chose
not to see that side of him. His spirit of magnanimity made him choose only to
see the better side of Abner and to accord him a dignified funeral. In 1
Chronicles 27:21, David even allowed Jaasiel, Abner’s son, to lead the people
of Benjamin. Magnanimity learns to overlook past hurts. The mark of a great
person is not seen so much in his capability than in the largeness of his
heart. And David proved himself to be that kind of a man. He was not only
generous and gracious but also altruistic. He left us with a model to emulate.
Let’s also learn to be generous and forgiving!
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