Seek To Settle Before It Gets Messy

418 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 2:8-17, “But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; 9 and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. 12 Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men now arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise." 15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. 16 And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. 17 So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.” Things are about to get very messy. They usually do in power struggles. David has been anointed king over Judah, and has made overtures to the men of Jabesh-Gilead.....then we read, “but Abner.” That word “but” tells us that there is about to be some trouble. Abner who was the commander of Saul's troops and in Saul's family tree as a first cousin decides to take measures to keep the line of kings in Saul's family. So he appoints Ishbosheth, a son of Saul as the new king of Israel. Well, you can't have two kings and conflict is inevitable. So Joab, (David's commander) and Abner (Ishbosheth's commander) gather the troops and meet at the pool of Gibeon. Abner proposes that the fight be decided by 12 of his best men against 12 of Joab's best men. In a bizarre outcome the twelve men on both sides die in the contest! It's a draw, and the draw sets off the battle between David's men and Abner's men and David's men win. Power struggles occur very often in our world and even in the church, but here's what the Holy Spirit tells us about power struggles, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Rom 12:18) If it is possible, without sacrificing biblical truth, seek to settle the matter in love and peace before it gets messy.